It is take off time for Yorkshire as new link to the motorway officially opens in Doncaster.
Wednesday, 13 July 2016
A major link road, which will cut journey times to the UK’s fastest growing airport and help to create thousands of new jobs and homes in Doncaster, has officially opened as Great Yorkshire Way.
Planning for the link from the south of Doncaster to Junction 3 of the M18 started over a decade ago as part of the Finningley and Rossington Regeneration Route Scheme (FARRRS). The three mile long section has now opened and been named to acknowledge its prominence as a prime gateway into Yorkshire and to reflect its importance as a catalyst for transforming the regional economy.
Great Yorkshire Way is already facilitating significant new developments along its corridor including the first two high quality logistics units at the £400million iPort and the first of 1,200 new homes at Torne Park on the regenerated former Rossington Colliery site. It will also significantly reduce journey times to Yorkshire’s Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield, bringing an extra one million potential passengers to within a 60 minute drive.
Great Yorkshire Way is predicted to trigger £1.7billion of private sector investment creating 20,000 new jobs and 5,000 new homes. It is also expected to provide a three per cent boost to the Sheffield City Region’s economy.
Opening Great Yorkshire Way with the partners who help deliver the scheme, Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, said: “Great Yorkshire Way is not only the gateway to the Sheffield City Region and Yorkshire it is the gateway to unprecedented levels of private sector investment which in turns sees thousands of new jobs and homes created. The local and regional economy is being transformed by this infrastructure scheme as many of the expected outcomes are already coming to fruition with the expansion of our fantastic Doncaster Sheffield Airport, the exciting iPort project really starting to take shape and brand new homes being built in Rossington.
“It’s an exemplary project and great advertisement for collaboration between the public and private sectors. This is great for Doncaster and will benefit all of the Sheffield City Region and Yorkshire.”
Steve Gill, managing director of Doncaster Sheffield Airport said: “The opening of The Great Yorkshire Way delivers greatly enhanced connectivity to the Sheffield City region’s airport, placing Doncaster Sheffield Airport within minutes of the UK’s major motorway network and bringing global business closer to Sheffield’s £28 billion economy.
“We have already begun to see impressive planned growth as a result of the new road with increased capacity from our incumbent airlines Thomson and Wizz and new airline Aer Lingus and Flybe seeing the potential of flying from the Sheffield City Region.
