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Drone Test Site Planned

Published on: 6 Feb, 2023
Updated on: 6 Feb, 2023

Royal Holloway Drone Hangar visualisation from Runnymede planning portal

By Chris Caulfield

local democracy reporter

A new drone research testing hangar to provide a “step-change” in robot research will be built at Royal Holloway University.

Plans were approved by Runnymede Borough Council in January for the 13.5 metre-high facility that will, the university says, enable the “deployment of flight training” to assist with drone and robotic educational research trials.

A subsequent application has since been submitted to amend the 895 square metre hangar’s exterior colour –  to a mix of white and grey to ensure it retains a “subtle appearance”.

The Egham-based university said the drone zone would be part of the new “Omnidrome Research and Innovation Centre” and would add to the campus’s “world-leading research, innovation, education and knowledge exchange for air, land and water-based drones”.

The purpose of the hangar, it said, was to “allow operators to develop and test specialist electric drones in a confined, safe space, without disrupting residents or those on campus.”

According to the planning documents, the building will be a “showcase” facility for the university and add to its “world-class and long-standing reputation in information and cyber security”.

As part of the planning permission, no drones will be flown outside of the building.

The prefabricated building is expected to take approximately three weeks to build with work expected to begin in Spring 2023.

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