Plan for cargo hub at Manston Airport seriously flawed, says consultant
An aviation consultant, Peter Forbes (from Alan Strafford & Associates) has joined a group which believes the attempt to turn Manston airport into a cargo hub is seriously flawed. Mr Forbes believes RSP sees the only real value in the land as housing or industrial development. Its plans, even if they ever worked out, would be in addition to cargo flights at East Midlands, which handles the second largest tonnage in the UK after Heathrow. Mr Forbes also questioned the jobs figures that the airport is claiming, and its location, “The key disadvantage of Manston is its location at the extreme south-east corner of the UK and its poor surface access. Historic traffic levels at the airport have generally been modest.” “The increased onward distribution times at Manston are particularly relevant for perishable goods, which comprise a significant proportion of all dedicated freighter cargo. In addition, the inability to offer night flights at the airport, which is a condition …, will be a significant constraint for the development of a freight hub, particularly for main international freight package couriers such as Fedex, UPS and DHL.” Two other aviation consultants, York Aviation and AviaSolutions, have also apparently said the airport is not viable.
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Plan for cargo hub at Manston Airport seriously flawed, says consultant
By Alex Lennane ( The Loadstar)
29/07/2020
An aviation consultant has joined a group which believes the attempt to turn Manston airport into a cargo hub is seriously flawed.
Government minsters recently overruled the planning inspectorate’s recommendation to reject RiverOak Strategic Partners’ (RSP) scheme, which includes spending £300m on rebuilding, with operations to start in the first quarter of 2023.
But consultant Peter Forbes, director of Alan Stratford & Associates, believes RSP sees the only real value in the land as housing or industrial development.
Mr Forbes explained: “In order to fulfil the [government] requirements, RSP needed to show that the airport was a significant national infrastructure development with a minimum of 10,000 ATMs a year. Under RSP’s forecasts, Manston would handle some 181,436 tonnes of cargo, with 10,144 cargo ATMs, by year six.”
The government limited the ATMs to just over 17,000 – or some 40-odd flights a day. As a point of contrast, East Midlands, the busiest UK cargo airport and express operator hub, sees, on estimate, fewer than 12 freighter flights a day – and handles nearly double the cargo RSP estimates for Manston by 2029.
RSP told the government the airport would lead to the creation of more than 23,000 jobs – both direct and indirect, with 3,417 at the airport – in contrast to the 150 jobs it had when it closed in 2013 with losses reported to be at some £3m a year.
Mr Forbes also questioned its location.
“The key disadvantage of Manston is its location at the extreme south-east corner of the UK and its poor surface access. Historic traffic levels at the airport have generally been modest.
“The increased onward distribution times at Manston are particularly relevant for perishable goods, which comprise a significant proportion of all dedicated freighter cargo. In addition, the inability to offer night flights at the airport, which is a condition …, will be a significant constraint for the development of a freight hub, particularly for main international freight package couriers such as Fedex, UPS and DHL.”
He added: “There is significant available capacity to handle additional freight at East Midlands and Stansted for at least the next 15-20 years. If further capacity for dedicated freighters is needed in the longer-term, then it would be preferable to have a more central location.”
The consultant also queries RSP’s funding source, which it has not revealed, and questioned the experience of the management.
RSP is a US company, with a UK director, who, Mr Forbes claimed, is a close associate of two local Conservative MPs, and who “has also been involved with other airport developments in Germany …none of these have proved to be successful”.
Mr Forbes concluded: “The location of any airport is fundamental and the development of a major cargo hub at Manston as proposed is simply not commercially viable. There is little doubt in my mind that RSP’s objective in promoting the Manston development is to sell some or all of the land for housing and/or industrial development.”
Two other aviation consultants, York Aviation and AviaSolutions, have also said the airport is not viable, he claimed.
You can read Mr Forbes’ article here.…
https://theloadstar.com/plan-for-cargo-hub-at-manston-airport-seriously-flawed-says-consultant/
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See earlier:
Government grants Manston DCO to allow the airport to re-open, against Planning Inspectorate recommendation
Manston has been closed as an airport since May 2014. It is the first airport to have to take its plans through the DCO (Development Consent Order) process, dependant on the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS). It always failed as an airport in the past, largely due to its location. In October 2019, the Planning Inspector recommended to the Secretary of State for Transport that Manston should not be re-opened. The decision was then for transport minister Andrew Stephenson, “with the secretary of state, Grant Shapps, recused to avoid any conflict of interest.” He has now given approval to the DCO for the airport to re-open, for cargo and even passengers – overruling the Planning Inspectorate (PINS). The airport claims it could open by 2023, handling up to 10,000 cargo flights a year as well as passenger services, with construction starting as early as 2021. There is huge opposition to the plans, due to noise and air pollution. The approach path from the east is directly over Ramsgate, about 2 miles from the airport. PINS had said opening Manston would have “a material impact on the ability of government to meet its carbon reduction targets”. The ANPS is currently not valid, awaiting a Supreme Court hearing on 7th and 8th October.
Click here to view full story…
Manston DCO decision postponed to May – but would be the first since the Appeal Court ruling on climate impact
Though it has not had much publicity outside east Kent, the application to turn Manston (which has been closed as an airport since May 2014) into a freight airport could be an important case. It was the first airport to have to take its plans through the DCO (Development Consent Order) process, dependant on the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS). Manston is a crazy place to have a freight airport, being at the north eastern tip of Kent, miles from anywhere. It always failed as an airport in the past, largely due to its location. The Heathrow runway has been blocked by the Court of Appeal, which ruled (27th March) the ANPS is illegal, as it did not take carbon emissions into account properly. That has implications for Manston’s plans. Already before the Court judgment, the Manston DCO had been delayed from 18th January, to 18th May. The initial DCO application had nothing on carbon emissions. Something was finally added, because of pressure from local campaigners. Now lawyers say the decision about Manston’s DCO could have implications for other airport DCOs in future including Gatwick and Luton, as well as Heathrow.
Click here to view full story…
Delay till May for Shapps to decide whether to allow Manston Development Consent Order (“DCO”)
The decision by the DfT on whether to re-open Manston as an airport again for air cargo has been delayed for four months. It had been expected on 18th January. The airport has been closed since 2014. RiverOak Strategic Partners, the consortium behind the scheme, had applied for the airport to be considered as a nationally significant infrastructure project. Having had 3 months to digest the Planning Inspectorates’ report, the DfT now want more information from RiverOak by 31 January. The Secretary of State (SoS) Grant Shapps has set a new deadline of 18 May 2020 for the decision to be made. The Aviation Strategy is expected before summer recess, with the DfT consultation on climate imminent, so the DfT are giving themselves until May to avoid shooting themselves in the foot on carbon, as they did with Flybe. RiverOak are trying to argue that Manston could be successful on cargo, as “the air freight market is ripe for an alternative to the overcrowded London airports system”. Some people in the area are hoping Manston could provide jobs; others are deeply concerned about the noise from old freighter aircraft during the night, flying over residential areas (the approach path is right over Ramsgate).
Click here to view full story…
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