TAXPAYERS across five council areas of the Tees Valley are expected to bail out workers’ pensions at Durham Tees Valley Airport at a rate nearly six times higher than previously expected.

Confidential papers seen by The Northern Echo show that in September the councils had planned to pay £300,000 to ensure about 70 airport workers received agreed pension contributions.

However that figure has now risen to £1.7million in the months since the councils agreed to fund the pension payments.

The issue was discussed at Stockton Borough Council tonight (Thurs, May 19) but the press and public were told they had to leave the meeting because it was commercially sensitive information.

A member of the public appealed against the exemption on the grounds that not enough notice was given, but councillors followed legal advice that the public should be evicted because it was an urgent matter.

However, papers seen by The Echo show that in September the owners of Durham Tees Valley, Peel Airports, wanted to pull out of a local government pension scheme, called the Teesside Pension Fund (TPF), as part of a bid to save £6.5million.

Five councils - Stockton, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool and Darlington - collectively own an 11 per cent stake in the airport and needed to approve the pension switch as part of a “masterplan” to save the airport, which still runs business flights to Aberdeen and Amsterdam.

Originally, Stockton council expected to pay £65,925 contributions to the pension fund; Middlesbrough, £53,694; Redcar and Cleveland, £58,843; Hartlepool, £34,230; and Darlington, £92,300.

The new figures are: Stockton, £373,572; Middlesbrough, £304,268; Redcar and Cleveland, £305,113; Hartlepool, £193,970 and Darlington, £523,000. The contributions must be paid over 25 years.

The leaked council agenda said that Darlington was in the worst position.

It said: “The four Cleveland council members of the TPF could meet their share of this deficit by means of a small adjustment to their employer contribution rates over a 25 year period...Darlington however is not a TPF employer and their proportion of any deficit would have to be met by a cash payment."

At the meeting before the press was excluded, chief executive of the council, Neil Schneider, said that the overall masterplan was publicly available.

Cllr Nigel Cooke, cabinet member for regeneration, stressed the borough wanted the airport to succeed.

Cllr Phil Dennis said: “It’s scandalous our residents are going to be left to pick up this bill.”

No-one was at the meeting from Peel Airports tonight but last September the company stressed that the it was trying to save the airport which is economically important to the region, but added that the plan was commercially sensitive.