Talks to relocate the RAF’s High-Resolution Direction Finder (HRDF) at Manston and to carry out upgrades to the Spitfire Way/ Manston Road crossroads are now underway, says Manston airport owner Riveroak Strategic Partners (RSP).
Both projects have to be completed before any construction can begin at Manston to create an airfreight hub.
High-Resolution Direction Finder
The relocation of the RAF’s High-Resolution Direction Finder (HRDF) is a requirement in the Development Consent Order as it stands in the way of the airport’s redevelopment.
Part of a UK-wide radio navigation system used to locate aircraft and emergency beacons, it is close to the main runway and is protected by a safeguarding area.
Under the terms of the DCO, a decommissioning and removal programme must be prepared and agreed by the Ministry of Defence before any development can start.
The DCO states: “No development shall commence unless and until a detailed mitigation scheme to provide an alternate High Resolution Direction Finder (HRDF) has been prepared by the undertaker and submitted to and agreed in writing by the Ministry of Defence to the relevant planning authority.
“The detailed mitigation scheme shall include siting location(s) for the alternate HRDF, full specification for the equipment and infrastructure proposed, and the technical performance data necessary to establish Safeguarding criteria to protect its subsequent operation.”
Currently, the HRDF is located at the centre of Manston Airfield. The MoD previously indicated that, in principle, it is possible that the HRDF could be relocated but the replacement would have to comply with MOD siting requirements and be tested to verify that its performance is of the standards required by the MOD. The new location must be operational for testing for 24 months after construction alongside the original HRDF.
The re-siting has proved to be a sticking point since 2017 with development immediately north and west of the HRDF one of the main contentions. No building or structure can be erected above ground level within 120 metres of the HRDF.
Suggested sites in a report by Aquila include the former Fire Station Microwave tower location, the Radar Tower on MoD land and a new ATC Tower within the airfield. A number of sites, including one on land at Manston Green, were discounted.
RSP say discussions with the RAF are now taking place, with a view to securing a long-term solution by the end of 2026. RSP will carry the cost of the works.
The MoD has been asked for further comment.
Spitfire Way/ Manston Road
Discussions are also underway with the Home Office and Kent County Council regarding upgrades to The Spitfire Way/ Manston Road crossroads outside the RAF History Museum. The upgrading of this junction is another requirement in the DCO.
Indications are that the availability of Home Office land now means that the RAF Manston History Museum’s forecourt will no longer be required as the location and a new roundabout can be constructed during 2026.
Tony Freudmann, director of RSP which owns the airport, said: “Both of these projects are important enabling works, required under the terms of the granting of the DCO, that need to be completed before the main construction work can get underway.
“They are illustrative of the myriad of complex, interconnected and often lengthy projects that need to take place to enable Manston to move towards reopening.”
In 2019 RSP also began an application for Manston’s airspace to be reinstated. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is overseeing the airspace change process for Manston which has seven stages:
Stages of the process:
- Define the airspace change proposal
- Develop and assess options to meet the original Statement of Need
- Consult with the public and other stakeholders on the design options
- Update and submit the proposal
- Decide on the proposal
- Implement the proposal
- Review the proposal after implementation
Manston is at Stage 3 with consultation outlined as the next step.
Last November Tony Freudmann told a Kent County Council committee the original plans for the airport were drawn up in 2018 prior to the Planning Inspectorate inquiry in 2019 and now, following a protracted legal battle aimed at quashing the airport development consent order, the masterplan work must be carried out again and updated to include elements such as ‘solar panels and renewables.’
He said the process was expected to take 18 months. Construction of 19 parking stands, 4 passenger stands, cargo terminal space, aviation hangars, recycling spaces and ancillary works is scheduled to take around two years.
The proposal, says Mr Freudmann, has gone up in cost since the original plans were drawn, from £400m to an estimated £660m. He said: “We will have the backers quite soon.”
An indicative timetable recently published by RSP says:
Throughout 2025 and into 2026, work will be on surveys and detailed design work to finalise the airport master plan. This is expected to conclude in early 2026, around the time that the CAA airspace change public consultation (the fourth stage of seven in the CAP 1616 process) gets underway.
Early in 2027, anticipated that construction work will begin and completion of the remaining four CAP1616 stages for aerodrome certification by the CAA, followed by recruitment for key leadership roles and a new Manston Airport brand.
In early 2028, construction works expected to be completed and recruitment for operational roles to begin ahead of reopening later on in 2028.
The airfield is currently open for use by community groups for events until construction starts.
The airport closed in May 2014.
It has been almost a year since the final court case and yet Freudmann is saying he will have the backers ‘quite soon.’ What has he been doing all this time? Moving the HRDF has always been a huge issue. Unless a new suitable site is found, the cargo hub won’t be going ahead… But having solar panels is such a huge boon, never mind the horrific noise, pollution and vibration from planes flying so low over Ramsgate…. I will look forward to the public consultation!
Freudmann is going on dragons den to get investors
That HRDF will come in handy if war breaks out with Russia, it will be needed to track Inter-continental Ballistic Missiles coming in at 2,000mph, won’t it?
No.
the masterplan work must be carried out again and updated to include elements such as ‘solar panels and renewables.’
Thought they said it was going to be the most environmentally friendly airport ever, with their electric barges, so why this is now something new they need to do ??!!
Exciting stuff!!
Exciting? He’ll be dead before the first sod is turned !
Calm down dear.
Talks to relocate the RAF’s High-Resolution Direction Finder… are now underway….”
Why were talks not ‘underway’ SIX years ago ??!!
It’s almost like they are purposely stalling…..
I agree. Freudmann STILL has not confirmed any backers,despite saying he would announce them in the New Year, the CAA plan was meant to start this April and moving the HRDF has been going on since 2017!
An FOI request to the MOD shows RSP have had no contact at all with the MOD about relocation of the HRDF since the DCO examination ended
Ramsgate resident
Interesting MOD know nothing about this ! No investors in place.
Yet people blindly believe these ex solicitor lol
Struck off solicitor after misappropriation of clients funds.
The sooner the better, lets get Manston open ASAP I say.
Thank you for reporting in great detail.
—-
This is great news for Thanet as a whole. Hopefully the wingers who keep on stating that its all taking too long will now understand what work is involved and certainly the amount of work that Tony Freudmann and effort he and Sir Roger Gale have put into this whole project.
—-
Lets see if the rest of the Kent press now get behind this project instead of being negative just to sell papers
Until there are shovels in the ground this is little more than land-banking – the land is worth 100 times more for housing than they have spent !
RSP are masters of stringing people along while actually delivering nothing!
This latest announcement says, they have started talks, how long have they owned the site now?
———–
How long will the talks take and what will the result be?
The MOD was very resistant to the HRDF being moved so what has changed?
If it is moved, the HRDF has to be monitored for years to see if the new location is effective while the old one remains in situ. What year does that take us to before building can start?
————
RSP still haven’t got any investors and the costs keep going up.
After many years of RSP dragging their feet, I think it’s safe to say I will believe it when I see it!
Any new HRDF, says the MoD, would have to run in random with the existing for two years. That’s after a new location has been found, and a process agreed with the MoD.
“Tandem”, not “Random”.
We understand RSP have no money and hasn’t done anything to progress the project for years. It’s all smoke and mirrors while Tone is on a nice little earner.
I’m looking forward to progress on this.
We have a plan to reopen the former RNAS seaplane base in Westgate-on-Sea as a passenger terminal for flights to Greenland. We’ll have the backers soon. It’s tremendously exciting.
They’re also reopening Ramsgate Airport.
A man in the pub told me that he’d heard it from someone who read it somewhere. Probably.
More chance of that than Manston reopening 😊
One day the airport will open again much to the joy of all of us who miss it since it was closed.
Has anybody ever compiled a list of the types of goods that need to be flown over our coastal tourist destination every 15 minutes? Why can’t they be transported by sea? Are they luxury items or are they vital for our survival? And why can’t we manufacture our own goods instead of cluttering up the skies?
Airfreight unfortunately is required, goods from China by Sea take 6 weeks, when the railway from China to Germany was Open that was down to 4 Weeks, Airfreight from that part of the world is 2 days, somethings need urgent delivery, and usually this is for goods required urgently. The costs of airfreight is considerably higher, but sometimes importers have no choice
And in the UK there is ample provision for handling this air cargo.
Places such as EMA.
And exactly what type of goods are so important that they are needed urgently?
If the UK is dependent on warehouses 5,000 miles away then it needs an urgent rethink. It obviously needs local skills and jobs, rather than cargo planes.
I spoke to Dr Sally Dixon, RSP’s technical advisor, about this at one of the “consultations”.
Crat3s of cut daffs were definitely a possibility.
If the Crat3s were not available, they’d use crates.
At the public hearing, RSP confirmed that the shortage emergency goods included race horses and freeze dried fish.
So there has never been any backers for this project and there still isn’t
I recall RSP saying that they already had backers. In fact, Roger Gale met them and assured us all that the were committed and had the funds.
To be fair Sir Roger doesn’t really have any actual business experience so unlikely to know what he was on about.
It is all lies and said to get a reaction in the hope that there might be some rich backers out there for the project. You watch and Roger will be lobbying the government for the funds needed next. might be difficult now a Labour government are in place though.
Some interesting reading apropos the HRDF and communication between MoD and RSP:
https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/wp-content/ipc/uploads/projects/TR020002/TR020002-005290-Defence%20Infrastructure%20Organisation%20.pdf
I imagine delays in RSP getting some stuff started is that they weren’t assured until they confirmed the DCO win that it was worth them pursuing getting things done.
Once they’d bought the site in 2019 there was little to stop them from flying. TDC was in pro-airport Tory hands, and the Leader of the Council (Ash Ashbe) used to go to SMAA BBQs. So no planning issues.
If that was the case you would have thought they would have everything ready to go as soon as the JR failed but they didn’t. If you read what freudmann has said they don’t have the money.
If relocation of the HRDF is going to take until 2026 to be agreed with the MOD and then the new one has to be up and running for 2 years before the MOD will allow the old one to be decommissioned and construction can start exactly how will construction be completed by 2028 ? If you read the DCO the DFT have stated there may never be an agreement to relocate the HRDF. Given Freudmann lied to the MOD about owning a possible site for it, it was owned by Cogent LLP, I doubt the MOD will do him any favours as they were really pissed off with him
If relocation of the HRDF is going to take until 2026 to be agreed with the MOD and then the new one has to be up and running for 2 years before the MOD will allow the old one to be decommissioned and construction can start exactly how will construction be completed by 2028 ? If you read the DCO the DFT have stated there may never be an agreement to relocate the HRDF. Given Freudmann lied to the MOD about owning a possible site for it, it was owned by Cogent LLP, I doubt the MOD will do him any favours as they were really peed off with him
I think RSP need to have another look at the conditions they need to meet before any construction at all can start. How can RSP say they no longer need to move the museum for road improvements without having a master plan ? Could it be they don’t have the funds to CP. Also isn’t this construction starting which the DCO says RSP need master plan approved by TDC and a consultative committee set up before starting ??
If relocation of the HRDF is going to take until 2026 to be agreed with the MOD and then the new one has to be up and running for 2 years before the MOD will allow the old one to be decommissioned and construction can start exactly how will construction be completed by 2028 ? If you read the DCO the SOS/DFT have stated there may never be an agreement to relocate the HRDF. Given TF lied to the MOD about owning a possible site for it, it was actually owned by Cogent LLP, I doubt the MOD will do him any favours as they were really hacked off with him
RSP’s CAA flight path application is only at the middle of stage 3 of 7. Nothing has been done by RSP since October 2023 to move it forward. Given it took years to get to stage 3 and the most difficult parts are yet to be undertaken it could be years before they get flight paths. It maybe they they never get them . They will still need an aerodrome licence as well.
The opportunity cost of this is enormous. If development for housing and commercial use of the land had gone ahead years ago many if out green fields would have been saved and people would have been employed for years ther now. This is just a vanity project like the nearby Thanet Parkway station, loved by politicians anxious to show they are doing something and of little use to any of their constituents.
I cannot be rrsd over any of this.Either Freudmann’s talking wollabrawonga or he isn’t.Time will tell.Time Thanet hasn’t really got.
Patience is a virtue,but not for those seeking a home,or a decent job,so I hope those boosting this whole affair remember that.
At last Kathy bailes has printed what we all have been asking for the last few years. What must be done before any work can start on the site. Now what about the arrangements with southern water and all the environmental groups that must be consulted as well. It’s a start at least well done kathy better 2 years later than never
All this information is contained in the DCO published by the SoS and freely available.
The only unknowns were (and are) some details like:
who, if any, are the backers;
where (if anywhere) and when (if ever) will the HRDF be moved?
.. and a dozen or so similar details.
It could all be academic. Gatwick is about to get approval for its second runway, providing, at a stroke, an extra 100,000 flights in the SE.
It will be interesting to see what’s reported if Ms Bailes manages to get any sort of statement from the MoD.
I await to see if the IOTN actually prints anything from the MOD. I note they havent said a previous FOI request showed RSP have had no contact with the MOD regarding relocation of the HRDF since the DCO examination ended. The IOTN has known about the long list of conditions to be met before construction can start for years but refused to publish them up till now.
The article says there have been no discussions since the end of the DCO. ‘Refused to publish’ is not accurate. I said I would write about it when there was something ‘new’ and that’s what I have done.
It will be interesting to read your reply from the MoD.
Personally I would have thought that an FOI from the MOD that showed RSP had done absolutely nothing regarding the relocation of the HRDF, one of the biggest problems facing RSP’s plans, was news given you report Freudmann’s comments on a regular basis.
As long as it’s not more MUCH NEEDED housing.
The housing which RSP would provide would not be social housing but private housing. It probably would not be affordable, whether it was for sale or rent.
I’d rather people with money moved to Thanet than yet more poor people.
Accounts for all of the Riveroak companies are published on the Companies House website. It is very clear that they don’t have a pot to widdle in. I just wish that Freudmann would give up on this futile endeavour so that Ramsgate can move on from it.
RSP has said right through the DCO process that, were the DCO to be granted, they would invite investment from a carefully selected shortlist.
I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t invest in a scheme lead by an embezzeler who has overseen the demise of a dozen airports.
Now that Heathrow AND Gatwick expansions are going ahead, which will increase passenger flights, where most cargo is transported, does anybody still think Manston airfield will ever open again as an airfield…?
Anybody knows why Gatwick expansion needs £2.2bn but a whole new airport at Manston will be OK with just £400m/£600m/£800m (as constantly revised by the frontman)…?
Finally, is it true that RAF is planning to use Manston to base F-35 aircraft as rapid reaction force following the increase in defence spending by Sir Keir?
No, no and no.
Are these talks the same kind of talks RSP frontman said that were had with EasyJet and Ryanair….?
When will they talk to Heathrow and Gatwick to divvy up the cargo market…?
My problem with the isle of Thanet new reporting on Manston has always been that 1st publish spin and soundbites from rsp . Then failing every time to actually list the requirements of the dco that must be done and satisfactory to all the required parties involved ie Kcc tdc southern water snd environment agencies. Not once until now has they said they hdrf must be moved and up and running for 2 years like I and others have asked them to print, thus people thinking digging can start as soon as the court case was over which iotn helped by not reporting all the facts.seems spin and press releases come before truth. Ie starting work 2026 knowing it will be 2028 at least by printing not true statements from rsp. Every press release on timetable of works must show what of the dco required work has been done so planned work can start. And can plan over 2 years behind looks like ten year purchase ban on any change of use will expire before any work actually starts.