As supporters demonstrated outside the chamber, Thanet council sounded what could be the final death knell for Manston airport.

Councillors voted to reject plans for a compulsory purchase order for the airfield, dealing a devastating blow to campaigners fighting to keep it open.

Previously the council said a move to buy the airport could only be considered if there was an appropriate financial partner.

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

But the council rejected various bids by the group and in the report discussed tonight by the council’s Labour cabinet.

In a unanimous vote, the council recommended that no further action be taken to pursue a CPO.

In a statement on its website, the council said: “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 Manston airport site is owned by commercial property developers Trevor Cartner and Chris Musgrave, who also own nearby Discovery Park in Sandwich.

They plan to transform the 800-acre site with a £1bn redevelopment, over a 20-year period, into a mixed-use scheme helping to create more than 4,000 jobs.

The airport was closed by former owner Ann Gloag in May, less than six months after the Scottish businesswoman bought the site for £1, saying it was no longer "financially viable".

It was reported to have been losing £10,000 a day.