The Council of Doncaster Council met on Friday 6 March 2026 to discuss a motion regarding Doncaster Sheffield Airport and a separate motion concerning the Council's Procedure Rules. The meeting was scheduled to consider the extent to which the public and press might be excluded from discussions.

Doncaster Sheffield Airport Lease and Future Investment

A significant portion of the meeting was scheduled to be dedicated to a motion concerning the lease and future investment in Doncaster Sheffield Airport. The motion, put forward by Councillor Craig Ward and seconded by Councillor Rachel Reed, noted that a confidential lease for the airport was entered into on 20 March 2024, with all elected members provided with a copy under strict confidentiality terms. It also referenced the Council's previous approval of £193 million in funding and financial commitments for the airport on 27 November 2025, including £57 million in council borrowing and £160 million secured from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), the South Yorkshire Local Growth Fund, and the Council itself.

The motion highlighted a joint statement made by Mayor Ros Jones and the Leader of the Reform UK group on 27 November 2025, which confirmed cross-party agreement on borrowing and committed to a soft market test for private sector investment within six months of securing key Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) certifications. This was intended to de-risk public funding and potentially free up gainshare receipts for other economic developments in Doncaster. The motion also acknowledged that the Council's public funding package had been referred to the Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) as required by the Subsidy Control Act 2022. Concerns had been raised by some members regarding engagement with a private sector investor consortium and the process by which their proposals were considered before key funding decisions.

The Council was scheduled to consider a resolution that would:

• Note and affirm the current arrangements for accessing the airport lease, requesting a briefing note from the Monitoring Officer on the legal framework for member access to confidential documents.
• Request the Monitoring Officer to provide an objective constitutional and legal analysis to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee regarding airport funding decisions, the rationale for the sequencing of private sector engagement, the benefits of a competitive market procurement exercise, and due diligence requirements for prospective investors.
• Give effect to the joint statement commitment on market testing by preparing a Cabinet report on the soft market testing process and methodology within six months of CAA certifications, with prior all-member briefing and scrutiny by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee (OSMC).
• Commission an all-member seminar on the Mandatory Due Diligence Framework for private sector investor proposals for the airport.
• Establish a clear protocol for handling future speculative and unsolicited private sector bids and proposals related to Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
• Confirm that any discussion of the specific terms of the lease would be treated as an exempt item under paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, with the public and press excluded.
• Reaffirm governance commitments made in the joint statement of 27 November 2025 regarding strong governance, independent advice, and transparent reporting.

The stated reason for this resolution was to affirm lawful lease access arrangements, enable objective scrutiny of the airport reopening approach, give effect to cross-party commitments on market testing, discharge the Council's duty of Best Value under the Local Government Act 1999, and ensure future private sector involvement followed a competitive, transparent, and legally compliant procurement process under the Procurement Act 2023, consistent with subsidy control obligations.

Review of Council Procedure Rules

The second motion scheduled for consideration, also proposed by Councillor Craig Ward and seconded by Councillor Rachel Reed, expressed concern that the current Council Procedure Rules were stifling debate and democratic scrutiny of the Mayor and her Cabinet. Specifically, the motion cited the agenda order, timing restrictions on Council meetings, and limitations on Question Time as inhibiting legitimate questioning.

The Council was scheduled to resolve to ask the Monitoring Officer to consider these concerns and review the current Council Procedure Rules under his powers in Article 1.06 of the Constitution. The Monitoring Officer was to prepare a report, including any necessary amendments, for consideration by the Elections & Democratic Structures Committee before being presented to Full Council for approval at the 2026 Annual General Meeting on 22 May 2026.