Manston airport development order officially quashed with fresh decision from Secretary of State now pending

February 15, 2021 Kathy Bailes News 241

Manston airport Photo Frank Leppard

A Development Consent Order granting approval for an air freight hub at Manston airport  has now been officially quashed with a new decision now needing to be issued after a re-examination of the Planning Inspectorate evidence.

The action comes as the result of a Judicial Review challenge to the decision, launched by Ramsgate resident Jenny Dawes last year, which was to have been heard in the High Court tomorrow (February 16).

The substantive hearing was due to look at whether the Government followed correct procedure in reaching the decision to approve the DCO for airport landowners RiverOak Strategic Partners.

But, last December the Department of Transport acknowledged that the decision approval letter issued from the Minister of State did not contain enough detail about why approval was given against the advice of the Planning Inspectorate and said the Judicial Review would not be contested.

An official consent order from the court. has been issued today (February 15), saying the DCO is quashed, the Defendant (Secretary of State for Transport) shall pay the claimant’s (Ms Dawes) reasonable costs – limited to £35,000 – and the Interested Party (RiverOak Strategic Partners) shall pay the Claimant’s additional costs, also limited to £35,000. A decision on whether this sum includes VAT has not been made.

The Secretary of State will now need to issue a renewed decision.

Ms Dawes, who brought the Judicial Review following a successful crowdfunder, said: “This is the first time a decision to grant a DCO has been quashed. Secretary of State Grant Shapps is now expected to invite further submissions from interested parties. He has three months to make a decision, although this can be extended.

“If he grants a DCO, another Judicial Review will be brought on existing grounds and any further grounds that may arise on review. If he refuses a DCO, Riveroak Strategic Partners may wish to bring a Judicial Review.”

RSP director Tony Freudmann said: “In the High Court today Mr Justice Holgate approved a court order which had been agreed by all the parties to the Manston judicial review in December last year.

“The order allows the judicial review on the ground that the Secretary of State for Transport did not give adequate reasons for his decision. It also quashes the Manston DCO and orders costs in favour of the Applicant.

“The effect of the order made today is only to require the decision to be re-taken following a further representation period, it does not reverse any earlier stages of the process. The Secretary of State is likely to explain the reasons for his decision in more detail this time round.”

The DCO application was accepted for examination in August 2018 and it was completed on 9 July 2019. The examination was conducted on the basis of written and oral submissions submitted to the ExA and by eight issue-specific hearings, two compulsory acquisition hearings and four open floor hearings held in Margate and Sandwich. The ExA also conducted one unaccompanied site inspection in January 2019 and one accompanied site inspection in March 2019.

The examining panel recommendation was for refusal. This was overturned by the Secretary of State when granting the original DCO.

The Judicial Review challenged that decision based on:

Ground 1: Need

Ground 2: Breach of Procedural Requirement/Unfairness

Ground 3: Net Zero Duty

Deb Shotton, Vice Chair of the Thanet Green Party which opposes the project on climate grounds, says there is increasing interest in development of the site for clean energies, saying: “Green jobs in a growth industry would be far more beneficial for Thanet and beyond.”

Airport campaign group SMAa says the order means the process can start moving again.

The site is in ownership of RSP after a £16million buy out from previous owners Stone Hill Park who had hoped to gain permission for a multi-use housing, business and leisure development.

RSP aims to create aviation at the site with a cargo hub and associated business. Plans for construction will be phased over 15 years and will include 19 freight stands and four passenger stands for aircraft as well as warehousing and fuel storage.

241 Comments

    • Ditto that Elaine, Yippeeeee! Much more worthy at the site would be 4,000 new houses, and Green light industry, with new schools, GP surgeries, leisure facilities, than dying of air and noise pollution!

      • Dumpton you are raving mad. You only want houses because you are probably very elderly and do not live in Manston. Not sure why you don’t move out the area to be honest. It would make me happy for all you deluded lot to move. Further the better.

          • SO selfish it is alright for me to die from the increase of car fumes is it ? that will come from all the cars that will hit our roads along with all these new houses by crikey there are some nasty individuals out there I am sooo glad I do not mix with people.and before you think saying anything Marva shut up.

          • lesley
            I know it is difficult to keep up but those houses that were planned for Manston got moved to Westgate and Birchington
            Welcome to the reality of more houses and more cars and the possibility of aircraft fumes to go with it

        • Tony your a Pillock! I showed in my evidence to the Planning Inspectorate and my sums were accepted, that elderly cargo aircraft two an hour ot more, would fly in over Ramsgate Harbour at less than 300 meters high, 250 meters over the town, and 200 meters over Ellington Park, and 150meters or less over Nethercourt. This will destroy the harbour/towns tourist industry, devalue thousands of properties, and cause massive noise and air pollution for the population, and especially the schools and businesses mostly in the CT11 postal area, although all of Thanet and elsewhere will be affected too.

          Some years ago I stood outside Wilko in Ramsgate when Manston was used by elderly cargo planes for “touch & go” landing and take off practice Saturday mornings. No one knew when an aircraft did this, they just suddenly appeared overhead, drowning out any conversation and making people scream with alarm! Many thought the aircraft were going to crash on the town! So Tony, as I said your Pillock, because why should thousands of people have to move from Ramsgate to avoid all this noise, and air pollution? Did I say Pillock, Oh yes, your a Pillock Tony, a brainless Pillock!

      • Wouldn’t we all prefer to see housing being built-with workplaces, schools,shops and pubs- on brownfield sites rather than agricultural land? And that’s what SHP were planning.

        • In what world do we possibly need more pubs Marva? Also there is a lot of sense in the notion that you should move away if you don’t like the idea of an airport that was there before you rather than try spoil it for everyone else

          • Your a Pillock too Tobias, see my earlier comment! Why should people be forced to move, selling up at greatly reduced prices because their property will be devalued, so that an American Hedge Fund company can move in and pollute Thanet? Unless your an aircraft engine technician, or skilled in any of the jobs inside a Control Tower, there will only be a few Forklift Truck driving jobs for unskilled Thanet people!

            If you think reopening Manston will bring economic benefits to Thanet, you have been conned. One of the chief conners is Roger Gale MP, I saw him on TV the other day extolling the virtues of hydrogen fuel cargo aircraft, which is utter nonsense! The cargo aircraft likely to use Manston will be old converted passenger jets, with filthy air and noise polluting engines! Hydrogen aircraft, don’t make me laugh, they don’t exist, except as a concept for light aircraft, so Gale was being very disingenuous, don’t believe him or Mackinlay MP for South Thanet either, as neither of them live in Thanet!

        • Absolute brainless, where are these people going to get Jobs? There’s hardly any in Thanet for the people we have here now.
          And traffic at Westwood. The place struggles at a weekend in normal times. No idea. Clueless

      • Doubt if any of that will happen – we will get thousands of houses to house DFSS overflow from.London and all the amenities will be put off to another stage

        • What’s wrong with London overspill? You have seen the cost of living in London recently? A lot of people on DSS (as you call it) still work but need benefits to top up their earnings to be able to live and work in that area. Many families are at breaking point trying to cover the sky high rents. Or is it the fact they are more likely to be people of colour that enrages you?

  3. It is also the case the Secretary of State could say no now that he’s been forced to rethink his poor homework, given the absurdly incompetent content of the original decision which he palmed off on the new boy Andrew Stephenson.

    Good luck finding more evidence of need or benefit and if he does then we’ll be right here ready to fight on.

    There was never any evidence this monstrous hub was needed or was a good idea. All we have is the obsessive Roger Gale and the airline owning Craig Makinlay.

    We see you and we say no.

    • Deluded lot. Why don’t you Antis all move to the back of beyond. All be happy together and have your houses built on your doorstep. Always moaning gets on everyone’s nerves.

      • Don’t be silly, Tony, one might as well say to you”Why didn’t you move when the airport shut, to, let’s say, somewhere near Stansted?”.

        • God help us do not assume me to be as idiotic as you you are a blasphemer use you name or are you ashamed to? bring it all on housing airport no airport I really do not give a monkeys with a bit of luck I’ll be out of here dead or otherwise and you lot can get on with it

  4. So where are all the moaners who were slating Jenny for wasting money on a ridiculously silly notion that Manston was a pointless exercise…

  5. Thousands contributed to the JR. From far and wide. Well done everyone.

    Meanwhile, houses go up on the green belt. Thanks Roger.

  7. What is clear is this is a first for a DCO, I understand this is the first ever to be quashed
    What it means is Riveroak NO LONGER have planning permission to build a cargo hub as there is ZERO need for such an airport.
    RSP’s statement is just spin
    The SoS has 3 months in which to decide what to do. The options are
    1. Throw in the towel
    2. Ask everyone who submitted to the original hearing further questions
    3. Rewrite the acceptance with better reasons

      • Nearly al the land in question (99%) belongs to Riveroak. Why they now need a DCO is questionable – unless, of course, they don’t want the local council to have any say in the matter. Now, why do you think that might be?

    • Do any of you recall the same gemtleman who os going to look afresh at his decision is the same gentleman who asured the electorate he would do all in his power to retain an airport at Manston

      Now he is the Secretary of State for Transport which gives him the ultimate power to fulfill his promise – regardless of how any of us feel aboout being able to fly from our own doorstep as did the airforce during WW11!

  8. In case the pro-airport folk want a bit of help in making new submissions, here are some key words and phrases:
    Don’t forget the akwifer
    It’s always been a airpit
    We don’t want no more houses
    Only DFL’s will be able to afford …
    Only DFL SS tenants will …
    It will create 30,000(000(000)) jobs
    Don’t forget the Akwifer
    I want to be able to fly to Lanzarote/Costa del Sol/Cleethorpes
    My Aunty Mable used to work in the tea hut
    I like the sound of planes roaring overhead day and night
    My Aunty Mable married a GI stationed at Manston
    Did I mention the Akwifer (and the toxic foam)

    And … don’t forget the Electric Barges.

  9. Don’t forget wiping aviation fuel off your face/washing while you wave at the pilot. Those were the days.

  10. I’m waiting for Sir Roger to switch sides, now he’s complaining about houses being built on farmland. And whose fault is that, Sir Rog of Riveroak? Still at least he doesn’t disappoint on his levels of hypocrisy.

  11. Will be interesting when the home office takes the site over for those from the boats at dover since it makes a location near to dover for them

  14. As I have said before about this matter it is a tactical move by the government to circumvent their way to reopen Manston Airport as planned. The difference next time the law will be changed so the moaners
    and those who are trying to keep the unemployed out of work will not get their one way. Manston Airport is going to reopen as sure as day follows night.

    • Possibly, but as always it will fail miserably & close. Just remember nobody wanted the albatross in 2013, so asset stripper Ann Gloag got it for a quid.

      • More accurately no one wanted the debt attached to the airport, however stagecoach had sufficient profits for them to be offset against the debt and so basically got a taxpayer bung in terms of the tax that was not paid on said profits. Win win for Gloag who then toddled off quite happy with hte deal

        • obviously you are forgetting Planestation. No Gloag involved yet Freudmann managed to drive it into the ground

        • LC, Stagecoach Group plc had nothing to do with this. This was a venture by Ann Gloag. But hey, don’t let facts get in the way of a good rant.

    • As if by magic, Ann appears with the usual drivel, the government are going to change the law to allow unidentified investors to bypass planning law and go against the planning inspectorates expert advice .. ?!?!?!

    • Oh Ann, where’s a laughing gif when you need one? Ann is happy for the Tories taking our JR rights away. It’s almost like she wants an autocratic government.

    • “Amanda Pinto QC, the chair of the Bar Council, said: “Judicial review is a hugely important tool in a democratic society by which decisions of public authorities, including government, are subject to legal scrutiny.”

      Simon Davis, the president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said: “Judicial Review is a vital part of the checks and balances necessary to protect people from powerful institutions. It underpins the rule of law.”

      • Isnt it a group of powerful institutions you spend most of your time promoting vaccines for Andrew. Seems to be all you all day everyday putting your opinions on here. Must have brought a cut price house in ramsgate

  15. The airport was here long before most of us .
    No one moaned when air show was at manston or when red arrows arrived .
    People need to grow up and live in the real world airport or no airport .
    I’ve flown from manston and it was great and I’d use again if they started .
    Simple thing stop moaning and concentrate on things that matter at moment like keeping elderly and vulnerable alive through COVID or are all the moaning people going to complain about that as well .
    Let’s just hope when he refunds the money all those who donated get there money back but I doubt u will then you will be moaning again .

    • The air show was once a year. It didn’t entail a cargo plane going over multiple times an hour 24/7. You do realise it’s not going to be red arrows doing air displays everyday? It’s a weak argument comparing the two.

    • As someone who donated quite a lot of money, I took heed of the word “donated”.
      There might well be need for yet another JR, should the SoS not see the light.

    • it has only been an airport since 1989
      from 1959-1989 there was a civilian enclave and before that it was an RAF airfield

    • M, your tedious arguments have been made many times before bout miss the point entirely. A DCO usually means taking land off someone, denying existing businesses an opportunity and over riding local planning process. As such a DCO has to prove an over whelming demand that cant be met elsewhere. The Manston DCO failed to do this as did the ill-formed ramblings of a junior Minister.

  16. The airport wasn’t here before most people. Wrong.

    Military airfields existed, who moved out once there was no military need.

    Airports? All very recent and all incarnations abject failures with lost millions.

    Dinosaurs were here before us all. I don’t see any campaigns to bring back stegosaurus.

  17. M, unless you’re planning to fold yourself up in a cargo crate you won’t be going anywhere.

    It’s an inept plan for a cargo hub.

    Cargo.

    • And when that is lifted makes no difference as RSP want to open a freight airport for cargo. If you think everyone will be flocking to Manston to go on holiday to spain then you need think again as they will not be packed into crates and put in a huge hold.
      It seems the pros keep on spewing out the same old rubbish everytime Manston is mentioned. Heard it all before sorry!
      The dodger has been reprimanded along with other a bunch of other Tories recently announced in another news story. Seems he has a habit of trying to talk ministers into doing what he wants. He has always come across as a bit of a bully.

  20. PaulLink, what has going on holiday or taking a flight got to do with the legitimate concerns of a giant spewing cargo plane coming in over our harbour at 500 feet every 12 minutes? You know those tourists who visit here in their thousands? They’ll stop. Anyone concerned about HS2 is banned from getting on a train, is that your view?

    Suggesting you have to live in a cave off grid in order to legitimately be concerned about the climate and the threat to our health, our town and our economy is absurd.

    Why are you so desperate for some cargo to land? Do you really believe that there is a national shortage of freeze dried fish, luxury cars and race horses? You do know this is what RSP suggested is in these vital cargo deliveries when asked by the government inspectors at the public hearings at Discovery Park.

    The RSP DCO application is a gross insult to Ramsgate and reality.

      • Well clueless the height of the planes over houses does depend on which part of the flightpath you live.
        Over the harbour (coming in at an angle of 3 deg) the planes are between 800-1000 ft. As the land then rises and the planes are dropping over Southwood they are at between 450-550 ft. Then the land drops away but at the end of Kentmere they are at 300ft on final approach. Apology accepted

    • how many times do the anti airport brigade have to be told or asked ?was you aware of the airport when you moved to your present address?or did you just ignore the fact completely? whatever it was the airport was there before you are you all against the airport for environment reasons or are you just concerned for yourselves? my guess would be the latter

  21. The clue is in cargo hub…
    How many times…no mass holidays to the costas.

    Plus hub. The central point, as sensible locals will tell you, manston is not a particularly central point in the UK, and one of the reasons it would have failed yet again.

  23. Best turn it into Nuclear power plant it’s on the high ground so won’t get swallowed up by the rising seas.

  24. Be lovely to see the comments on here when 2500 houses are built and 5000 plus extra cars on the road and you can’t get to AandE. Maybe we can plough it up and use it to grow food.

    • You are too late the houses that were due to be built on Manston were moved to Birchington and Westgate
      Keep up John

      • God help us. What an appropriate name. Another oap got nothing better to do than moan. Put your slippers back on and suck on your pipe. When you need to get to A&E when your so called delusional houses are built. God help you! Now put your feet up and watch your soaps.

    • Where have you been? The houses we get (and are getting). Only instead of being built on the Manston ex airport brownfield site, they’re being put on green fields round Birchington and Cliffsend.

  25. Most of the people who don’t want Manston to reopen are people who have moved here after it closed, all I seem to hear is “ Ramsgate this Ramsgate that we don’t want planes flying over our Harbour! Get over yourselfs, quicker it opens the better….

    • Are you sure about the accuracy of your first sentence? I seem to have read quite a few comments about the noise and pollution caused by the planes which flew over Ramsgate when the writers were children.

    • Manston Dave have you not realised yet that Ramsgate according to people living in Ramsgate is Thanet and any where else is of little consequence and a lot of the people are selfish b’stards who want nothing on their doorsteps but its ok for others to have it all on theirs if the airport opens great if it does not fine

  26. The DCO is still going ahead, just a better written reason why it is needed, mi I’s and T’s, nothing really much has changed, apart from Ramsgate Town Council will not get half of the money they put forward in support of the JR, only losers here, are the towns folk of Ramsgate, as that money could have been better spent elsewhere than on a cheap political stunt, by one political stunt.

    • Er NO the DCO has been quashed, it wouldn’t go vroom if you put 40000 volts thru it
      Dead, deceased it has shuffled off this mortal coil

    • And what is this “better reason”? A year’s investigation by aviation planning experts couldn’t find any.

    • The DCO isn’t going ahead. The DCO is quashed. The SoS can now either 1. reverse his original decision 2. add more guff to the outcome letter or 3. kick it into the long grass.

      RSP has to pay costs. Have they actually got any money? Like real money?

  27. John Jeffery .
    That won’t happen either that would be blocked by people too .
    It will be left as a rotten field .
    Shame would have bought so many jobs .

  28. M no it wouldn’t have generated jobs, even Tony F has admitted the jobs numbers were overstated. In fact, the inspectors recognised that more jobs would be lost in the Thanet economy than would be created.

    Besides which, Manston is now put to good use. Covid tests. Sink hole. Ice Cream Van.

    • Dr Sally Dixon, RSP’s consultant, told a meeting at KCC of ” … job creation based on the forecast for aircraft movement at Manston airport under RPS’s plans and estimated that by 2020 there would be 30,326 jobs”
      What on earth went wrong?

  29. Actually, it would be more interesting to know the identities of the mysterious investors who will (supposedly) underwrite this venture. Certainly more interesting as where people go on their hols.

  30. Its been discussed before why reopening a closed coastal airport would tick most of the box’s that need a tick.

    Other’s will have their own agendas but read up on our gov aviation plan (prior of the dco start) Boris isle airport is still on the cards.

    Boris V bulldozer
    or
    Boris reopens the airport.

    seen it all before !

  31. Anyone else following the ever changing and now slightly desperate tone of the rolling ads above and below the articles on this site…
    “u ok hun???” seems an appropriate response.

  33. Calm down everybody. It is still an airport. It will continue to be an airport open airport, or closed airport. Riveroak withdrew the dco application, so this is just crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s from a legal point of view.

    • Riveroak did not withdraw the DCO application.
      When the application for a JR was accepted by the High Court, and a hearing date set, the SoS accepted that his reasons for overturning the Planning Inspector’s (overwhelming) recommendation not to grant the DCO were inadequate. The SoS indicated he would not be contesting the JR. Riveroak did likewise. So the High Court quashed the DCO.
      The SoS will invite interested parties to submit further evidence, and in due course he will make another decision.
      But if it is to permit the DCO, and the argument is like the last one, there will be another JR application.

    • There is a brownfield site where, for a small nuber of years, there was a small unsuccessful airport. It is as much an airport as all the shops which used to be Woolworth’s are still branches of Woolworth’s.

  34. How can so few want to prevent jobs and future prosperity for Thanet it is very sad I can only presume they are in comfortable position Thanet will remain deprived all the time negatively is allowed to prevail over economic wellbeing It would appear some would prefer the London burgh of manston estate Apologies any grammar errors

    • Steve, its not the grammar thats off, but your tired argument. The 24/7 cargo will create jobs, of course, but only a handful of zero-hours, manual, minimum wage ones. Fewer than the burgeoning tourism and hospitality industry. Has anyone asked ‘the youth’ or unemployed how much they fancy aviation industry jobs?

      And again you peddle the ‘London borough’ idea. But, whats wrong with promoting Ramsgate as a lovely place people can commute to London from, or as the pandemic has highlighted, a lovely place if people work from home?

      Thanet is deprived, sure. It does not mean that we should promote ideas which will only make Thanet even less healthy

  35. I read and listen to arguments for and against the airport. What I haven’t heard from all those who are so vehemently opposed to the airport is a good realistic alternative for that land. It seems there are as many objections to housing as to an airport. So what is a workable alternative which will benefit Thanet?

    • All of the one’s that keep going on about not on a out the airport are mad them lot are going to be around for long mybe my kids kids need work and mybe thay kids will to we have no jobs at the moment so just stop putting it down before it as a start I add a job at the port along time ago and it was the best thing that happen for me so gut lot them get on with it OK. Brin thank you

    • How about a ‘Thorpe park, chessington ‘ type park, with hotels etc. Along with a nature reserve area, mountain bike and road bike tracks, and some affordable housing , anything put a dirty old cargo hub.

      • Nature reserve yes no housing no hotels no noisy polluting bike tracks gift Manston back to nature because without it we are all goners whether you agree or not.

    • Steve: what jobs? There will be very few. The opening of the Wetherspoons in Ramsgate provided twice as many jobs as there ever were at Manston.
      Jane: people opposing (and who wouldn’t be vehement about a noisy, dirty cargo hub on their doorstep) don’t need to provide an alternative use for the site. That’s for the owners to decide.
      And what would you do with hundreds of acres of development land in the SE of England, with a new high speed rail link station to be built close by?

    • let it return to nature so that every one could enjoy it and before you poo poo there would be no planes ,no houses, no stinking air just a pleasant green space we could all enjoy wind rain or shine

  36. The last owner of Manston to make a profit was the RAF when they sold it! Use the site for a 70 acre solar farm, already fenced and will benefit everyone.

  37. Interesting reading the comments. It is very clear that a lot of people did not read the article properly, those who said about people wanting holidays are right, there is provision being provided. The clue is in the wording ’19 freight stands and 4 passenger stands’ thus opening the door to expand the holiday side should they wish to do so and I’m sure there will be more people supporting the opening of an airport than not once they realise they can fly from there on holiday too.
    As far as the cargo side goes, there most certainly is a huge demand for this facility, look at how many people buy off Amazon and other online retailers now and that is only increasing.
    Sorry to those who are battling against this but the writing is on the wall, it will open as an airport eventually, all you are doing is delaying the inevitable.

    • Curiously enough, the Planning Inspectorate, having taken a year’s worth of evidence from some if the best aviation experts in the county, came to a different conclusion.
      When Manston was open previously, it primarily ran PAX. It failed, because there are not enough potential passengers. If you live west of Canterbury, it’s quicker to go to Gatwick. As someone once pointed out, 3/4 of Manston’s potential passengers are fish.
      So even if there is a demand for cheap flights to Lanzarote, there won’t be enough to sustain an airport.
      That’s why this time round RSP is focussing on freight.

    • Manny

      Amazon and other retailers have massive warehouses in the midlands , i wonder why that is ?

      perhaps being central is the most economical place to put your business, you can go north ,south, east and west. At manstson you can only go west or north-west and hit the M25.

      if it opens it will be bust within 2 years, and would be very surprised if anyone is going to invest hundreds of millions in manston with that lookout .

  38. It’s a no brainer !
    If the airport doesn’t get the go ahead, don’t start moaning when this place gets over populated with Londoners,
    And looks like ya solicitor failed you when u moved into Thanet by not carrying out a local search of the area. So who’s the mugs

    • And what do you think Mr Freudmann’s *real* idea is?
      A really flaky plan for an airport, when all the experts (and experience) say that there is no need, and even if there were, Manston is not in the right place;
      Or
      A massive housing development.
      Consider the enticements for potential investors.
      Chuck in £350M to a dubious venture which is unlikely to produce a return even in the long term, let alone the near furure;
      Or
      Chuck in £350M to a housing development, with pretty much assured returns in the short term.
      Where would your money go?
      An analysis of RSP’s business “plan” showed that in order to attract carriers away from Stansted and EMA, they would have to charge such low rates they’d be making a loss; on the other hand, in order to pay a dividend, the rates would be so high no one would use the place.
      And you’ve got to wonder about the grasp on reality of a bloke who anticipates flying freight into Manston, trucking it to the port, loading it onto electric barges, chugging down the Thames to a wharf, transferring it back onto trucks (possibly the same ones which had nipped along the motorway) and then trucked to the final destination.
      It beggars belief.

  39. Just look at manston airport

    A cargo hub at the bottom right hand corner England ? Cargo hubs are normally in a central position, like Midlands or London.

    Aviation fuel. This is bought into an airport by pipe which of course means it cheaper than road HGV tankers. Manston has to use HGV tankers because it’s not on the cheaper pipeline.

    Haulage companies want to keep costs down, so wont want their HGV’s picking up at manston for them to be stuck on the two lane M2, thanet way before there get to our main motorways.

    People bang on about the airport being here for decades which is sort of true. But as a private airport it’s gone bust every single time. Why do the pro’s think this time will be different. Manston is still geographically in a poor position. Manston is still not on the aviation fuel pipeline means higher fuel cost for the aviation operation.
    Manston still has poor road infrastructure and no rail connections what so ever.

    Manston has nothing going for it in terms of being a profitable airport, none, nothing.

    Who are these investors who think it will be a go’er why havent we heard from them so they can convince us their plans will work. No these investors exist ?
    Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Midlands all have lots of spare capacity, all are in geographic better position than manston.

    I dont expect any pro manston supporters to put a counter argument as why my points are wrong. They never have explain how the fuel by HGV will be cheaper than buying at Heathrow from the pipeline. Or how the 2 lane motorway, thanet way is better than the 3 or 4 lanes around those other airports.

    To me it’s just common sense that manston is in the wrong place. It was only an airport when the RAF were there and our taxes paid for it. Once it had to pay for its self its goes bust.

  40. Be careful what you wish for everyone. Our housing need far outstrips housing provision (even with the addition of Cliffsend and Birchington building). There is only one realistic outcome for Manston, a housing estate with roads named after aviation. Anyone who believes anything else is deluding themselves.

  41. What a joke the whole thing is.
    If it ever becomes an Airport there will be no planes left unless they are electric.
    Or it is just going to be another London suburb cluttering up the totally inadequate infrastructure we enjoy at the moment re Roads (potholes),Schools,Hospital, etc

  42. Personally I thought the video of the ” midnight trumpeter”outside Manston should have clinched it it for RSP

  43. I really don’t get the argument about it’s better to fly freight in from the near continent. Lorries would have to first take the goods to European airports. They are then unloaded from the lorries and loaded onto planes which hop over the channel (at great environmental and financial cost) Then the goods have to be unloaded from the plane and loaded onto more lorries and driven 100 miles up a dual carriageway before being unloaded again? It seems madness.

  44. Do people still believe a freight airport creates local jobs?!?!?

    Seriously?!?

    It won’t. Jobs created will be limited in number and the majority will be brought in.

    Why people are so emotionally attached to a failed airport I will never know

  45. All those who support Manston in the belief that it will 1. generate a million jobs and 2. stop houses being built are wrong on both counts.

    Quite how Roger Gale is permitted to be the RSP MP spokesperson and PR department is a mystery to me. Does Roger not support or listen to views contrary to his own in his constituency? I find that very sinister and hostile.

    The greenest airport in the world? Spin and lies.
    23,000 jobs? Spin and lies.
    The avoidance of housing development. Spin and lies.

    The facts speak for themselves. There is no proven need for a cargo hub, there is no viable business plan for a cargo hub. In fact, a cargo hub would destroy more jobs than it would create.

    Try facts over misplaced sentiment and/or unbridled obsession with cargo plane spotting.

    • Well said Alice. I heard Sir Roger of Riveroak on BBC Kent this morning. Even for a politician the number of lies he told must be a record. The man is a disgrace to his constituents, and completely in breach of the parliamentary code that states he must represent all his constituents, not just the misguided minority who who thing that a cargo hub will give them cheap flights to Malaga.

  46. All the judicial reviews undermine democracy we don’t vote judges into their positions we vote politicians and political parties so when that party makes a decision to do so to do something for a judge to dismiss it and say it’s not to be allowed is an undermining of democracy and it should not be allowed if we don’t want or like what a politician is proposing then we should show that at the ballot box not in a courtroom judges have far too much power over the running of our lives and we don’t seem to Realise just how much the courts are undermining your rights. Left-wing judges undermine right-wing politicians and right-wing judges undermine left-wing politicians it’s just a big game to them. If 95% of the East Kent population want Manston airport to reopen why should 5% who object to it be allowed through the courts to stop the development. Where is the democracy in that.

    • Ann you are barking. Judicial reviews maintain democracy by ensuring that politicians are held to account and follow the laws that they themselves create. The SoS failed to follow proper legal process and has been castigated for it. Would you rather live in a banana republic where the government can do what it likes without any checks? If so, goand live in Russia where Vladimir Putin seems to have it all sorted.

    • I find it hard to believe that being a judge is “just a big game to them”. There is no impartial poll of East Kent residents which can tell us what percentage of the local population wants or doesn’t want an airport at Manston. Even if it did, the decision would be based on facts and evidence, not on local popularity or otherwise.

      Unfortunately the decision to grant a DCO for this particular airport was plainly not based on facts and evidence.

  47. Let me see, 4 predictions from John R Pilchard 1. The JR will fail to be heard. 2. The JR will fail and the DCO will stand 3. RSP will not have to pay the £35k costs 4. A DCO has never been overturned. All totally wrong Perhaps he should consult Mystic Meg

    • Why you telling me that? I don’t care, not bothered either way about airport. Just wondered why someone from Ramsgate was (apparently) complaining about not being represented by Sir Roger.

  49. Ann is right. It’s that little 5% who want to put obstacles in the way of everything that is put in place for Thanet. Professional moaners! The person that mentioned the theme park. Great idea. Thanet definitely needs something like this so the airport being my first option but if not definitely the theme park closely behind. Would create thousands of jobs.

    • Professional moaners? who say things like “I also have considerable concern for the quality of the air that my six-year-old grandson, X, will breathe during the course of his young life.”
      That was, of course, one Roger Gale MP for Riveroak.

      • never mind your grandson are you happy to breathe filthy air which will only get worse it is not the airport reopening people have to worry about it is the number of houses being built which =increase in the number of cars which =increase of cars and traffic= more air pollution which should be more of a concern to you and the future of your Grandson.

        • The grandson in question was Gale’s
          He wanted the number of aircraft cut over the house that his Grandson lives but increased over the Town of Ramsgate
          Hypocrite

    • It wasn’t a 5% that decided not to recommend not to grant a DCO. It was the planning Inspectorate, which had waded through 1000s of pages of evidence and hours of expert submission.
      It was the SoS who, for quite unsatisfactory reasons, decided to overturn that decision.
      The JR subsequently launched would have been heard today, but the SoS, presumably having no confidence in his argument, decided not to contest the JR.
      Inexplicably, RSP chose not to make representation either.

  50. Great news. Brings a ray of sunshine to this dreary day imagining Roger Gale, Ann and all the SMA pipe dreamers getting all salty about this.

    Brilliant!

  51. I agree with Ann this government as a majority of 78 MPs Boris Johnson wants to take advantage of that majority and clip the wings of the judiciary judges are useless when it comes to sentencing criminals they undermine democracy they literally seem to be a law onto themselves while there are so many MPs in the majority this is the time for the government to act and bring in laws that allow the majority to rule the roost and not the moaning minority.

    • The laws (which the judges uphold) are made by MPs in Parliament. The sentencing structures are made by MPs in Parliament.
      If you’re not happy with legislation, then take it up with those who make it, not those who administer it.
      We live in a democracy, where politicians and the judiciary are quite deliberately kept separate. Unlike Myanmar or the USA.

  52. These supposed surveys are the amateur activities of a handful of locals asking airport supporters if they want an airport, then making some graphs and waving them around.

    Roger Gale then quotes these surveys like a 6th former a bit like he quotes the jobs lies and his hilarious attempts to convince us carbon free cargo planes will be in operation by 2023.

    Manston is a brownfield site, it is supposed to be the first port of call for housing instead of the preference shown by Roger and TDC for prime arable farmland and green belt land.

    Hey, I just did a survey. 99% of people in Ramsgate object to the cargo hub.

  53. I did a survey just now, I found a cigarette packet to do it on. A small minority of people in Thanet want to go on holiday in a packing crate. 65% said yes please, fold me up straight away.

    • I can assure you, Mr Ball, that the stated results of my survey are completely correct.
      100% of Ramsgate residents responses said “NO” to an airport at Manston.

  54. What a waste of public money. Ramsgate council should be ashamed of themselves. Who wants even more housing! Not me. Look at the thousands they are building across the island, do you really want more people living here from elsewhere without any jobs?
    I live in Manston and I’d love our airport back. It was amazing, brought prosperity and jobs to the island, not just in the airport but in allied engineering, catering, cleaning, security etc etc etc.

    • No public money wasted. The court awarded costs against Riveroak. I am sure you will be very happy to hear.

    • You silly woman! Thousands of houses are being built across the Island *because* none can be built on Manston!
      And the JR is about not having planes polluting the place; nothing to do with houses at all!
      Jobs? When Wetherspoons opened in Ramsgate it created far more jobs than those lost when the airport failed (again)

  55. The usual comments from the well informed pedigree Ramsgaters. Yes, we Londoners are coming. No, most Londoners are not DSS, because we are buying your run down houses and doing them ups and spending money you dont have employing people, maybe even yourselves if you have good score on checatrade.

    What is it? You dint want London commuters pushing the price of property up, or you dont want London DSS? Why do you keep peddling each of the new houses will mean 2 extra cars on the road? We dont care about cars. We pay taxes unlike River Oak. We have an interest in Ramsgate unlike River Oak. Its not our fault that people like to buy properties where is nice. And soon you will not like it here, because you wont be able to afford a pint of milk.

  56. I wish all you anti airpo

    I wish antis would give it a rest if the airport returns as an airport it does if thousands of houses get built on the site they do no one is going to be happy what ever happens so we will just have to wait and see let’s ready for the next round.

  57. Saw Rodger on the news saying manston is going to be the biggest, cleanest airport in the world ! And he said all that with a straight face not one giggle amazing lololol.

    These invisible investors who are going to want a quick return on their money are being sold this idea by a ex solicitor who was struck off ! . Let me think about this I have a few spare millions in my back pocket, I have heard of a little old defunked airport on the corner of England, where an struck of solicitor wants me to give him millions to reopen it ! What could possibly go wrong ?

  58. Roger Gale claimed on the BBC yesterday that 95% of Thanet people want an airport.
    He has absolutely no evidence to support this scurrilous statement.
    So I thought I’d find iut myself.
    Using the hallowed pages of this esteemed organ as a proxy, I counted up the number of people (ie the contributors, not the contributions) of those positively for or against the airport. I excluded people who said they weren’t bothered, or only got involved in debates about Judicial Review.
    I also only counted people once when They were obviously using aliases.
    And the results are in:
    Contributors for the airport: 17
    Contributors against: 26
    In other words, about 40% are for the airport, and 60% against.
    That’s not quite the same as 95% for, and 5% against.

    • 95%? Ah, so now we know Ann and Sir Rogeroak are the same person, no wonder the spurious claims are all so familiar….

    • Interesting that Sir Roger seems to equate a vote for his party as a vote in favour of the airport. Does that not imply that there was, therefore, no other reason to vote Conservative?

  60. I have asked several times during this debate if it is o k for me to die due to the increase in car fumes that will come with the increase in housing around Thanet and not one of you has answered SO?

      • still not answered the question so I can assume it is as far as you are concerned it is alright for me to lose my life due to excessive air pollution while you, you miserable whatsit plod ignorantly on?never mind covid it has been 3 years since I left my home to go shopping because of stinking air in Thanet Think on Blasphemer everything is not so simply black and white.please feel free to condemn someone else to death with your nasty outlook and comments and leave me alone

        • Lesley, don’t you get it? The car fumes are still coming, along with gridlock regardless of what happens at Manston. However if a cargo hub does ever get going you will have car fumes AND particulates from the plane fuel which is known to damage lungs. Please do keep up!

          • Realistic Girl oh I get it alright my lungs are already damaged due to the stinking air in Thanet and I live with gridlocked roads every day of the week so do not take it upon yourself to lecture me about dirty air and roads blocked every which way and people on her are too fond of judging others when they know nothing about them if I’m stupid that must mean you are too because it takes a stupid person to know one get a life dearie and stop insulting people

          • What we need is a really good integrated public tranport system so that more people could use it instead of driving their own car .

          • Thanks for that Phyllis I do check the website you mention regularly I even have a jar on the post outside my home that collects particles it is only ever checked once a year. I have C O P D which is treatable but not curable the pollutants aggravate my lungs to the point where I could either suffer an epileptic seizure yes I have that too or heaven forbid a heart attack because the coughing can be so severe it is possible.

  61. One thing that has baffled me from Day 1 of the Manston debacle is the way that so many proponents conflate “airoplanes” with “houses”.
    Issue No1: there is an ex airport that a serial overseer of failed airports is trying to resurrect;
    Issue No2: the Government has said that Thanet must build 17,000 houses.
    No matter what the outcome of Issue No. 1, there will still be a requirement for Issue No. 2.
    The only connection between the two is that had it been possible to build some of those 17,000 houses on the Manton site, then fewer would have had to be built on greenfield sites at Birchington etc.

  62. Lesley, get a grip. You are moaning about car fumes on your precious lungs yet get offensive when we point out the car fumes are still going to come regardless of whether the airport comes or not? If you care so much about air pollution you wouldn’t be supporting a polluting cargo hub, or do you believe the airplane fumes magically pass Thanet by and car fumes are the only emissions that affect your lungs? Deluded.

    • what a charmer you are wishing death on people pee off girlie and grow up you are a prime example of hatred you are sick and I am sick of you lot, get on with it you disgusting human being abuse someone else

    • If you are going to insult my wife on this site at least have the guts to use your given name instead of using a stupid made up name of course her lungs are precious to her aren’t yours to you? you madam are a vile disgusting excuse for a human being so why don’t you pick up your slime and crawl back under the stone you came from? and take this God help us with you another coward who likes to hide behind a stupid name, neither of you are fit to even speak her name let alone insult her the way a lot of you do on here if you do not like her opinions ignore them and let me make this perfectly clear for you she is more of a person than some of you will ever be grow up get a life and stop insulting people who have serious health issues as miserable as her life is she gets on with it the best she can and does does not need rude self opinionated, idiotic evil sub humans like some on here spouting their evil at her as her husband I am only interested in her health and well being you vicious people on here mean absolutely nothing to me you are sick in the head and need help have you got the message?

  63. I am sick and tired of all of you who moan moan moan belittling people because their opinion is different to yours name calling, being selfish, being rude, try something new in your life, be nice if you are capable and sadly anti airporters have shown themselves to be really nasty people who could not care less about anyone and that is really sad in the present circumstances.

    • Au contraire.
      It is almost universally the case that pro airport people are the ones demonstrating the most unpleasant traits.
      The reason is quite simple: if they actually had a case, they could simply make it. But they haven’t, so they resort to ad hominem remarks.
      “Anti” airport people, on the other hand, have a good case with plenty of evidence to support it.
      However, it is so frustrating to see the same nonsense trundled out over and over again.
      The idea that aviation at Manston will stop houses being built. It won’t.
      The idea that 30,000 jobs will be created. They won’t. Probably similar to before it closed (just over 100) – but more jobs would be lost from hospitality and tourism jobs.
      The notion that planes won’t fly at night. They will.
      Etc … etc … etc

      • Ramsgate is second to Margate always has been always will be that this is my last comment on this issue one or two people on here talk sense the rest talk absolute tosh every one is entitled to an opinion whether you agree or not your words are not gospel or in fact even true so all you nasty people out there get on with your sad little lives while I try to save mine do not bother replying ta ta

    • People who do not want an airport have excellent reasons for not wanting one. A large busy 24/7 airport would inflict endless noise and pollution on everyone in Ramsgate because Ramsgate lies directly under the flight path. Everyone would suffer from the noise and pollution whether they had wanted an airport at Manston or not. I would say that objectors to the airport were actually being unselfish and thinking of the entire neighbourhood.

      Why the hell is it necessary to repeat this yet again,when for years we have been able to read research results regarding aviation and specifically we have recently been able to read all the submissions on the planning inspectorate,including those from experts?

  65. This is great news. I sincerely hope that jobs, for those that need and want them, can be created in a more sustainable way.

    All those so desperate to live under a flight path are just going to have to move else where.

    If the people of Thanet could treat this lovely area and their community with respect…. I’m sure more opportunities will arise.

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