内容摘要："Further work will be ongoing in the coming weeks on this matter, and the minister for higher education will keep parliament updated."

"Further work will be ongoing in the coming weeks on this matter, and the minister for higher education will keep parliament updated."

It appears today that work has paid off and flights will return to South Yorkshire.Doncaster Council has signed a 125-year lease on the site with landowners Peel, but decided to appoint a third party to operate commercial aviation.

The SYMCA said in a statement that negotiations with the successful bidder would focus on "the level of public control and investment" needed for the project."Given the significant levels of investment, the Mayor and the rest of the SYMCA board remain determined to ensure an appropriate level of public control over decisions impacting the future of the airport, and to take as much time as necessary to get the deal right," it said."As a result, the paper being presented to the board recommends that Doncaster Council is given more time to conclude commercial negotiations.

"The proposed release of £3m funding now would allow for the delivery of time-critical activity, including work on CAA accreditation and standing up the necessary infrastructure.South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said he was "fully committed" to reopening the airport and said he would give the council the "financial firepower" it needed to secure the future of the airport while "making sure we do everything we can to protect taxpayers’ money".

River Thames weir and lock keepers have begun voting on strike action over safety concerns, a trade union has said.

The GMB Union said workers would decide whether to take industrial action over "budget-driven decisions" that were "putting people and property at risk".Conservative Richard Roberts said he still believed a single, unitary council delivering all local services "would serve the best interests" of residents but acknowledged more time was needed "to jointly explore all options with district and borough [council] partners".

In a joint statement the leaders of the county's 10 district councils said they "do not support the creation of one unitary council for Hertfordshire".Hertfordshire has retained a two-tier local governance system, but in September 2024 the Conservative-led county council submitted an "expression of interest" in a devolution deal that would have seen that system scrapped.

At the time Roberts said any arrangement would include its district and borough councils that provide services alongside the county council for about 1.2 million people.Neighbouring Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire both have single-tier unitary systems of local government, when one council provides all local services in their area.