Delay till May for Shapps to decide whether to allow Manston Development Consent Order (“DCO”)
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Decision on Manston Airport plans delayed until May
The decision on whether to use Manston as an airport again has been delayed for four months.
An announcement on the plans was expected over the next few days, with some hoping the site near Ramsgate would be able to be used as a cargo air hub again.
However, today it has been announced the deadline has been extended.
RiverOak Strategic Partners, the consortium behind the scheme, had applied for the airport to be considered as a nationally significant infrastructure project.
The airport closed in 2014, with owner Ann Gloag deciding to pull down the shutters in a move that seemed to sound the death knell for Manston.
A service to Amsterdam run by Dutch airline KLM, looked as though it would earn a footnote in Manston’s history as the last to operate out of the airport.
It was then sold to developers Stone Hill Park, who set out ambitious plans to redevelop the huge site for thousands of homes and businesses.
But in a late twist to the long-running saga, the two partners in Stone Hill Park announced they had sold the site to RSP – just days before the inquiry was due to end.
The former owners formally withdrew their opposition to the DCO application being made by what had been their rivals.
As a result, the planning inspectorate was no longer required to consider the case for a Compulsory Purchase Order. However, under the process they were required to consider other representations from other parties and have had to take into account the financial viability of RSP’s plans.
RSP had argued the site could sustain a cargo hub, saying the air freight market is “ripe for an alternative to the overcrowded London airports system”.
KMTV reporting on the announcement made last year that Manston could once again be used as a hub for cargo flights
It described how a revived Manston Airport could provide air freight operators with “a realistic alternative to the overcrowded London airports, ease the considerable road congestion caused by lorries carrying freight through the channel tunnel to European airports”.
It also said it could boost economic growth and jobs in Kent.
But the possibility of passenger flights operating from Manston is less sure, with RSP saying it is not ruling out the idea but that its focus is initially on developing Manston for cargo freight. The controversy over the government’s aid for the struggling passenger company Flybe is an indication of the vulnerability of smaller operators.
The fate of Manston has split opinion, with campaigners on both sides arguing over the merits of the case.
It also divided political parties and arguably cost the former Ukip leader of the council, Chris Wells, his job after he ruled out joining forces with RSP to pursue a Compulsory Purchase Order.
The Secretary of State received the Examining Authority’s report on the Manston Airport Development Consent Order application on October18 and the deadline for a decision had been Saturday.
But today the DfT said: “The deadline for the decision is to be extended to May 18 to enable further information on a range of issues to be provided.
“The decision to set a new deadline is without prejudice to the decision on whether to give development consent.”
A statement from RiverOak said: “While frustrating, the delay is not unexpected – the last five decisions on DCO applications have all been delayed and none have yet been made. Undoubtedly, the recent General Election, ongoing Brexit process and significant infrastructure workload for which the government is responsible have also played a part.
“RSP has not received any additional questions from the minister, as part of the deliberation process, to date – but stand ready to respond, should there be any requests for additional information needed to reach a final decision. The delay does not affect the current CAA airspace change consultation process, which is entirely separate from the DCO.”
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/manston-decision-delayed-by-4-months-220254/
See more details on the history of the decline of Manston airport at
See the letter from the Department for Transport
to RiverOak Strategic Partners Limited
on 17th January 2020
Application by RiverOak Strategic Partners Limited (“the Applicant”) for an Order granting
Development Consent for the reopening and development of Manston Airport in Kent.
REQUEST FOR COMMENTS AND FURTHER INFORMATION
Council in relation to their respective Unilateral Undertakings, that were submitted on 9 July 2019 (the final day of the examination), in relation to the appropriateness of RiverOak Fuels being the named party in those Undertakings.
the financial payments proposed in the Unilateral Undertaking representing the Applicant’s
contribution for the Air Quality Station ZH3 and whether that commitment will ensure the air quality in Thanet Air Quality Management Area is not negatively impacted by the Development.
adequacy of the Applicant’s contribution of £139,000 per year for affected schools for 20 years to mitigate and minimise the noise effects on schools.
for off-site junction improvements schemes included in the Unilateral Undertaking in favour of the County Council.
revised requirement 7, which is set out at Annex A to this letter. This will impose an obligation on the Applicant to agree a Bus Service Enhancement Scheme, including the enhancement of existing services and the provision of a shuttle bus service.
Manston airport DCO decision by government delayed until May
January 16, 2020
Kathy Bailes (Isle of Thanet news)
A decision by the Secretary of State over the development consent order to create a cargo hub at the Manston airport site has been pushed back by four months.
The decision had been due on January 18 but a written statement to Parliament made by Nusrat Ghani, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, today (January 16) said the latest delay means the outcome is now due to be announced on May 18.
Her statement said: “The Secretary of State received the Examining Authority’s report on the Manston Airport Development Consent Order application on October 18, 2019 and the current deadline for a decision is January 18, 2020.
“The deadline for the decision is to be extended to May 18 (an extension of 4 months) to enable further information on a range of issues to be provided by the applicant and other interested parties before determination by the Secretary of State.
“The decision to set a new deadline is without prejudice to the decision on whether to give development consent.”
The Planning Inspectorate examining panel, led by Kelvin McDonald, examined the bid last year, made by Riveroak Strategic Partners (RSP) to acquire the site and create a cargo hub and associated aviation business.
The land was owned by Stone Hill Park, which had submitted a planning application to create up to 3,700 homes, business and leisure and associated infrastructure. SHP sold the site to RSP subsidiary RiverOak MSE Ltd for £16.5 million in July, just before the hearings concluded.
DCO approval is still needed for the cargo hub project, an issue which has split the isle. Supporters of the plan say it will bring jobs and economic benefits but campaigners against the proposals say it will result in pollution, noise and a loss of tourist trade – particularly in Ramsgate which is under the flight path.
During the hearings representations were made by a wide variety of organisations, including Thanet council and Historic England, campaign groups including Save Manston Airport association, Supporters of Manston Airport, No Night Flights and Nethercourt Action Group, numerous individuals and both Manston museums.
The decision letter and Recommendation Report will be published on the Planning Inspectorate Manston project page once a decision has been made.
A statement from RSP says: “While frustrating, the delay is not unexpected – the last five decisions on DCO applications have all been delayed and none have yet been made. Undoubtedly, the recent General Election, ongoing Brexit process and significant infrastructure workload for which the government is responsible have also played a part.
“RSP has not received any additional questions from the minister, as part of the deliberation process, to date – but stand ready to respond, should there be any requests for additional information needed to reach a final decision. The delay does not affect the current CAA airspace change consultation process, which is entirely separate from the DCO.”
Of the most recent DCO projects awaiting decision, seven – including Manston – have been delayed, with five due to more information being requested and two due to the general election.
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See earlier:
Manston airport decision before long, after Planning Inspectorate sends recommendation to Grant Shapps
Government planners, the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) , have made their decision on whether a bid to reopen Manston Airport as a cargo hub should be backed. The recommendations have been sent to Transport Secretary of State (SoS) Grant Shapps, who has 3 months to decide whether to grant planning permission to site owners RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) in the form of a Development Consent Order (DCO). The decision is made the SoS because the airport re-opening is considered a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) which is not decided by a local authority. It the SoS approves the plans, the owners RSP will probably use the airport primarily for air cargo. In July Stone Hill, the site’s previous owners, agreed to sell the land to RSP for £16.5m, instead of their plan to build up to 3,700 homes on it. The tonnage of air freight has risen by only 11% in the UK in the past 10 years, with most going through Heathrow. But RSP says “there has been continuing growth in the air freight cargo market, driven chiefly by the increase in e-commerce and … e-fulfillment…” Manston re-opening will be strenuously opposed by local people, largely to noise over Ramsgate, from old, noisy freighters, often at night.
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