Regional droneport planned for Woolworths roof
Woolworths has announced plans to make the roof of its Woy Woy store a regional centre for a drone delivery service covering a population of about 150,000 people.
The "fully-electric and autonomous" drones would make deliveries from the store directly to customers' homes, according to a statement issued by Woolworths on Friday.
The drones would rely on satellite and onboard navigation, and "don't have cameras".
The statement said a drone could "deliver items up to seven times faster than cars, so not only does it help to save time but also reduces road traffic, and is better for the environment".
"The technology can be used in most weather conditions, including rain and wind, servicing customers located within a 15km radius of the Woy Woy store and delivering orders of up to three kilograms."
The 15km radius delivery area covers most of the population of the former Gosford Council area, about 150,000 people.
It extends as far north as Wamberal, Ourimbah campus and Somersby and as far south as Palm Beach, Mooney Mooney and Brooklyn.
Woolworths Group acknowledged that, "in partnership with leading global logistics company Zipline ... a development application has been submitted to Central Coast Council seeking approval to set up new technology on the roof of Woolworths' Woy Woy supermarket, enabling groceries to be delivered by drone."
However, the application provides few details of the planned operation.
The Statement of Environmental Effects for the application does not mention operating times, numbers of drones, flight frequency, flight paths and heights or payload standards, nor does it mention the 15km delivery area or three kilogram package weight provided in Woolworths' statement to Peninsula News.
It states: "The proposed works are considered ancillary of the existing, and approved, commercial use on the site.
"Consent requested from Council is for the physical infrastructure only and in no way provides approval for the commercial flying of drones", implying that this information does not need to be supplied.
The application includes a "plan of management" covering community consultation, which states that Woolworths "understands how important it is to keep the community up to date and engage with stakeholders effectively on new initiatives, including communicating early and in a timely way".
"Community engagement will commence shortly providing an opportunity for local residents to ask questions and learn more about the proposal," Woolworths told Peninsula News.
However, the engagement is focussed on in-store information and surveys, and the provision of a webpage.
It does not make use of mainstream media. (Neither Woolworths nor Zipline took the initiative to contact Peninsula News about the project.)
The plan does not include approaching residents who may not be customers, other than to "meet with local business organisations and community groups to outline the service and benefits".
There is no commitment to consult with residents ahead of the closing date for submissions on the development application (DA/204/2024).
A web page about the project can be found at https://www.flyzipline.com/australia.
It states: "Getting community feedback is important to us. Feel free to email droneprogramme@woolworths.com.au."
SOURCE:
DA Tracker, 13 Mar 2024
DA/204/2024, Central Coast Council
Media statement, 15 Mar 2024
Nathan Farebrother, Woolworths Group