Court of Appeal rejects latest bid by campaigners to block reopening of Manston Airport

The Court of Appeal has rejected the latest bid by campaigners to block the reopening of Manston Airport in Kent.

The judgement issued by Lord Justice Peter Jackson, Lord Justice Lewis and Lord Justice Warby follows a hearing at the Court of Appeal in April.

A bid for a Judicial Review into the decision to give the Manston Airport project the go ahead was dismissed last September but objectors then appealed that judgement.

The Court’s latest judgement means the Development Consent Order announced by the Department for Transport in August 2022 remains granted and Site owners, RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) can now begin work to recruit staff both for the construction phase and for operational roles once the Airport is ready to reopen.

RiverOak Strategic Partners say they can now move ahead, 'with certainty' with plans to reopen the airport as a cargo hub by 2028.

The judgement dismisses a crowdfunding appeal by Ramsgate resident Jenny Dawes.

Ms Dawes said, "We always knew it would be difficult. We may not have succeeded in quashing the second Manston Airport DCO but, importantly, this decision has clarified the rules and ensured a modicum of fairness for future campaigners where the Secretary of State relies on new evidence that has not been consulted on when redetermining a DCO application.

"Nothing in the Court of Appeal's decision touches on whether the Secretary of State was right to conclude that evidence based on interviews, transcripts of which were not disclosed, was sufficient to justify his decision.

"And nothing in the decision confirms that Manston Airport is viable. The economic case for Manston Airport has not improved, nor have the climate change concerns been resolved.

I remain firmly of the view that the government's decision to proceed with Manston Airport, in the face of all the expert evidence to the contrary and the worsening climate change crisis, is nonsensical."

Craig Mackinlay, the Conservative MP for South Thanet, has welcomed the Court of Appeal’s decision and said: “I’m delighted with the Court of Appeal’s decision.

"We can now get Manston up and flying again providing post-Brexit Britain with further airfreight and passenger capacity.

“The Airport will bring a level of investment not seen in East Kent since the Channel Tunnel and has the capacity to create hundreds and then thousands of jobs in airport-related businesses in our region.

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