Doncaster's Labour mayor and Reform UK leader “in agreement” on need for airport borrowing
The announcement comes days ahead of a crucial council vote on whether to approve £57million in borrowing to assist with the reopening of the airport
The Labour Mayor of Doncaster and leader of the Reform UK group on the City of Doncaster Council are “in agreement” on the borrowing required to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA).
The announcement comes days ahead of a crucial council vote on whether to approve £57million in borrowing to assist with the reopening of the airport – deemed a ‘do or die’ moment for DSA by senior sources.
In a joint statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones and Councillor Guy Aston, leader of the Reform UK group, said: “The residents and businesses of Doncaster want to see our airport fully reopened as soon as possible, alongside cross-party collaboration on areas of common ground.
“To this end, as the directly elected mayor and leader of the majority group on City of Doncaster Council we want to provide assurance that (subject to the debate at Thursday’s Full Council meeting) we are in agreement on the borrowing required to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport.”
The proposed borrowing, which will be voted on on Thursday, November 27, 2025, is not due to a shortfall in funding, rather to front-load the gainshare funding approved by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) in September 2025.
The SYMCA funding is delivered to Doncaster Council, and then Fly Doncaster Ltd, in yearly instalments worth around £6m, not enough in the early years of reopening.
Mayor Jones and Cllr Aston also stated they agreed on a need for external private investment in DSA at the “most opportune time”.
The pair said the council would begin looking at the potential for private investment “within six months” of securing crucial licensing, airspace change process and aerodrome certifications from the Civil Aviation Authority, starting with a “soft market test”.
“Pending the results of the soft market test and advice from aviation, technical and financial advisors we would go out to formal procurement to achieve the necessary external funding within a further 6 months following the soft market test,” the statement added.
The statement follows weeks of pressure from a private business consortium interested in investing in DSA, who accused the council of “suppressing” and “frustrating” their offer – which was said to include nearly £500m in initial investment.
Mayor Jones and Cllr Aston said: “We are committed to delivering maximum value for taxpayers and minimising public sector risk throughout this process. To achieve this, we will ensure strong governance, including independent financial and aviation advice and transparent reporting at every stage.”
Grant Freeman, the UK strategic advisor to Labyrinth International Investment – who are leading the consortium – said their offer would remove public risk and included £100m to acquire Fly Doncaster Ltd and around £400m for rail and energy infrastructure the airport requires.
Earlier this month, a spokesperson for Doncaster Council said the consortium had not shared evidence they had the funding they were offering.
The statement from Mayor Jones and Cllr Aston said the proposals to begin seeking private investment would be formalised in a report to Mayor Jones’ cabinet in the New Year.