Advice to Simon Crow
Back to listEnquiry
- From
- Simon Crow
- Date advice given
- 10 February 2017
- Enquiry type
Following the Planning Inspectorate's recent granting of access for RiverOak to the former airport site at Manston, can you confirm if Manston is an asset of national significance.
Advice given
The term ‘asset of national significance’ has no formal status or weight under the Planning Act 2008 process. The Planning Act 2008 defines “Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP)” – if a project is considered to be an NSIP then it must apply under the Planning Act 2008 regime for consent.
Whether or not the proposed Manston Airport development is a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project depends upon whether it meets the definition contained in the Planning Act 2008. Airport development is capable of being an NSIP, depending upon its capacity and other factors, and the Applicant has told us that the scheme they propose will be an NSIP. Since no application has yet been made, we cannot say definitively whether or not this particular proposal is an NSIP.
A request or decision made under s53 of the Planning Act 2008 (which has the effect of allowing RiverOak to access the former airfield site to undertake survey work) does not also determine whether any future application would be an NSIP, this decision can only be made at the time a formal application is submitted.