Overview
- City of Doncaster Council, which met Monday, voted to restart the airport programme and keep the £57 million loan on the condition councillors can see the lease.
- The decision reopens negotiations with landowner Peel Group for a lease that would enable operations to resume, with officials saying work will continue at pace with regional partners.
- Reform UK councillors had threatened to withdraw the funding but now back it with safeguards, in what Labour mayor Ros Jones called the U-turn the city needed.
- During the meeting, Reform councillor Kieran Lay proposed a temporary panel to review unidentified aerial phenomena near the site, drew laughter, then said he aimed to highlight safety concerns and apologised for his wording.
- Airport executive Simon Hinchley said the operator is responsible for on‑site safety, uses drone‑detection systems, and must enforce a roughly 5km no‑fly zone for drones with breaches attracting heavy penalties.