The consortium behind a bid to secure Manston as an airport has "temporarily" withdrawn its bid to take control the site.

RiverOak Partnership has taken back its application to ministers for what is known as a development consent order (DCO).

The consortium submitted its bid to the Planning Inspectorate in April after a lengthy consultation period and an announcement was expected this week about whether the application would be allowed to proceed.

The news comes as the owner of the former airport, Stone Hill Park, submits its own planning application for 3,700 homes and commercial space on the site.

It is understood that the Planning Inspectorate has indicated that it needs further information about its proposals and has been in discussions with RiverOak concerning additional information that is needed.

It is not known what exactly is required but applications for DCOs are not common and involve assessing whether the scheme in question is of national and regional significance that would warrant acquiring the site in question.

RiverOak had submitted a comprehensive dossier to back its bid, which included 63 documents, containing almost 11,000 detailed pages of proposals and plans to re-open Manston Airport as an air freight hub with complementary passenger and general aviation services.

"This is not uncommon with DCOs and RSP is in dialogue with the Planning Inspectorate in order that the application can be resubmitted as soon as possible..." - Deborah Smith, RiverOak Strategic Partners spokesman

Under the plan, there would be capacity for at least 12,000 air cargo movements per year.

At the time the DCO application was submitted, RiverOak director George Yerrall said: “This is a hugely important moment for us, but I also recognise that it is a significant moment for many people across Thanet and East Kent too."

RiverOak spokesman Deborah Smith said: "RiverOak Strategic Partners has temporarily withdrawn its DCO application in respect of Manston airport.

"This is not uncommon with DCOs and RSP is in dialogue with the Planning Inspectorate in order that the application can be resubmitted as soon as possible."

North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale said his understanding was that the issue that needed addressing was relatively minor.

“My hope and expectation is that this will be resolved fairly quickly and RiverOak will resubmit is application possibly within a couple of weeks.

"There is a minor issue that needs clarification.”

A statement by Dr Beau Webber of the Save Manston Airport association said: "This news from the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) is naturally disappointing but SMAa continue to be optimistic and look forward to acceptance of the application leading to the return of commercial aviation at Manston Airport."

It added: "This is only a delay. The application has not been rejected."