Robin Hood Airport seek rates exemption for 'financial hardship'
20.09.07
A local councillor has accused bosses at Robin Hood Airport of seeking special treatment after they lodged a request to Doncaster Council to let them off business rates for five years. He described the request as 'unbelievable', adding that it has been rejected by the council, but the airport, which saw passengers jump by 23 percent last month, is now appealing the decision saying it is suffering 'financial hardship'.
Doncaster Sheffield Airport Ltd, which runs Robin Hood, is asking for business rates exemption to be backdated until April 2005, meaning it would not resume pay the tax until 2010. The council has called for a special all-party committee to be established to review the application and will hold an extraordinary meeting next month to resolve the matter.
But councillor Martin Williams has called the airport - which was set up with the help of £10 million of public money through the Objective One scheme - 'cheeky' for lodging the request. He said: 'It's unbelievable. They think that just because they're the airport people will bend over backwards for them. I've never heard of anything like this happening before. Hundreds and thousands of people travel through the airport, you'd expect it to be making money hand over fist.'
A spokesman for Robin Hood Airport, which celebrated the arrival of its two millionth passenger in June, said: 'We are surprised that, directly or indirectly, Doncaster Council has allowed details of the application to exist in the public domain ahead of the due process unfolding.'
'It is not our intention to rehearse the details of the application in the Press. Following completion of the application we would look to comment further, as appropriate at that time.'
Robin Hood Airport is owned by the Peel Group which also owns Liverpool John Lennon airport, Durham Tees Valley airport and Manchester's Trafford Centre. The Peel Group states on its website that is has assets valued in excess of £4.6bn.
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