Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Reform says it supports reopening despite warning over 'catastrophic' loan recall
Reform UK’s Doncaster leader has insisted the party supports reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport, as he seeks to recall a £57m loan which has got the project off the ground.
The £57m loan has been used to set up Fly Doncaster, the arms-length body which is reopening the airport, and frontload the funding to ensure the project can get up and running, with flights planned for next year.
Doncaster Council says the borrowing is required to cover the intial outlay, ahead of receiving £160m from South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, the city’s share of regional funds, which will be allocated incrementally up to 2050.
However, the scale of the public investment and certain terms of the lease from owner Peel Group, which have been revealed by The Yorkshire Post, have triggered questions about the project.
Mr Coppard is currently renegotiating the lease agreement, however, so far, nothing has been finalised.
It is only after this is completed that the gainshare funding, from South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), will be unlocked.
Now the area’s four Labour MPs - Sally Jameson, Lee Pitcher, Ed Miliband and John Healey - have written to Reform warning this would have “catastrophic” consequences for the project.
They said: “The reopening of DSA represents an once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring jobs, investment, and economic growth to the area.
“Therefore, reversing that borrowing decision now would waste the considerable investment made to date and undermine confidence in Doncaster as a place to invest in the future.
“Your party has stated publicly that it still supports the reopening of DSA. If that is the case it is difficult to understand why your Group is taking active steps that could bring the project to an end.”
Coun Ward responded by saying that “Reform UK supports the reopening of DSA”.
“That is our stated motion,” he said, adding: “What we do not support is asking Members, and ultimately Doncaster taxpayers, to underwrite major public commitments without the full material facts.”
He claimed that the rescission motion “does not cancel the reopening of the airport, terminate the lease, or end the project”.
“Its purpose is straightforward: Members should vote again, based on information not presented to them in November 2025.”
Coun Ward cited reduced passenger projections as a reason for further scrutiny, and also called for additional information about a prospective private-sector bid.
He also questioned why Doncaster Council should borrow £57m, when the SYMCA funding would only get unlocked when the lease with Peel is renegotiated, asking “why the risk is deemed acceptable for local taxpayers but not for regional grant funding?”
Labour’s Doncaster Mayor, Ms Jones, has claimed that “Reform were given all the information necessary”.
“There are thousands of pages of information already publicly available detailing every step that has been taken over the past near four years,” she said.
“What has become apparent is that they are clearly not reading that information.
She added: “Since the funding decisions at the end of 2025, activity to fully reopen the airport has ramped up, with fire engines on order, radar order ready to go, works to the ATC Tower ready to go, airspace and certification are progressing well with the CAA [Civil Aviation Authority] and we now have over 40 vital roles recruited.”