RiverOak Strategic PartnersPublished on July 9th, 2020 ​ RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) is delighted to confirm that the Department for Transport has today (9 July 2020) granted permission for Manston Airport in Kent, South East England to be transformed...

While this further delay is perhaps understandable – and is only a matter of weeks – it is nevertheless disappointing, as this pandemic has starkly demonstrated the urgent need to address the fragility and inflexibility of the UK’s air cargo network.

Having successfully completed stage one of the Civil Aviation Authority’s airspace change process in February, RSP has now commenced engagement with stakeholders as part of the next stage.

Airspace change is a separate process to RSP’s application for a Development Consent Order and is part of the Government’s…

The work of Age UK Thanet, which RSP is proud to support, continues apace. They are now able to do welfare checks on people who can not hear their volunteer team, over the telephone, to ensure they have everything they need. They are taking our chocolate and loo rolls to try and put a smile on people’s faces whilst they struggle being isolated or home alone. And they’ve come up with a plan to mark the 75th Anniversary of VE Day, this coming Friday in a very special way.

SP donates £100,000 help AGE UK set up a community hub in Thanet

RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) has made a £100,000 donation to AGE UK in Thanet, to help them to set up and staff a community hub. The hub will help Age UK to ensure isolated, elderly and other Thanet residents who are struggling as a result of Coronavirus, are struggling as a result of Coronavirus, are given vital support.

With the help of Sir Roger Gale MP, the directors of RSP identified Age UK Thanet as…

The Manston Skills and Employment Board (MSE-B) was one of a number of organisations from across East Kent which attended the annual ‘Big Bang’ STEM event at Discovery Park this week. Students attending the show explored the model of the Manston site, were briefed on RSP’s plans for Manston – and the wide range of potential careers that they could consider in the aviation sector.

The MSE-Board was established in January 2019 to ensure local people get the maximum benefit from…

RSP is pleased to confirm that Manston Airport has passed Stage 1 of the Civil Aviation Authority’s Airspace Change CAP1616 process. This follows an extensive engagement process, with technical/aviation organisations and local government that begun in Autumn of last year.

The Airspace Design Principles that were developed through the process will be used to provide the framework for the development of Airspace Design Options later year. RSP will then hold full public consultation events and consult widely with local residents, businesses, communities, the public and other stakeholders to seek their…

The Manston Skills & Employment & Board met to progress their work on a range of training and education initiatives to ensure local people get the maximum benefit from the reopening of Manston Airport. The MSE-Board was established in January 2019 to ensure local people get the maximum benefit from the reopening of Manston Airport. RSP is committed to local recruitment and local procurement, and the MSE-B will ensure people from East Kent have the right skills to take the wide range of jobs that will be created.

The MSE-Board considers the future employment and skills needs of the airport following DCO approval, from…

The Parliamentary Under Secretary for Transport, Nusrat Ghani MP has today (16 January 2020) made a statement in the House of Commons extending the deadline for the DCO decision to 18 May 2020. While frustrating, the delay is not unexpected – the last five decisions on DCO applications have all been delayed and none have yet been made. Undoubtedly, the recent General Election, ongoing Brexit process and significant infrastructure workload for which the government is responsible have also played a…

RSP is supporting a project to plant more than 1,200 trees in Thanet as part of a £1 million project – The Isle of Thanet Trees and Woods Initiative (ITTWI)

The ITTWI has successfully secured £525,000 from the Urban Tree Challenge Fund, overseen by the Forestry Commission, and is also supported by £100,000 funding from RSP as well as £430,000 labour ‘in kind,’ making a total project value of…

This autumn, RSP started an engagement process to develop Airspace Design Principles for Manston Airport.

At the beginning of October, questionnaires were sent to representatives from statutory consultees, including district and parish councils and technical/aviation organisations, to ask for their input and guidance in shaping Airspace Design Principles.

Next week, the first of a number of stakeholder engagement meetings takes place as part of the Airspace Design Consultation announced on 4 October 2019. The engagement process follows the CAP1616 guidance, set out by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and is designed to be both thorough and comprehensive. At this first meeting, invited representatives from statutory consultees, including both the district and parish councils and technical/aviation organisations, have been invited to provide technical input on safety, environmental and operational matters in relation to designing Manston’s future flight paths.

We have updated our privacy policy. For information about how we manage your personal data, you can access our Privacy Policy dated 31.10.2019 by clicking…

The Planning Inspectorate has sent its recommendations report, in relation to RSP's development consent order application for Manston Airport site, to the Secretary of State for Transport today (18 October 2019) for his consideration. A decision by the Secretary of...

In addition to needing a Development Consent Order (DCO) to build Manston Airport, RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) must also secure approval from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for its use of airspace and procedures to enable safe and efficient operations to and from the airport.

In accordance with the Civil Aviation Publication (CAP) 1616 – Airspace Design: Guidance on the regulatory process for changing airspace design including community engagement…