Doncaster Sheffield Airport: 'Approve housing or lose lease' clause revealed by leak
Doncaster Council secretly agreed that the lease for its use of Doncaster Sheffield Airport could be terminated if it did not approve plans for more than a thousand houses by the site’s owners, a leak to The Yorkshire Post has revealed.
The council is currently in the process of attempting to reopen the airport under public sector control after DSA land owner Peel closed it in 2022.
A copy of the 125-year lease signed between the council and Peel in March 2024, which has not previously been made public, reveals the existence of termination clauses connected to planning applications for the homes.
The 96-page document references two planning applications - the first referring to outline planning permission for 1,200 properties on sites known as DSA02 and DSA03.
The second relates to outline planning permission for a mixed use development on DSA03 involving up to 520 properties.
The document goes on to state that “the landlord shall be entitled to terminate this lease by not less than six months’ written notice served on the tenant if the local planning authority refuses Planning Application 1” and uses identical wording to apply the same clause to the second planning application.
In mid-November, a planning committee approved an outline application for 1,200 properties at DSA02 and DSA03. It also approved a secondary application for the same plot of land for up to 1,400 houses.
Neither Peel nor the council have contested the accuracy of the section of the leaked document containing the clauses. A further source with knowledge of the lease document confirmed details about the accuracy of what had been sent to this newspaper.
The council did not respond directly to Yorkshire Post questions about whether officers and councillors involved in planning decisions were aware of the clauses, and whether legal advice was taken before the agreement was made.
But a City of Doncaster Council spokesman did state: "Whilst we do not comment on apparently leaked documents, what we will say in general is that any clauses in a lease or legal document are advised upon by our legal representatives and follow due diligence.
"Planning matters are governed by and overseen by a quasi-judicial committee which will determine any planning applications on planning law and separate to any other council business.
"Planning applications are discussed on their individual merits and subject to scrutiny at several levels.”
A Peel Land spokesperson said: “The lease agreement was a private, commercially confidential arrangement between the parties involved.
"All parties entered into the agreement with appropriate advice and support. Beyond this, it would not be appropriate for us to comment.”
Last year, council finance papers revealed that the minimum cost of lease payments is £363m. The council’s original plan had been to sign up a private operator to take over the airport and cover its full lease costs through a 50-year underlease.
But after being unable to secure one through a procurement process, the council has set out plans to sublease the site to a council owned company called FlyDoncaster.
In September last year, £160m worth of devolution funding controlled by the office of South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard was released towards the reopening project.
In late November, councillors voted to approve £57m of borrowing towards the DSA reopening project. The borrowing is intended to allow upfront spending in advance of devolution money arriving.
It is intended that the reopened airport will be a catalyst for wider development investment around the site, potentially creating thousands of jobs.