Development consent has been given to reopen and develop Manston Airport into a dedicated air freight facility able to handle at least 10,000 air cargo movements per year whilst also offering passenger, executive travel, and aircraft engineering services.
The application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate RiverOak Strategic Partners Ltd on the 17 July 2018 and accepted for examination on 14 August 2018. Following an examination during which the public, statutory consultees and other interested parties were given the opportunity to give evidence to the Examining Authority, a recommendation was made to the Secretary of State on 18 October 2019.
The Planning Inspectorate's Chief Executive, Sarah Richards said:
"The Planning Inspectorate is committed to giving local communities the opportunity of being involved in the examination of projects that may affect them. Local people, the local authority and other interested parties were able to participate in a 6-month long examination. The Examining Authority listened and gave full consideration to local views before making their recommendation."
This is the 90th nationally significant infrastructure project to have been examined within the timescales laid down in the Planning Act 2008. Of those, 31 have been transport schemes.
The decision, the recommendation made by the Examining Authority to the Secretary of State and the evidence considered by the Examining Authority in reaching its recommendation is publicly available on the National Infrastructure Planning website.
