Retention permission for a drone hub at Coolmine Industrial Estate in Dublin 15 has been refused by Fingal County Council.
The decision, based on concerns about noise and dated Tuesday May 19th, gives the operator four weeks to appeal the decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála.
The hub is operated by Manna Air Delivery, which also operates a hub at nearby Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. A further hub in Cork operates from the Marina market on Centre Park Road.
The company employs 180 staff and designs and builds its own drones and software in Ireland. It also has bases in Helsinki, Finland and Fort Worth in Texas, USA.
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The company has been flying food in conjunction with online portals Just Eat and Deliveroo to homes and businesses from Coolmine since late 2024 and from Blanchardstown Shopping Centre for more than two-and-a-half years.
The company also flies groceries, medical supplies and general packages weighing less than 25kg.
The drones fly at a height of about 65 metres and drop down to 15 metres when they arrive at their destination, with deliveries lowered by a light rope for the final 15 metres. The company has made more than 80,000 deliveries across its two Dublin bases.
However, the activity has not been greeted with universal approval, with complaints to Fingal County Council focusing on noise, privacy and safety.
Seamus Doyle of the campaign group Drone Action D15 welcomed the council’s decision on Thursday.
Doyle said a noise report submitted with the retention application showed noise levels were “way above the typical quiet neighbourhood area level”.
He said the planning application garnered “many passionate objections from members of the public”.
Doyle also said the decision would leave Manna Air Delivery with just one base in Dublin, in the Blanchardstown Centre, for which he said the planning permission “runs out in August”. The three-year planning permission was granted in 2023.
Manna Air Delivery was contacted for comment. It is understood the company was considering the council’s decision on Thursday and examining its options.
Last month, in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland, Manna Air Delivery announced plans to create 400 jobs across Ireland and the US following a $50 million (€43 million) investment that brings total investment to $110 million (€95 million).
Enterprise Ireland said the investors included ARK Invest, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and Schooner Capital, alongside existing investors Coca-Cola HBC, Molten Ventures and Enterprise Ireland itself.
The investment was welcomed by Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke. Burke said the announcement “represents a powerful endorsement of Ireland’s standing as a global centre for innovation and advanced manufacturing”.
“The creation of so many highly skilled positions across robotics, software engineering, aviation and regulatory disciplines underscores the depth and quality of Ireland’s Stem talent base and the ability of indigenous Irish firms to compete on the global stage in pioneering sectors such as autonomous aviation,” he said.
