Drone firm Manna has been refused permission to develop a new delivery hub near Dundrum Town Centre.
Last year, Manna Drones Limited sought permission from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to create an aerial delivery hub to the rear of Holy Cross Church in Dundrum.
The firm, led by Bobby Healy, sought permission to run the facility, which would include storage and ancillary office cabin container on site, from the location for a period of five years.
The proposal faced significant local opposition, with more than 200 submissions made by the public about the hub.
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A submission on behalf of Monsignor Paul Cullen, who resides in the parochial house on the grounds of Holy Cross Church, said Manna’s facility would “materially adversely impact the quiet noise environment necessary for Holy Cross Church and parochial house and parochial centre”.
Last August, the firm was asked to provide the council with a number of noise impact assessments that would assess noise generated by all activities at the aerial delivery hub.
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Manna provided further information to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in May about the proposed development and the local authority has made a final decision to refuse the application.
In a decision on the case, the council said it has “significant concerns” about the noise impact assessment carried out by the company.
“The noise impact of the proposed aerial delivery hub and associated drone operations on residential amenity and other sensitive receptors, through the submitted Noise Impact Assessment, has not been sufficiently evidenced or modelled,” the council said.
It added that the submitted noise assessment has raised “significant concerns” regarding the company’s approach and methodology, which the council said failed to adequately consider the “different acoustic character of the proposed drone noise, both spectrally and temporally, to road traffic noise”.
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A spokesman for Manna said it would study the planning decision and was “committed to growing its operations in Ireland and United States”.
It added that the noise assessment was carried out by an independent expert, who concluded “the predicted operational noise impact of the air delivery hub is insignificant” and that drone operations would result in “little to no perceptible noise level change”.
The spokesman for Manna added the operational environmental management plan also concluded that there would be “no significant adverse noise impact associated within the standard operations of the drones” in relation to biodiversity and wildlife.
Manna, a tech company that both develops drone technology and provides delivery services using drones, has existing drone hubs in Coolmine Industrial Estate and Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.
The company’s facilities in Ireland have faced some public backlash, with some people who live near its hubs, from which drones take off and on routes the drones typically fly have complained about noise pollution.
The company has previously said it faces one complaint for every 500 deliveries completed.
Manna, which has partnerships with Uber, Deliveroo, and Just Eat, has raised tens of millions of euro to fund the development of its drone hardware and technology.
Last month, the company closed a $50 million (€43.4 million) fundraising round from Ark Invest, which has previously backed OpenAI and Tesla, Boston-based fund Schooner Capital, Coca-Cola HBC and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF).
The most recent accounts filed by the company, which cover 2024, show its main Irish firm has racked up accumulated losses of close to €50 million since the firm was set up in 2019.
