Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Campaign group is independent from political control says admin

Campaigner Mark Chadwick has stated that local authorities have “no control” over his campaign page following comments during a meeting on the region’s infrastructure.

Mr Chadwick runs the largest of several groups which share information in the process to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport after its closure in 2022.

The page has accumulated over 23,000 followers on Facebook and garnered praise from Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones.

Some have criticised the page however, due to its discouragement of political debate surrounding the local and regional authorities.

Backlash continued during a public meeting last week which formed part of the South Yorkshire Infrastructure Inquiry.

The inquiry aims to prevent the closure of major infrastructure in the wake of the airport’s closure.

Reasons for the airport’s closure do not form part of the inquiry however.

Doncaster’s meeting on Wednesday erupted into a row as many attendees criticised the inquiry for failing to examine the closure of DSA.

Towards the end of the meeting, South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard stated that attendees could submit their views on the Save DSA Facebook page.

He continued to elaborate that he was referring to the group ran by Mr Chadwick.

This led to backlash from attendees, with one referring to the admin as “misinformation Mark”.

In response to the discussion, Mr Chadwick said: “Oliver Coppard has no control over the group or the group’s content. I run the group, I do all the admin, I do all my own posts, I share all the posts that our two Mayors put on Facebook, I share any news articles.

“The group is here to provide positive support to the people that are doing the job of getting the airport open. The Political blame game and the differences of opinion that we see regularly in Doncaster will not get our airport reopened.

“The dysfunctional relationship between our authorities and mp will not help our cause, if anything it’s embarrassing.

“I sincerely hope that any global company looking at Doncaster and our airport as a place for investment don’t see what is actually happening here. If they do I’m pretty sure they would run a mile.

“This situation should have cross party support from both sides where they work together to get our airport reopened to put aside any differences and put Doncaster and our economy first.

“Personally I’m not that interested in politics or who does what, we just need our airport back open and the economical benefits that should bring.”

Mr Chadwick also posted in the group following the meeting, stating that any posts relating to the inquiry will be banned.

He said: “Personally I don’t want to get dragged into another session of the political blame game that we have seen on many occasions during this campaign, so any posts that relate to this enquiry or the reason for the airport closure will not be allowed.”