Doncaster Council's Cabinet made several key decisions at its meeting on 5 November 2025, including approving funding for sustainable transport improvements in Mexborough, awarding contracts for leisure centre refurbishments, setting the fee for biodiversity units from Red House Farm Habitat Bank, and finalising approvals to support the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA). The Cabinet also addressed a public question regarding the recruitment strategy for DSA.

South Yorkshire Airport City

The Cabinet approved final measures to support the full reopening of DSA, including accepting up to £175.622 million in funding from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) and recommending that the council approve borrowing of up to £57 million to support the South Yorkshire Airport City (SYAC) programme.

Mayor Ros Jones introduced the report, emphasising DSA's strategic importance and potential for economic growth, noting that the SYAC programme has political backing locally, regionally, and nationally, as well as public support demonstrated by petitions with around 130,000 signatures.

The Cabinet was advised that on 9 September 2025, the SYMCA Board considered reports that it had commissioned to ensure that the investment required to reopen DSA represented good value for money and yielded a positive Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR). It concluded to award an additional £160m subject to a number of precedent and contractual requirements being discharged.

The report outlined the arrangements going forward, and the decisions which City of Doncaster Council (CDC) needs to take prior to Full Council considering the borrowing requirement decision. In addition, the report outlines the opportunities and impact that this project should bring to the economy and citizens as well as the risks and controls between CDC and FlyDoncaster Ltd (FDL) that will be required on an ongoing basis.

Key decisions included:

• Accepting funding from SYMCA of up to £175.622m.
• Approving the Financial Plan for FlyDoncaster Ltd.
• Recommending that the Council approve borrowing up to £57.0m to support the SYAC programme.
• Approving the overall DSA budget, including funding for a loan to support the FlyDoncaster Financial Plan.
• Delegating authority to approve loan payments to FDL.
• Approving entering into a Loan Agreement with FlyDoncaster Ltd.
• Delegating approval of the subsidy award to FlyDoncaster Ltd, based on an updated final subsidy assessment, considering the Subsidy Assessment Unit (SAU) final report, in accordance with the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
• Approving proposed governance arrangements within FlyDoncaster Ltd, between FlyDoncaster Ltd and CDC, and the establishment of the Airport Consultative Committee.
• Delegating finalisation of the Memorandum and Articles of Association & Corporate Governance Framework.
• Approving entering into a Deed of Variation to the Headlease with the current Landlord of the Airport to enable the grant of a further sublease from CDC to FlyDoncaster Ltd.
• Noting FlyDoncaster Ltd's eligibility to join the South Yorkshire Pension Scheme and approving CDC progressing and finalising the arrangements with SYPA.

The Cabinet noted the significant opportunities and considerable risks outlined in the report.

The Mayor stated that she would shortly be launching a consultation, to gauge views on how often residents and businesses would like to use the airport, what destinations they would like to see served and asking for any interesting stories of when they used the airport previously.

Sustainable Transport Improvements in Mexborough

The Cabinet agreed to accept £10.8 million in grant funding (£8,000,007 from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement and £2,800,000 from the Mayors Sustainable Transport Fund) to deliver sustainable transport improvements in Mexborough. The funding is subject to SYMCA approving the business case. Councillor Glyn Jones, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Environment, Housing and Safer Communities, introduced the report, stating that the proposal is to implement a series of infrastructure improvements around Mexborough town centre to support the regeneration of the area. The scheme will be implemented alongside the LUF3 programme aligned to the 2017 masterplan providing a total investment of £24m for Mexborough. The objectives of the whole regeneration programme are to revitalise the town centre, resolve historical poor connectivity and enable public transport to access the retail core. Environmental street works will be undertaken including public realm, resurfacing, street lighting and CCTV.

The key proposal includes the realignment of the current carriageway on Greens Way to a single carriageway in each direction to improve accessibility to the town centre. The new alignment will allow improved pedestrian access to the rail station supporting footfall to the retail core. The proposed layout will comprise a two-way segregated cycleway and a footway along the entire length of Greens Way. A continuous footway can also be provided on the south side of Greens Way with new pedestrian crossings proposed at either end, and improved crossings at Station Road and close to Market Street to ensure that accessing the town centre from the south on foot is easy and safe.

Councillor Jones stated that delivery of these programmes will provide a range of benefits for the residents of Mexborough primarily improving road safety, providing additional accessibility to the retail core and encourage safer connectivity. This is responsive to requests made to the local business community and from its' customers to providing better access outlined in the masterplan consultation and reinforced in the consultation undertaken for the proposed schemes.

Leisure Facility Refurbishments

The Cabinet agreed to award City of Doncaster Council monies and accept Sport England monies for refurbishment of leisure facilities, including Doncaster Dome, Dearne Valley Leisure Centre and Adwick Leisure Centres. Councillor James Church, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Planning and Public Health, introduced the report, which set out the capital investment for the Dome and Edlington through City of Doncaster Council monies and further capital investment for Adwick and Dearne Valley Leisure Centres via capital grants from Sport England.

The decisions included:

• Capital investment of £1.9 million to enable full refurbishment of the lagoons and replacement of heating infrastructure at the Dome.
• A further £250,000 of CDC capital to undertake roof repairs at the Dome.
• Demolition of the existing building and new build of Edlington Leisure Centre to construct a 25m pool with associated facilities on the site.
• Delegated authority to the Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer to accept £1.032 million grant funding from Sport England to enable phase two of Adwick and Dearne Valley Leisure Centre to be completed as intended with works including install Innerva suites, reception improvements and accessible pool pods.
• Allocation of £500,000 from the Net Zero Carbon capital budgets to use as match funding to the Sport England grant.

Councillor Church reported that City of Doncaster Council has over the past 5 years undertaken a programme of significant capital investment to its leisure facility stock with an investment of over £35m across several facilities. This had primarily focussed on condition survey works to maintain the building and ensure they are fit for future use alongside service enhancement works that will move the facilities from pure leisure offer to support the prevention of the economy by providing a greater wellbeing and health offer through physical activity.

Red House Farm Habitat Bank

The Cabinet approved setting the fee for the sale of Biodiversity Units from Red House Farm Habitat Bank at £21,000 plus VAT per unit. Councillor James Church introduced the report, which recommended the setting of the price for selling a biodiversity unit from the Red House Farm Habitat Bank at £21,000 plus VAT. He advised that Cabinet on 1 July 2023 approved the decision to open a Habitat Bank on this site, but the decision on biodiversity unit pricing was deferred until more detailed information was available. It was noted that a recent benchmarking exercise has shown this unit fee is likely to be competitive in the current market.

The Cabinet also supported annual reviews of the proposed biodiversity unit price as part of the annual budget review, but in order to ensure the project remains cost neutral, only change the unit fee if an updated project business case indicates that project costs have altered.

Councillor Church advised that the Habitat Bank at Red House Farm, adjacent to Sandall Beat Wood, is centrally located within the main urban area of Doncaster. It is estimated that 30,000 people live within 2km of this site. Access to natural green spaces has been shown to be hugely beneficial to public health, promoting greater fitness and improved mental wellbeing. Other benefits of tree and shrub planting include improved air quality and urban cooling. It was also noted that the setting of the fees for the sale of biodiversity units will allow the Council to recover their costs in delivering this exciting project while simultaneously supporting economic growth and development in the city.

Public Question

Mayor Ros Jones read out a question submitted by Mr Wai Ming Yau regarding the recruitment strategy for Doncaster Sheffield Airport through the Pathways to Work and Adult Skills Programme. The Mayor responded that significant work is underway, including an Aviation and Skills Partnership with membership from key South Yorkshire public and private organisations operating within the aviation and education sectors. The aim is to ensure the right skills pipeline is in place for aviation companies to maximise local employment and investment benefits.