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Advice to Robert Bird

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Enquiry

From
Robert Bird
Date advice given
8 March 2017
Enquiry type
Email

I note from recent correspondence on your website, and documents published by RiverOak, that the US part of RiverOak is apparently no longer connected to the application for a DCO for the former Manston airport.

However, RiverOak's online presence directs people to the website of their US operation, including a US phone number (See http://www.riveroakinvestments.co.uk).

In addition, the PINS webpage for the project also indicates that the applicant is River Investment Corporation LLC although the address links to BDB-Law. The developer website (shown as http://www.riveroakinvestments.co.uk) clearly indicates that the developer is the US operation.

There is no longer any reference to either aviation projects, or any of the RiverOak personnel involved in the Manston project, on the US website (though historically there has been content regarding aviation, and bio material on Tony Freudmann, Niall Lawlor and George Yerrall), indicating that the US entity has washed it's hands of the project.

As the US entity is apparently no longer involved in the application I have concerns that as RiverOak approach their formal consultations their online presence is misleading, as it presents a formal business link to an established investment firm, when this appears not to be the case.

I would appreciate it if you could contact the developer and ask them to resolve this issue. I would contact them directly, however they do not respond to email correspondence, and it is no longer clear who should be contacted.

Could you also clarify whether the apparent change in legal entity has any impact on the work carried out on the DCO application so far, or whether the limited progress made to date remain a valid in the overall project.

Advice given

The Planning Inspectorate has not been notified about any change to the Applicant's name.

In the period before an Applicant formally notifies the Secretary of State of a proposed application (s46 of the Planning Act 2008), any change to an Applicant's name or the legal entity associated with it would not have implications for any Pre-application work predating that change.

In the case of the proposed Manston Airport, the Applicant has undertaken non-statutory consultation under the name RiverOak Investment Corp LLC. An Applicant may choose to report on elements of any non-statutory consultation that it undertook in the Consultation Report submitted with its application, although the PA2008 is not binding in this respect. If the Applicant for Manston Airport chooses to report on its non-statutory consultation in the CR submitted with an application, it would be reasonable to expect any change in name to be explained and for the steps the Applicant took to clarify the change to consultees to be summarised.