Doncaster mayor Ros Jones to donate half of her salary to help plant a million trees across the borough

Mayor Jones, speaking at the council’s first face-to-face meeting for over a year, said her focus with her new cabinet was to deliver "a safer, stronger, cleaner, greener and healthier Doncaster for all".

The position of elected mayor of Doncaster pays a basic salary of £53,000 plus £13,000 of expenses totalling £66,000.

But Mayor Jones said she would continue to donate half towards the tree planting for one year and continue to provide half of her salary and allowances for the remaining three years on other causes.

Jones, who was first elected back in 2013 and is now in her third term, has always given away half of her salary for causes related to the borough.

Addressing councillors at Doncaster Racecourse, Mayor Jones said she wanted parties from all sides to come together for the sake of the betterment of Doncaster.

“For 2021/2022 22 I will be allocating half my mayoral allowance to support my pledge to see a million trees planted across Doncaster,” she told councillors.

“Responding to the challenge of climate change is not just about reducing emissions but It’s also about our own ambitions for the type of borough we want to see in the future so we hold, protect and enhance the natural environment for future generations.

“We want a type of economy that is innovative and inclusive, built on clean growth and decent wages, the type of health and care system that is sustainable and responsive to future demands that will be placed upon us.

“We will be going, local, and going deep – Doncaster is the largest metropolitan borough, in the country, in both rural and urban communities, each with different issues and individual communities.

“As we recover from the pandemic I want to see any economic and social recovery that leaves no one behind.

“I want us all to work together to put political party differences aside because only together, we will make real improvements for our residents.”