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With delivery drone services popping up across Dublin, and as a planning application emerges from Dundrum, Ben Sweeney asks – would UCD residents use drones?
Manna, a company offering drone delivery services, has submitted a planning application to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown (DLR) County Council to create a delivery hub in Dundrum – approximately 2 ¼ km from UCD Village. These drones are advertised to deliver items “in minutes,” with the company’s website averaging delivery times at 3 minutes. This speed has proven alluring to residents.
Residents of UCD’s on-campus accommodations have told the University Observer that, if it were an option, they would order fast food using drones.
Megan, a Belgrove resident, said that speed would be an influential factor for her to use Manna’s services. She notes that other delivery couriers, such as Deliveroo, can take “up to an hour”, and that drivers can handle multiple orders at once - mentioning you may not be their “first stop”.
However, there has been opposition to plans for drones in Dundrum. In particular, the ‘Imagine Dundrum’ residents’group are vocal about potential issues arising from the hub. These concerns, made public in a submission to DLR council, include noise pollution and privacy fears.
Social Democrats councillor John Hurley, who represents UCD residents in his Stillorgan electoral ward, agrees with the group. He cites privacy concerns over how the drones’ video cameras could record residents who are not “delivery targets” for visual cues on where to deliver goods. “There is no real legislation governing any of this, so it's the Wild West.”
As for noise pollution, Ashfield resident Harry - who has used delivery drones before - doesn’t believe that this would be a major problem. He doesn’t think it was “overly noisy” but concedes that he lived in a louder location when using the service originally and UCD campus is more quiet.
Manna advertises their service as emitting “zero emissions,” claiming it to be “planet friendly flying” due to being fully electric. However, Cllr. Hurley notes that other food delivery services use electric vehicles, and that both would draw energy from the same grid. Overall, he believes a discussion is needed on “how much carbon is actually the difference” between the current and alternative systems.
Clodagh, a Glenomena resident, has additional environmental concerns. She, alongside Megan, is concerned about the impact drones could have on the UCD’s rich biodiversity, notably birds. Clodagh stresses the need for further studies to examine how best to “minimise” negative effects before this technology appears on the Belfield campus.
Additionally, Cllr. Hurley questions whether drones would be able to service substantial orders, and whether larger vehicles would be needed to service big events. Manna’s website acknowledges a 4kg weight limit – approximately the same weight as a laptop and charger. While Harry and Clodagh say they wouldn’t order anything above this weight, Cllr. Hurley thinks this limit could lead to non-electric vehicles being used anyway.
When contacted for comment, Manna noted that they have no current plans to service UCD - they primarily service houses rather than apartments - but that they would “explore” the possibility “if there was demand”, receiving a good reception from “young people”. Additionally, their plans in Dundrum are not “imminent” as the regulatory process is ongoing.