Deadline for redevelopment of Manston Airport extended for second time

The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that the current deadline for a decision on the proposed redevelopment and reopening of Manston Airport (MSE) – which closed on 15 May 2014 – has been extended by just under two months, from 18 May 2020 to 10 July 2020. 

The extension of the deadline follows an earlier extension of four months and will enable further work to be carried out before determination of the application. DfT has highlighted that the decision to set a new deadline is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant development consent.

The application for the proposed reopening and development of Manston Airport was made by RiverOak Strategic Partners Ltd under the Planning Act 2008 on 17 July 2018. Under sub-section 107(1) of the Act, the Secretary of State for Transport must make his decision within three months of receipt of the examining authority’s report, unless exercising the power under sub-section 107(3) to extend the deadline and make a statement to the House of Parliament announcing the new deadline.

The Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, received the examining authority’s report on the Manston Airport development consent order application on 18 October 2019 and has now extended the deadline twice since receiving the application. The cause of the second extension to the deadline has been attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, as government priorities remain on the UK’s response to the health crisis.