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Collapse Issue 590:<br />25 Mar 2024<br />_____________Issue 590:
25 Mar 2024
_____________
Collapse  NEWS NEWS
Regional droneport planned for Woolworths roof
Women gather for sunrise celebration of Women's Day
'Meet the Editor' to mark 25 years
Council to help shade tree group with tree planting
Easter Saturday book fair celebrates 47 years
Louise Lambeth named Woman of the Year
Professional and volunteer fire crews have joint exercise
A clean-up held in Woy Woy Bay
Ocean Beach Rd blocked
CWA holds market day indoors
Called out to help with boat incident*
Garden party for 105th birthday
Long-time Pearl Beach resident dies
Council teams to help with dunecare and bushcare
Rotary club donates food and clothing*
Marine Rescue unit seeks volunteers*
Cupcake decorating session for seniors
Older women donate food to Mary Mac's Place*
Irish sing-along held in Pearl Beach
Blue reflectors installed on Pearl Beach roads*
Easter raffle proceeds to support food pantries
Garage sale at Cooinda Village*
Rotary club hears from youth leadership candidate*
Free technology workshop held in Ettalong*
'Fellowship and fine food' at Rotary night*
Board meeting held at Ettalong*
Jayne Mote named Woman of the Year finalist*
Peninsula receives less than one 10th monthly rainfall
Collapse  PLANNING PLANNING
Application lodged for droneport for grocery deliveries
Court upholds refusal for multi-dwelling development
Two-storey dual occupancy proposed for Osborne Ave
Court finds provisions not eroded by non-compliances
Collapse  FORUM FORUM
'Quarter of targets behind schedule' should raise alarm
Join the dash back to cash
Collapse  HEALTH HEALTH
Reid honours 30 years' hospital auxiliary service*
Aged care home celebrates 35 years*
School encourages bicycle riding
Surfers raise more than $11,000 for cancer research
Collapse  ARTS ARTS
Irish singer-songwriter to perform at folk club
Rotary club presents 17th Opera in the Arboretum*
Easter art fair at Pearl Beach
Collapse  EDUCATION EDUCATION
Music students to hold 'Night under the Stars'
Teachers 'not available' for games after school
Basketballers play Gosford High in intense match
Bridget takes two tennis medals in CHS competition
School to hold crazy hair and sock day
Ettalong parents to hold annual meeting*
Two students named for Excelsior science awards
Harmony Day to be celebrated on Friday*
Bookings open for parent-teacher interviews*
Ms Buckley takes leave*
Naplan testing starts at Umina Beach
St John's holds open days
Opera House recorder group starts practice*
Transition to high school information evening tomorrow*
Umina parents elect committee for coming year
Collapse  SPORT SPORT
Free registration for senior rugby players
Floorball player selected for championships in Finland
Charity bowls celebrates six years at Ettalong
Southern Spirit players named in Central Coast awards
Successful cricket season for under-10s
Volunteers needed for final surf event
Autumn event attracts 13 pairs
New judo class to focus on competitions
Little Aths season comes to an end*
Rugby union club receives $20,000
Lions women hold soccer score low
Umina results from Masters surf life saving competition
Swans seek under-11 players
Special meeting to consider 'unification' of bowls clubs

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."





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