Thanet council is set to reject plans for a compulsory purchase order for Manston airport, dealing a devastating blow to campaigners who are fighting to keep it open.

A report due to be discussed by the council’s Labour cabinet recommends that no further action be taken at this time to pursue a CPO.

In a statement on its website, the council says: “The recommendation follows a soft-market testing exercise carried out by the council which failed to identify a suitable indemnity partner - a third party who would cover all the costs of a CPO.

Without the finances to pursue a CPO in its own right, the council has been clear that compulsory purchase of the airport could only be considered if there was an appropriate financial partner.”

The council was in talks with an America consortium RiverOak, which wanted to act as the council’s partner and had proposals to re-open it with a focus on freight.

The council said that it had wanted an assurance that if a decision was made to pursue a CPO, a viable airport could come into sustainable long-term operation as quickly as reasonably possible – without any cost to the council.

The statement said: “As part of the soft market testing exercise, the council has not identified any suitable expressions of interest that fulfil the requirements of the council for a CPO indemnity partner.”

The news will come as a huge disappointment to campaigners who believed RiverOak would be a viable partner for the council.

However, doubts about the option of a CPO have been privately expressed by many and the airport was recently acquired by regeneration specialists Trevor Cartner and Paul Musgrave, who want to redevelop the site as a business park.

Save Manston Airport group chairman Dr Beau Webber said: " We understand that it's still for the council to accept or reject the cabinet's report.

"Pro- Manston groups will be rallying outside the council offices before the full council meeting tomorrow night and the cabinet meeting next Thursday.

"I am afraid this is an act of political cowardice by Thanet council. They seem to want to kill off Manston as an airport..." - Sir Roger Gale MP

"We are still hoping that other members of the council may express a different opinion."

North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale - a long time campaigner for the airport to reopen - said: "I am afraid this is an act of political cowardice by Thanet council. They seem to want to kill off Manston as an airport.

"As far as I am aware RiverOak answered all the council's questions except for the one about a 20-year business plan - but no company can do that.

"I am not throwing in the towel. I want the council to put this report on hold.This calls into question the management of the council."

He added that there had been support from senior government figures for the efforts to re-open the airport.

"It has been taken very seriously by the government."

The airport was closed in May by owner Ann Gloag who said it could not continue as a viable business.

MP Sir Roger Gale said: "I am afraid this is an act of political cowardice by Thanet council. They seem to want to kill off Manston as an airport.

"As far as I am aware RiverOak answered all the council's questions except for the one about a 20-year business plan - but no company can do that.

"I am not throwing in the towel. I want the council to put this report on hold.This calls into question the management of the council."

He added that there had been support from senior government figures for the efforts to re-open the airport. "It has been taken very seriously by the government."

Stephen DeNardo, Chief Executive of RiverOak Investments said:? "RiverOak Investments is surprised and disappointed at the recommendations being made by Thanet District Council to its councillors not to proceed with the compulsory purchase of Manston Airport in Kent.

“We believe that the council is making a very serious error of judgement not only in respect of the economy of Thanet and East Kent, but also in respect of runway capacity in the South East of England.

"We were further surprised that in Thanet District Council’s press release it would appear that the Council has already decided the CPO issue in advance of the Cabinet meeting we understood was to occur next week.

“Over the last few months we believe we have delivered to the Council all the relevant paperwork and information that they have asked for, and throughout we have stood by our commitment to cover all the costs of the CPO.

“We will take time to read the report, study its implications and formulate the appropriate response, but I would like to reiterate that our plan costs the taxpayer nothing and yet it preserves a strategically important piece of transport infrastructure and returns it to productive economic use.”