Manston: Public consultations to be held

As part of proposals to reopen the UK’s Manston Airport as an airfreight hub, RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) is to hold seven public consultations between June 14 and June 24.
RSP believes Manston could provide thousands of jobs for Thanet and the wider regional economy if it were reopened and developed as a cargo gateway that would also offer passenger services and business aviation opportunities. A report published earlier this month (May) – part of a four-volume set entitled Manston Airport: a regional and national asset – claimed that the airport site could employ more than 4,200 people by its 20th year of operation, with a further 26,000 jobs created indirectly.
The report also said that the UK economy is losing £2bn every year as airfreight is routed elsewhere due to congestion at the country’s airports.
George Yerrall, director of RiverOak Strategic Partners, said: “We have a real opportunity to tap into a proven demand for air freight that other South-East airports simply can’t meet.
“The £2bn lost to the UK economy each year is set to almost double by 2050, even with an additional runway at Heathrow. Manston Airport is ideally placed to help recapture this traffic, which is being displaced to northern Europe. In meeting this demand, we create huge employment potential for Thanet and provide a powerful economic boost for the nation.”
Following the consultations, members of the public will be able to give feedback on the plans (up to July 23) that will allow RSP to refine its proposals prior to submitting the Development Consent Order application to the Planning Inspectorate later this year.
There will also be two business-only briefings on June 14 and June 15.
Full details of the consultation process may be found at http://www.rsp.co.uk/