The mayor of Doncaster has defended a secret council agreement that the lease for its use of Doncaster Sheffield Airport could be terminated if it did not approve plans for hundreds of houses by the site’s owners.

Mayor Ros Jones provided a statement about the clause in a stormy council meeting on Thursday afternoon after its existence was revealed by The Yorkshire Post earlier that day.

The lease, signed in 2024, said the landlord Peel was entitled to terminate it if planning permission for hundreds of homes on nearby land was refused. In November 2025, councillors approved outline planning permission on the recommendation of officers. Councillors on the committee had been unaware of the existence of the lease clause when making their decision.

Mayor Jones said: “Peel had the ability to terminate the lease if they failed to obtain planning permission. But, let me be perfectly clear, that clause did not guarantee that they would receive planning permission and should not be read as though it does.”

Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster, made a statement to councillors about the housing clause. Photograph by Tony Johnson.

placeholder image — Ros Jones, Mayor of Doncaster, made a statement to councillors about the housing clause. Photograph by Tony Johnson.

She also revealed she was working with the council’s monitoring officer, Scott Fawcus, on a way to share the commercially sensitive lease with elected members, whilst ensuring it remains confidential.

Councillor Craig Ward, who represents Roman Ridge ward for Reform UK, asked the mayor to explain why the planning-linked termination clauses were not disclosed to councillors and the public before the elections in May 2025.

“Given the financial and strategic implications for the council, does the mayor accept that this omission has damaged public confidence, and what steps will now be taken to restore openness and accountability?” Ward said.

Mayor Jones said: “This council enters into contracts and agreements with many businesses and a guiding principle of those arrangements is that they must be dealt with in a commercial confidential manner.

“Planning is a quasi-judicial process, that as the directly elected mayor I cannot get involved with. However, to reiterate every planning application has to be determined on its own merits and by the planning committee.

“The role of (the) planning committee is to carry out impartial decision-making on development, focusing on planning merits, not politics, as elected councillors who weigh planning policies, officer recommendations and public input, whether that be objections and or support. The planning committee then have to vote to either approve or refuse developments.

“The Doncaster public and the business community want us to get on with reopening the airport rather than having an ongoing debate in this chamber.”

Following the leak of the lease before the meeting, Reform UK threatened to pull their support for the airport reopening, unless transparency over the airport is improved. The party is seeking an extraordinary general meeting to discuss the lease “to force this issue into the open”.

Reform UK Doncaster chairman Irwen Martin said: “The public are entitled to know the truth, and councillors are entitled to see the full facts before being asked to sign off any spending.”