Doncaster to vote on £57m airport borrowing decision
As the 11 May vote approaches, newly released documents set out the motion – brought by Reform and due before Full Council – seeking to overturn the loan tied to the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, a move that could have significant implications for the wider £193m South Yorkshire Airport City programme.
The borrowing, approved in November by a large majority including Reform members, was intended to fund early-stage work on the airport’s reopening via the council-owned FlyDoncaster initiative, pending £160m in devolution funding to support the wider project.
According to council documents, councillors were not shown details of a ‘Superior Lease’ governing the airport site, including provisions that could allow landowner Peel to terminate the lease under certain conditions tied to planning decisions and passenger performance.
A central concern is a potential conflict of interest: that the council acts both as tenant of the airport site and as the local planning authority responsible for approving developments which could affect the lease’s viability.
The motion states this structural conflict was not disclosed to members at the time of the vote.
Another point made is that of passenger forecasts linked to lease conditions. Earlier projections suggested the airport could reach 2.5m passengers annually within a decade, but updated forecasts indicate around 1.1m passengers by 2037 – potentially below the threshold required to prevent lease termination.
If approved, the motion would rescind the borrowing decision and trigger further scrutiny, including reviews by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee and the Audit Committee into governance, risk management, and the handling of key information.
However, a council report warns that rescinding the borrowing could effectively halt the airport reopening programme unless alternative funding is secured quickly.
It estimates the authority could face around £48.6m in unfunded liabilities by 2031, alongside wider financial and reputational risks.
Keeping the borrowing in place would allow the project to proceed, supporting plans for an aviation-led economic hub with associated jobs, investment, and infrastructure development – but would leave the council exposed to delivery and financial performance risks.
Ambitions for the reopening of DSA stretch beyond the airport itself, with the site earmarked for international freight ambitions, as well as a gateway site for an advanced manufacturing park called Gateway East.
The South Yorkshire Airport City project is a 10-year plan that uses the DSA as an anchor for Gateway East to become a sustainable aviation hub, capitalising on the region’s status as an Investment Zone and focusing on advanced manufacturing.
Airport bosses believe the reopening of the airport will be a major catalyst for industrial and logistics action in the region, contributing to local jobs and the economy.
The vote comes as DSA bosses teased a major freight signing for the airport which could bring up to 20 weekly flights and around 80,000 tonnes of freight a year, kickstarting private investment in the scheme.
