Feels like the PM is routinely "not told" important things...

The date is set An extraordinary meeting called to reconsider approval of a £57m loan for Doncaster Sheffield Airport will go ahead later this month

Story from yesterday I had forgotten to share with you all Cabinet endorsed a new Community Safety Strategy on Weds, priorities include tackling anti-social behaviour, organised crime and substance abuse

NEW: No update on DSA lease renegotiation, two months after Mayor Jones said it was "almost complete" We were expecting an update in cabinet on Weds, when none came, I asked for one Silence will do little to ease nerves as DSA's future remains uncertain

Cabinet approved Doncaster's new domestic abuse strategy to 2030 today Priority given to closer working across the partnership to protect survivors and manage perpetrators

NEW: Reform UK Cllr David Knight's taxi firm will no longer provide school transport services to Doncaster Council after he claimed children are "trained" by their parents to meet special educational needs criteria so they can claim benefits My story for the Doncaster Free Press

The LDRS can reveal Sally Jameson is launching a new campaign to bring a free-to-use bus service to Doncaster city centre, connecting key destinations The Labour MP's proposal is modelled on the Connect service in Sheffield

Back to work and back to my semi-permanent seat in Little Goat Coffee Co in Doncaster

On annual leave this week. Back on the 13th.

A collapse in the relationship between councillors and staff was thrust into the public eye today, after calls for government intervention in Doncaster Reform UK also said they’d refer the chief executive to the chief officers investigatory sub-committee

🚨 The reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport could be at risk as Reform UK announced intentions to rescind the approval of £57m loan to used support the project The party says it still supports reopening, but did not believe the approval in November 2025 was properly informed

Allotment users have slammed Doncaster Council's "policing" of their plots Incredibly wet weather over the winter has made it very difficult to maintain the plots, but tenants claim the council has been unsympathetic to the difficulties My story in the Free Press

The question cut from a council recording asked Mayor Ros Jones if she'd instructed senior staff to act after the sale of a big city building, the LDRS can reveal The council refused to confirm or deny if this had happened when asked this week

A row has erupted in Doncaster over councillors' access to external independent legal advice, after the audit committee claimed it had been blocked from getting it This is despite officers reportedly commissioning legal advice of their own in relation to the committee's functions

Sources from Reform UK HQ in London have text to ask if this was an early April Fools joke Alas. It is not.

Advance UK Doncaster 🤝 Doncaster Labour Advance's two city councillors will sit on the Labour Mayor's executive group - an offer rejected by Reform UK and Conservatives last year

1-in-10 Doncaster council homes not being the Decent Standard was a headline stat a few weeks ago, but there is a story behind the numbers St Leger Homes boss, Chris Margrave, on the key driver behind 10% of their properties being "non-decent"

Health on the High Street Doncaster will have an "overwhelming focus" on children and young people's mental health The scheme is vital for the regeneration of Waterdale, but crucial lease agreements have not yet been signed

NEW: Doncaster city centre's Health on the High Street scheme will have an "overwhelming focus" on children and young people's mental health Mayor also reveals leases with the building owners and RDaSH (the NHS Trust to run it) are not yet completed, but hopes for an update in the coming weeks

A genuinely incredible story and an incredible man

The Doncaster Council EGM which nosedived into chaos when false accusations were thrown at senior staff will reconvene next week

A great piece

Doncaster Council are exploring legal protection for the iconic Pegler’s Chimney Local councillors tell me the authority is looking to ensure protecting it will not put maintenance costs on the taxpayer

Happy Doncaster Sheffield Airport lease signing day to all those who celebrate 🥳🎉

Samuel and Peter pay £22 each month for their membership at Doncaster's "flagship" gym facilities They say this entitles them to unsafe equipment, which is damaged and taped together; "unsanitary" conditions; and a leaky roof All whilst the site undergoes a £16m refurb on the swimming complex

Just over 1-in-3 savings in Doncaster Council's 2025/26 budget have been deemed "not achievable" at the end of Q3 Alternatives will be carved into future budgets and earmarked reserves released to meet a projected £5.2m end-of-year shortfall

Reform UK have welcomed the South Yorkshire Mayor's announcement of the "People's Network" transport vision But they've warned there could be teething problems before the benefits are felt by passengers

REPORT: Oliver Coppard's South Yorkshire People's Network vision includes the possibility of a rail and tram connection to Doncaster Sheffield Airport There is no firm date for it in the vision (unlike other commitments), but Oliver wants it done "as soon as we can"

Hatfield's controversial Councillor Mick Glynn has been reprimanded again, this time for threatening to "knock some sense" into a female councillor during a meeting Cllr Glynn was Mayor of Hatfield at the time and chair of the meeting

The Mayor of South Yorkshire announced public transport network vision today I run through some of the key details for South Yorkshire in an attempt at a Tiktok/Reel

NEW: Mayor Oliver Coppard is announcing a South Yorkshire "transport vision" today and the region's contender to Greater Manchester's 'Bee Network' It will be known as the South Yorkshire People's Network

Local residents objecting to a solar farm on 'grey belt' land in Doncaster have expressed their worry for countryside protections 'Grey belt' is a new term introduced by the Labour Government

This currently small #Doncaster Labour account is NOT an official Labour account, Yorkshire & The Humber party officials tell me It’s appeared in local news comments sections and shared two fairly viral videos recently, but is not sanctioned by the party

1,000 EV chargepoints are set to appear in Doncaster as cabinet presses on with a South Yorkshire-wide agreement to meet rapidly rising demand The regional scheme will be worth at least £18m - with 34,000 EVs expected on Doncaster roads by 2030

1-in-10 council properties in Doncaster do not meet the Decent Homes Standard Reform UK have said this is not good enough and called for more to be done

NEW: Advance UK have claimed Reform UK "misled" Doncaster councillors during the chaotic EGM last week Cllr Nicola Brown says she is glad she sought independent advice before supporting Reform in the chamber

NEW: Peter Mandelson was offered a severance payment of £75,000 - having initially asked the Foreign Office to pay him more than £500,000 upon his sacking as US ambassador, newly released docs reveal.

Facebook is such a horrible place... It's like X, but people put their actual faces and names to the bile they say to each other (which feels worse to me) What happened to disagreeing agreeably on politics?

Plans to use a Victorian building in Doncaster as a mosque has been rejected by councillors over concerns relating to highways and parking issues

REPORT: Councillor Jason Charity confirmed as Reform UK Doncaster deputy group leader

The extraordinary meeting of Doncaster Council fell into chaos on Friday after Reform UK wrongly accused council officers of altering a DSA-linked motion without approval The LDRS has seen and verified communications between Cllr Craig Ward and officers approving the changes...

NEW: Senior figures within Reform UK Doncaster travelled to Manchester to meet with the Peel Group this week, the party has said Discussions centred around the ongoing renegotiations, between Doncaster Council and Peel, of the DSA lease

SHEFFIELD COFFEE DIARIES ☕️ I feel this one may be controversial… Tried Hygge yesterday. I know it’s quite a popular, trendy business and is doing quite well. So wanted to check the hype out One Flat White was the order and, honestly, it wasn’t good 😢 3/10. Sorry guys

Can someone who is far more clever than me make a Doncaster feed for BlueSky please?

Doncaster Council is "investigating" a load of fly-tipped waste in Arksey found by a Reform UK councillor after the area has supposedly been cleared Cllr Reasbeck is demanded answers as to how the waste, which includes a rusted fridge, was missed

Mayor Ros Jones has backtracked after appearing to call the Reform UK leader a "disgrace" in the council chamber She said it was instead supposed to be about the potential financial risks warned of in relation to Reform UK's budget proposal

NEW: Doncaster Council's projected SEND pressures, both short and long term, fall - with end of 2025/26 total now sitting at £55.6m But the council could still face a bill of over £30m in 2028 as questions remain over Government support

Doncaster Council's projected £5.2m overspend position holds in Q3 Budgetary pressures for Adult's and Children's social care continue to drive costs

PSA for people who email me If you are going to suggest a there is a conflict of interest between one councillor and a planning application - please at least check if they're on planning committee first 🙄

Doncaster Council has announced it has began a tender process for a demolition contractor for Edlington Leisure Centre Plans are for a new leisure centre to be built in its place, but Cllr Joan Briggs has warned locals have been let down before