The investment firm working to get planes flying again at Manston Airport have denied claims they would introduce 18 flights per night.
RiverOak recently announced the appointment of a ‘professional team’ ahead of its plans to launch a development consent order (DCO) for the site.
However, it faces stiff competition with the site owners, Stone Hill Park (SHP), submitting plans to develop thousands of homes, and three other separate planning applications.
A spokesperson for RiverOak said the “myth” comes from its Environmental Scoping Report, which relates purely to the accepted methodology for assessing the significance of noise disturbance at night, rather than plans for Manston specifically.
“We know that the reintroduction of airport operations is of concern to some residents and so we are committed to being absolutely transparent at every stage of the DCO process to enable the community in east Kent to make informed decisions on our proposals,” he said.
“Indeed, it is for this reason that our environmental studies will be so thorough and will be published for consultation, along with all other aspects of our proposals, as soon as they are ready.”
RiverOak is hosting a number of informal consultation events this week, where residents can raise concerns with its proposals.
It was revealed last week that a public inquiry is set to be launched into SHP’s plans to change the use of buildings on the site to non-aviation uses.
It comes after the Planning Inspectorate pulled the plug on a scheduled appeal hearing, where four planning applications would have been considered.