A ‘holy row’ is brewing over contentious plans by Manna Air Delivery to locate a new aerial delivery hub on lands to the rear of Holy Cross Church in Dundrum.
This follows senior Dublin cleric, Monsignor Paul Callan on behalf of Holy Cross Church And Pastoral Centre lodging an objection against the planned air delivery hub.
The period for objections has now closed and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Co Council confirmed on Wednesday that 148 submissions have been received with more to be processed.
Monsignor Paul Callan resides in the Parochial House and planning consultant, Ann Mulcrone for Reid Associates states on behalf of Monsignor Callan that the submission “is being made in the public interest of the community of over 4,700 homes that the Holy Cross Church and Pastoral Centre, part of the Catholic Archdiocese serves”.
On behalf of Monsignor Callan, Ms Mulcrone states that “the Holy Cross Church, and Pastoral Centre offers a community network and support as a quiet respite to the demands of modern life”.
Ms Mulcrone states that the proposed development “would create a hostile noise environment in the vicinity of the civic use of the Church and would fail to enhance the creation of a sense of place and instead would dissipate the civic amenity and sense of place already afforded by the Church as a significant landmark and use”.
Ms Mulcrone states that the scheme should be refused on five separate grounds.
Ms Mulcrone states that “the proposed development which is located within the curtilage of the protected structures at Holy Cross Church and Parochial House would materially interfere with the quiet character and landmark importance of the Holy Cross Church and Parochial House and would undermine the setting and importance and function of these protected structures”.
Ms Mulcrone states that there is no detail of the type(s) of drone to be used; the number of drone flights or the routing of drone flights or the flight altitude or the catchment of drone flight activity.
She says: “There is no detail of the noise arising from the proposed development and there is no noise assessment identifying tonal and impulsive noise characteristics and impacts.
Ms Mulcrone states that “the Holy Cross Church and the Pastoral Centre and the Parochial House have a requirement for a quiet noise environment in which to conduct Mass, and other religious ceremonies and to sustain the uses of the Pastoral Centre”.
She states that the proposed drone aerial take off and landing would be to the immediate rear of the Church.
Ms Mulcrone points out that “the windows to the Church are single glazed and are used for ventilation. This would allow noise intrusion without any mitigation”.
She adds: “It is not just an issue of every now and then, it would be a constant and continuous stream of movement of drone flight, take off and landing in the vicinity.”
Asked to respond to Monsignor Callan’s objection, Head of Regulation at Manna Air Delivery, Kevin Houston said on Wednesday: “A month ago, we met with representatives of Holy Cross Church in Dundrum to inform them of our plans and to acknowledge and respect their right to raise any objections.
He said: “We want to reassure the community that, as with all our existing locations, we do not fly over sensitive areas such as hospitals, cemeteries, funerals, or schools during sensitive times.
He added: “Independent sound testing conducted by Trinity College Dublin shows that our drones produce noise levels comparable to passing traffic when at cruise altitude.
He further stated that “we selected the Old Dundrum Town Centre car park for operations due to resident demand, its suitability for reducing local car-based delivery traffic, and the potential to offer a more sustainable and convenient alternative for the community and businesses.”
A decision is due on the application next month.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
