'Good deal': Oliver Coppard commits to revealing cost of buying Doncaster Sheffield Airport when deal is completed

Oliver Coppard has committed to revealing the cost to taxpayers of buying Doncaster Sheffield Airport once the purchase is completed - as the mayor insisted it is a “good deal” for all parties.

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, run by Mr Coppard, is due to purchase the airport land from Peel Group for a currently undisclosed sum.

It is an alternative to the previous plan, which involved City of Doncaster Council leasing the land from Peel and running the airport via a council-owned company called FlyDoncaster.

When asked at a press conference on Monday afternoon by The Yorkshire Post about why the sum is currently undisclosed and if he could provide reassurance to taxpayers that this is a good deal, Mr Coppard said: “It is a commercially confidential deal. Until the deal is done, it is a bit like buying a house. There is still the possibility for this deal to change or morph a little bit. Until everything is signed, nothing is agreed.

“When the deal is done all the figures will come into the public domain. I’ve got confidence knowing what those numbers are that people will be happy with that deal.

“But deals only work when they work for both sides. This is a good deal for us, clearly Peel are happy with that deal. We’re very pleased with that and we will move forward on that basis.

“I’ve always said two things - one, we will not do a bad deal on behalf of taxpayers, two, we will do everything we can to reopen DSA. Both those things have to be true, I’m confident that they are.”

Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones added: “It is a great deal for Doncaster as well, it is a deal for jobs and growth. It is such a great boost for our businesses, for our residents. We are delighted it is moving forward now hopefully at pace.”

The potential deal needs to be signed off by both the SYMCA board and the Peel board in the coming days.

Mr Coppard and fellow South Yorkshire council leaders had previously agreed in September 2025 to release £160m for the reopening project but on the basis a series of changes were made to the existing lease agreement.

Earlier this year, the lease was leaked to The Yorkshire Post and revealed the existence of a clause which would have potentially entitled Peel to 20 per cent of future income connected to the airport above base rent payments - including taxpayer funding provided to the project.

SYMCA wanted its money to be excluded from the clause and newly-published board SYMCA board papers have now revealed that attempts to resolve the so-called ‘turnover rent’ clause failed - leading to the new plan for the purchase of the site after a period of “intense negotiation”.

The board papers state: “Despite best efforts – a solution to the turnover rent clause that was satisfactory for all parties could not be found.

“Accordingly, the conditions set for the release of funding have not been met.

“Without MCA funding the project is unviable and CDC is exposed to lease payments up until the first break point in 2031. Whilst lease renegotiation faltered, engagement with Peel did not stop. Changing circumstances led to a new line of enquiry being pursued in the summer, with Peel indicating a willingness to explore options and the MCA proposing a more fundamental solution: the freehold purchase of the airport site and the adjacent Gateway East development land.

“This development led to a period of intense negotiation, and with the support of land transaction advisors, the MCA has now agreed Heads-of-Terms with Peel for the purchase of these sites, totalling over 1,000 acres of land .”

The change in Peel’s position comes as the company is separately progressing a £631m deal to buy Rotherham-based land regeneration company Harworth Group.

When asked whether Peel’s change in position was connected with the Harworth deal, Mr Coppard said: “You’ll have to ask Peel about their motivations for the change in position. But their position clearly has changed.

“This deal wasn’t on the table over a year ago, it wasn’t on the table when the airport first closed. It is now.

“It is also available partly because of the certainty we are now getting from Government around devolution and the money we are getting from Government and the flexibilities over that funding.

“These things all give me as mayor confidence to step into this space in a way I didn’t have under the last government but now do.”