The deadline for the decision on the proposed reopening and development of Manston Kent International Airport has been extended until May 18, 2020, the UK's Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Transport, Nusrat Ghani, told the country's parliament on January 16.
The statement concerned an application made by RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) in July 2018, for the proposed reopening and development of Manston as a cargo hub serving the wider London catchment. RSP, which acquired the site for GBP16.5 million (USD21.7 million) in July 2019, wants the airport to be considered as a nationally significant infrastructure project.
Under the UK's Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State for Transport must make a decision within three months of receiving the examining authority’s report but can extend the deadline and make a Statement to the Houses of Parliament announcing a new deadline. The Transport Secretary received the examining authority’s report on Manston's Development Consent Order (DCO) application on 18 October 2019 with a decision deadline originally planned on January 18, 2020.
To enable further information on a range of issues to be provided by RSP and other interested parties before the Secretary of State's decision, the deadline has been extended by four months until May 18, 2020.
In the response to the Under Secretary's statement, 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."
"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."
The airport closed in 2014, with the last commercial flights, a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol) service to Amsterdam Schiphol, operating until April that year.
