Milton Park in Oxfordshire was used as part of an international trial of drone deliveries and electric vans.
Oxfordshire is one of three pilot areas, along with Rotterdam in The Netherlands and Trikala in Greece, to be testing drones as part of a scheme called the Harmony Project which trials low carbon transport.
The county has one of the most sophisticated road traffic control centres in the UK and Milton Park was selected as a robust testing ground. It involved both parcels and medical supplies being transported around the park. The drone navigated airspace over main roads and the nearby railway, permitted by Network Rail, along with manoeuvring around buildings and green spaces.
Cllr Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for climate change delivery and environment, said: “Innovative zero-carbon-ready transport is set to make a huge impact, it just needs us to demonstrate how. Hence this trial, which is another example of our close working with our world leading universities, of which we are extremely proud.
“As a council, we’re already doing high profile work to help everyone reduce their individual emissions footprint and this is how we’re looking to decarbonise the rest.”
Veronica Reynolds, sustainability and community manager at Milton Park, said: “It was a real privilege for Milton Park to be chosen as the location for these cutting-edge trials in drone technology and we’re grateful for the chance to collaborate with the other consortium partners on such an exciting project.
“The benefits from this innovative technology are clear to see, particularly from a sustainability point of view, as it could ultimately lead to fewer vehicles spending less time on the roads and a reduction in carbon emissions.”
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