Robin Hood is not ignoring the business traveller, the business traveller is ignoring Robin Hood. There is not the demand in South Yorkshire for business air travel. SCA in its first incarnation couldn't make it pay.



The FSB choose to ignore the fact that since SCA closed Midland Mainline has :



1. Seen the opening of East Midlands Parkway Station, and

2. More importantly the opening of the Eurostar Terminal at St Pancras.



The business traveller for mainland UK and Continental Europe can go by a train which is currently comparable on speed with flying (let alone HS2) and beats it hands down on frequency).



Sheffield Business Park (and Peel) have unequivocally told the FSB and SCAM and Andrew Cook, in public, no to selling the remainder of the Business Park to reopen the Airport, and debunked publicly the myths put forward as to closure by them.



HS2 cuts the end off the runway, will completely undermine the already weak business case for re-opening by providing competition as quick as, more reliable and far more frequent than air travel.



The sale for £ 1, was of the freehold, as SBP/Peel ALREADY owned a 900 year lease of the site, making any other potential purchaser impotent to buy the freehold to operate it as and airport. This arrangement sanctioned by the Sheffield Development Agency and not the Council. This has been investigated by the District Auditor who though critical of the Council's examination of the York Aviation Report didn't find against the transaction. It has twice been investigated by the European Parliament and twice publicly cleared.



There is no legal power to prevent the runway being dug up, should Peel decide to do this, no legal way of overturning the sale of the freehold (which still wouldn't re-open the airport).



Time to recognise that the legal, financial, and physical restraints on the development are so overwhelming as to render this thread redundant.