A £57m council loan for the Doncaster Sheffield Airport reopening project will go ahead despite continuing uncertainty over the release of devolution funding which is due to pay back the borrowing.

Reform councillors amended a motion to cancel the loan in favour of a set of new ‘safeguards’ for the DSA reopening project, including councillors getting to see any planned changes to the controversial airport lease before it is signed, annual updates on the site’s financial performance and details of an ‘indicative exit strategy’ should the scheme fail to meet its targets.

Following the meeting on Monday morning, Labour Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones said: “I’m delighted that Reform have done a u-turn for the benefit of the people of Doncaster. This was a political stunt.”

Reform UK deputy group leader Jason Charity insisted his party’s original threat to rescind the loan had been necessary.

Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones claimed Reform's actions had been a 'political stunt'

placeholder image — Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones claimed Reform's actions had been a 'political stunt'

“We had to start with a firm motion to rescind in order to create a sensible set of safeguards. If we had started with the safeguards, we would have ended with a very watered down set of safeguards that I think would have not really had any material benefit to Doncaster.

"The key part of the amendment is for the negotiated lease to come back to council before it is signed. I think that level of scrutiny is really key. It underpins the success of the airport.”

The £57m borrowing plan was approved by councillors in November as a way of frontloading spending on the DSA reopening project. It is planned that it and associated interest costs of an estimated £39.4m will be repaid through £159m worth of devolution funding controlled by the office of South Yorkshire mayor Oliver Coppard which has been earmarked for DSA.

However, the devolution funding will not be released until key elements of the lease City of Doncaster Council has signed with landowner Peel are renegotiated. There is a current impasse over whether the taxpayer funding can be excluded from a turnover rent clause entitling Peel to 20 per cent of airport revenues above the council’s annual base rent repayments.

Details of the previously-secret clause only came to light in January when the lease was leaked to The Yorkshire Post – leading Reform to argue councillors had “materially-incomplete information” when they signed off the borrowing plan two months before.

Negotiations between Peel, the council and Mr Coppard’s South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority are due to resume from Tuesday.

Mayor Jones said she is “very hopeful” the turnover rent issue can be resolved and allow devolution funding to be released.

“We are in negotiations. I haven’t got a crystal ball. I believe it could because they [Peel] realise that this is the right thing for them as a business and the right thing to grow. The airport is a catalyst because [neighbouring development site] Gateway East will grow and grow and grow. They will benefit wholeheartedly.

“I’m very hopeful we are going to be able to get through and get a lease that is satisfactory for us all.”

When asked whether she could give a timeline for when the matter can be resolved, she said: “We’ve just delayed it two months waiting for this meeting to take place. We’ll have to see what the timeline is.

“One month is crucial, two months is a long time. We need to get it done, dusted and over the line so we can plough on and get airborne.”

South Yorkshire mayor OIiver Coppard also refused to put a timeline on when negotiations may be completed when asked by The Yorkshire Post.

He said: “We are doing this as quickly as we can. This is a long-term project and we will protect taxpayers’ money.”

Mr Coppard said the latest negotiations are a continuation of a “twin track” approach involving renegotiating the lease while pushing with the reopening process.

He said Reform’s threat to cancel the loan had been “unhelpful”.

Mr Coppard added: “I’m pleased that the outcome is we are able to move forward with the project. After weeks of disruption and questions, we are essentially back where we started.

“We have been working to reopen the airport for three-and-a-half years since Peel launched their review and this process is complex, difficult and challenging but I have always said the benefits outweigh the risks.

During the council meeting, Conservative councillor Jane Cox said she was concerned that the position remains the same as in November with the devolution money yet to be guaranteed.

“The Gainshare money hasn’t been drawn down because SYMCA are not happy with the terms of the lease. We are in the vicious circle we had in November - we were assured the lease would be renegotiated and it wasn’t until it was leaked we found out it hadn’t been renegotiated.”

A Peel spokesperson said: “We remain focussed and committed to driving economic growth in Doncaster for the long term.”