Thanet council’s decision not to press ahead with a Compulsory Purchase Order for Manston airport will come under scrutiny next week (Tuesday 17).

Members of the council’s cross-party watchdog committee will quiz the Ukip council leader Cllr Chris Wells and others about the recent decision.

However, the committee will be unable to overturn the decision and will be limited to asking the cabinet to review it.

At an extraordinary cabinet meeting a fortnight ago, the council voted not to pursue a CPO in partnership with the American investment firm RiverOak.

It said council officers were not satisfied by the financial assurances the company had provided, saying it was not clear RiverOak could fund both the CPO and the costs of acquiring the 800-acre site.

The council’s scrutiny panel has now called in that decision, saying the report on which it was based was “well presented” but “may be read as being loaded to achieve the outcome.”

Meanwhile, the opposition Conservative group leader Bob Bayford has confirmed there have been “preliminary discussions” about forming a coalition to replace the Ukip administration.

But he said at this stage it was unclear “whether there were enough people who thought it was worth going for it.”

The Conservatives have had their numbers boosted on the council after the defection of former Ukip councillor Emma Dawson.

The Ukip-led council has lost overall control of the only authority in the country where it holds power after seeing a series of defections.