Out and about in Thanet today, this Pickler met a number of people who said that it is too confusing to keep up with the Manston story. Heres a resume from this side of the fence. 1. The airport was sold by Infratil, the New Zealand company that owned it, last year to Ann Gloag. Failure to sell it over a period of nearly 2 years meant they were desperate to get it off their books as it was losing £5-6 million a year. They sold it for £1. But Ann Gloag agreed to take on about £23 million debt. 2. After 6 months, it was clear to Ann Gloag that there was no future for the site as an airport. Something that has been demonstrated with various owners ever since it it had become a privately owned, commercial operation. 3. Ann Gloag closed the airport. 4. A petition alleging huge support to save the airport plus active campaigning by Roger Gale persuaded Thanet District Council to explore the possibility of a compulsory purchase of the site. As the council has no money of their own to do this, they would need a back to back partner who would bear all the costs. 5. Groups like this were against the idea of a CPO. Even exploring the idea of a CPO is costing us money. A CPO is a lengthy, costly and litigious business. We have always said that the airport has proved unviable and that new ideas should be explored with the owner(s). 6. Groups like ours, through Freedom of Information requests, discovered that there was no verification of signatures on the original petition and that many of the signatories, even if real, were those of people living outside Thanet. It became clear too that aviation enthusiasts, pilots, other groups campaigning against airports in their own area and Uncle Tom Cobbley and all had been asked to sign the petition. 7. TDC were trapped in a process by now though. A soft market testing exercise was set up to see if any potential back to back partner could be found. This would need to be a partner that could cover all costs which means not only the massive investment it would take in setting up a new aviation operation but also the huge compensation costs to the owners plus the legal fees that they would be entitled to. To date, TDC hasnt undertaken any valuation of the site. The only valuation is one offered by Riveroak, who are interested in being that partner. We dont think thats good enough. 8.Riveroak appear to be the only potential indemnity partner. They have no aviation experience. They are a real estate investment company. They have as their spokesperson and, potentially, the person heading up their UK operation if they ever did secure the site, Tony Freudmann. He used to be in charge at Manston in the days it was owned by Wiggins. When it failed. Hes tried running other airports and businesses, without any success it seems. 9. The Council commissioned a report from independent aviation experts. Who said that Manston is just not viable as a passenger operation. Who said that even with £100s millions, success for that site as an aviation operation would not be guaranteed. Who said that only a massive cargo hub/airport city would potentially be viable. We are opposed to any such idea. This would inevitably mean night flights plus what would such a huge operation in the middle of Thanet mean for our quality of life, health and the local tourism economy? 10.The deadline for TDC to report back on whether RO or anyone else has met their criteria for an indemnity partner has been and gone. It has been extended twice for RO. It seems theyre having some difficulty in meeting the criteria. And TDC seems to be having a problem drawing a line under this. This group have asked how much money, placed in escrow (third party hands) the council have asked for as part of their criteria to ensure financial capability. We dont know. We havent been told. But it seems that RO are having a real problem in assuring TDC that they have the money. And thats even with TDC not knowing the real value of the land. 11. Riveroaks plans hardly have a great deal of detail to them. What they seem to offer is more of what the old Manston was (which we know was a failure), plus an old planes knackers yard, plus a bit of an aviation training school. Not that the aviation experts said at all. IN other words, hardly likely to be viable. We have questioned their motives given their track record and that of Tony Freudmann. Perhaps they want to secure the site and then do what they do best. Property development. So - we either have a massive cargo hub or we have a foreign owned company that could do exactly as Ann Gloag did - get hold of the site, run it as an airport for a bit and then close it. Neither is good for Thanet. Why not see what the actual owners propose instead and TDC could exert a fair bit of control over that process. 12. Thats where were at. Were frustrated at TDC yet again extending a deadline for a company that seem to lack credibility and who seem to have no way of accessing the hundreds of millions it would take to both secure and then invest in the site. Meanwhile, the actual owners of the site (Cartner and Musgrave - to whom Ann Gloag sold an 80% share of the site) are trying to interest the council, and presumably investors, in their plans. One might assume that any council would be desperate to consider plans that promise jobs and regeneration. Of course at the moment these are just plans but Manston as an airport has had nearly 20 years and massive amounts of investment - a lot from the public purse. It is time for a new beginning as this chapter of Manston draws to a close.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 17:30:11 +0000