Lease talks highlight the need for complete transparency over reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport

While there is a lot of excitement over the reopening of DSA the project is fraught with danger, as the ongoing talks over the 125-year lease for the land shows.

That is why South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) is right to hold back the release of £160m of taxpayer funding until the terms of the lease are changed.

The fact that under the existing lease, 20 per cent of DSA’s annual turnover is to be paid towards the owner of the land will send a shiver down the spine of taxpayers. Especially when it’s viewed in the context of the airport previously never having made a profit before its closure in 2022.

And the break clauses, which could be triggered unless passenger numbers well above even the most optimistic forecasts for what the reopened site will achieve are delivered, are also a source of grave concern.

Details of the precise terms of the lease have been kept confidential before the document was leaked to The Yorkshire Post this week. A lack of transparency could see confidence in the project ebb away.

It’s important to acknowledge the invidiousness of the situation. Local leaders have shown great courage to get this far but they will have to exercise probity as the project progresses. Their ambition is to be applauded.

But when ambition is met with reality, the utmost dexterity and probity is required for such a big project.