Drones

Do not know enough about this subject. How low are they allowed to fly? Can they go anywhere their owner chooses? Can they for instance hover over a women’s refuge or children’s playgrounds without permission? How are they identified if you don’t want them hovering somewhere. What’s the law on them?

Drones which are licensed by local authorities (say) for agreed legitimate uses which benefit the public sound fair enough. Even delivering packages instead of using polluting white vans also may be a good thing. 

But I don’t want one anywhere near me unless I know what it is there for and that its owner can be identified and made to be accountable for it.

Drones have a lot of potential but they also present unprecedented dangers. One only has to think of their use around airports. They should be licensed and subject to a driving licence type test. The licence should only be granted for use by emergency-type public services and not commercial use!

Generally, I wouldn't see an issue with continued use for limited and strictly monitored purposes, like checking the safety of an area during a construction project or to transport emergency medical supplies. I would be concerned though, if private individuals or organisations could freely use drones, as there would be inevitable difficulties in safeguarding and protecting the privacy of others.

I would hope to see a system of licencing in place so that I could be sure that if I did see a drone, it was clear that it served some legitimate purpose and that the owner was adhering to a strict code of conduct. If drone users were regular evaluation to check that they weren't contravening such rules, I wouldn't have any other specific objections.

Drone use should be limited to safety and law enforcement applications. Delivery of goods and other related trivial applications will cause massive volumes of drones which will create a nuisance and safety risks. Drone use by police and emergency services can deliver key benefits in terms of public safety and crime prevention / detection (e.g. anti terrorism, fast response crime surveillance / detection / perpetrator identification). Drones can also vastly reduce the cost of policing (e.g. drone vs. police helicopter) and make London a city where crime is much more likely to be detected and perpetrators prosecuted. Let's use drones to make our streets safer and more secure.

Obviously it is impossible to 'uninvent' drones. Used correctly and safely by official bodies, e.g. the police, they have significant benefits but there may be problems with misuse by amateurs. Drones should be registered like motor vehicles and have visible number plates.

I am concerned about safety for people in street. they should be regulated. 

Gatwick chaos showed the drawbacks from unlicensed drones, plus the use they've been put to sending drugs and phones into prisons. Also the person who was being watched while doing their gardening - who was observing them? Its horrible. So I support licensing, and a charge that would go to policing their use. What about all the unlicensed drones already out there?

Perhaps its just me - but I quite like to be able to sit in my back garden without a drone (or 2) hovering overhead, filming me.

I also like to go on holiday without the worry of drones being used to quickly and easily determine whether my house is empty and then targetting it for burglary, which is already happening all over London.

There will of course failures in power/technology, they drop out of the sky causing accidents and-the more that flyover the city - the more accidents we will witness. Its all about the maths. What risk wll be deemed acceptable?

There is definitely a place for controlled use by authorities - who would probably have high spec equipment, judicously used, however, even this requires regulating and monitrong to ensure privacy is protected.

"Gatwick" taught us how ill equiped we are to deal with even simple security issues... and the EXTREME disruption this can cause. We will always be one step behind on this issue....

I'm sure the next bond movie will illustrate the ease with which drones can be used to deliver/operate/detonate all manner of undesirable items /materials.

Licencing and regluation etc are fine - but - the low cost and ease with which a drone can be acquired will lead to low level compliance and who /how will this be monitored? The police are indunated already - they wont have time to deal with drone issues, they will be low priority. They have no time to deal with the theft of £50k cars - an illegal drone - who cares.

Use in designated open space, at designated times, may be appropriate, but making London airspace a " drone free for all" - no thank you.

Personally I would happily forgo the Amazon Drone delivery and keep drones at bay.

I have seen people flying them over scenic areas at the river to take videos. These users look responsible. Regrettably when anything becomes widely available morons get a hold of it and cause havoc and accidents. I am not happy about these things flying about unregulated and in the hands of clowns. 

Large commercial drones are capable of inflicting considerable damage and, in consequence, need to be subjected to controls as stringent as those applied to aircraft.

Great for police etc. and for other services of that nature, possibly some types of survey etc., but please don't let them into the hands of delivery companies etc.. That would be chaos and intrusive. And who knows what security risks could emerge to property or people (eg snooping on houses etc.). Also, impact on wildlife - especially birds in parks and gardens, led injury but more scaring them off from areas. If delivery companies use them they should only be allowed on the routes of public roads e.g. not over gardens as short cuts or similar. But I really don't think it is appropriate for them to be making those kinds of delivery.

I am definately against having hundreds of these things flying above my head. This is so dangerous and so unregulated. Is it not enough that we have to contend with dangerous traffic on the roads and then to have this added to the danger equation is totally mad. Whats more I'ts totally unnecessary. Plus the noise factor. Imagine having' swarms' of these things  buzzing around all hours of the day and night, you would get no peace. Also there is the invasion of privacy factor. This is a crazy highly hazardous and unsafe idea that will place the public in a constant vunerable and unprotected position. It will be similar to in the 'War,' having the constant threat of being bombed, wheather accidentally or on purpose.  

I'm really not convinced that a long series of comments is the best way to get public views on this important topic.  Hopefully the originators will use the issues raised to structure a proper consultation.

My view is that this should differentiate between low volume, specific uses (eg emergency situations, surveying of buildings) from high volume general uses (eg delivery of parcels and medicines) and from general public use.  I might support the first of these, but I am against the second two categories of use.  Recreational drones may be OK in the countryside, but they are not in a city.

There is certainly need for better regulation and enforcement of breaches.

Awful, as if we don’t have enough noise nuisance in the capital, loss of privacy, and bird loss. We can have drones, but no house sparrows or robins. Is no-one listening to Sir David Attenborough except a schoolgirl in Sweden or the Extinct Rebellion campaign?

A useful tool for the police and the emergency services, especially the LFB after the disaster of the Grenfell Tower. And for large construction projects: lose a drone not a human.

Postal & prescription deliveries by a HUMAN are to be valued: how would a drone know if,you were still alive or not?

Machines are a valuable tool for mankind, but we are in danger of having more interaction with machines than each other.

From security aspects I would only be ok with restricted use by police, fire brigade, NHS and alike. If extended use; how could we control potentially dangerous terrorist motives or criminal pre-planning or distribution of drugs etc. We would also risk a lot of mismanagement that could cause chaos for airports and other objects with high protection needs.

 Can see only one use for these extremely dangerous aircraft (that is what they are) and that is to deliver medical supplies for emergencies to hospitals. That is it, otherwise all drones,should,be banned. They can be used by  terrorists for nefarious act. Also to snoop and take unauthorised photos etc. 

They were a good invention but the uses for evil are tremendous. They should be controlled exactly the same as the much larger military drones.

Drones should have severe limits in London. General surveillance, delivery etc. even when it is the authorities should not be allowed. Locating casualties during a complex rescue, I can see a function, but giving Big Brother yet another tool or getting a pizza faster the dangers of having large objects whizzing round high up outweigh the advantages.