Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Councillor grills Doncaster mayor over lack of updates

A senior Reform UK councillor in Doncaster has accused the Labour Mayor, Ros Jones, of leaving them to be updated on Doncaster Sheffield Airport through ‘third parties or the media’.

Councillor Chris Kidger, a Reform UK group whip, said ‘elected members have not been provided with a clear update on the outstanding decisions affecting the airport’.

The Bessacar ward councillor asked the Mayor to commit to ‘informing Members promptly of any decision or material change’ instead of ‘allowing councillors and Doncaster residents to learn of significant developments through third parties or the media’.

Mayor Jones told Coun Kidger: “I would encourage you not to speculate based on third parties or the media. We will of course brief councillors at the appropriate time.”

Over recent months, updates on Doncaster Sheffield Airport’s reopening have often been shared by journalists or via the SaveDSA campaign, which appears to have strong relationships with many relevant staff.

Councillors in Doncaster have been growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of information coming forward about the airport.

It follows a briefing in June 2026, in which multiple councillors confirmed senior officials had told them the reopening would ‘run out of money’ in September 2026.

Doncaster Council, which is working to reopen DSA with public funds, refused to deny the claim, instead labelling it a ‘potential misinterpretation of a private briefing’.

However, trusted sources finally addressed the issue early in September, claiming the reopening’s finances would not run dry this month, but declined to elaborate further.

Mayor Ros Jones has hinted at big news to come, telling a meeting of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) Board on September 15 that the next update is ‘worth waiting for’.

Around £160million of funding from SYMCA will only be released once agreed conditions are met, one of which being the successful renegotiation of the airport lease with the landowner, the Peel Group.

Mayor Jones then gave an update at a Doncaster Council meeting on September 24, which revealed 14 firefighters would start on site in October 2026.

It is understood that was not the update Mayor Jones was referencing earlier in the month.