This is an unsigned opinion piece representing the view of Worksop Wire as a publication. It is not a news report and should not be read as one.
The case for reopening Doncaster Sheffield Airport is strong. The case against asking councillors to vote £57 million of public money without first showing them the contract behind it is also strong. Both can be true at the same time.
The procedural point is a good one
Strip away the party politics for a moment. Reform UK's argument for revisiting the November 2025 borrowing decision rests on a simple claim: councillors had not seen the airport lease terms when they voted to commit £57 million of borrowing. Whatever one thinks of the messenger, that is a fair point. Local councillors are not a rubber stamp. They are elected to scrutinise, and they cannot scrutinise documents they have not been allowed to read.
If the lease is sound, releasing it strengthens the project. If the lease has terms councillors would baulk at, those are exactly the terms that needed sunlight before the borrowing was approved – not after. A confident administration shows its working.
This is not a vote against the airport
It is being framed that way, and it shouldn't be. The reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport matters to Bassetlaw – the site is twenty minutes up the A1, and was a real local employer before its 2022 closure. More than 2,000 Bassetlaw residents backed Jo White MP's campaign to reopen it, and that public support is genuine.
But supporting the airport and supporting this particular financial structure, with these particular contractual terms, agreed in this particular way are not the same proposition. Conflating them serves political messaging, not the public interest.
What we'd like to see before 11 May
- The lease terms, or at minimum a redacted summary of the material clauses, published in advance of the meeting.
- An independent legal note explaining what councillors are and are not committing the council to.
- A clear statement from the council on what fallback exists if devolution funding is delayed or reduced.
None of this is anti-airport. All of it is pro-accountability. If those documents land before 11 May and the case still stacks up, the borrowing should be confirmed and the project should proceed. If they don't, councillors are entitled to ask why.
The bigger principle
Local journalism exists, in part, to push back when the public is asked to take big decisions on trust. This is one of those moments. Show us the lease.
Editorials reflect the view of Worksop Wire as a publication. We welcome responses, including from those who disagree – tips and letters can be sent to tips@worksopwire.co.uk.
