The Tay Cities deal is for £700million in the Tay Cities Region.  This will be transformative for the region, driving investment, boosting the economy and creating more than 6,000 jobs.

Included in the Deal is the go ahead for the Montrose Drone Port.

With the global drone industry set to expand over the next five years, the 6-month temporary airspace project aims to establish an area of offshore trial airspace and give local businesses the chance to get involved by providing viable cases to use drones while developing a track record of safe operations.

Economic Development Spokesperson, Cllr Braden Davy said: “Establishing a world class drone industry could potentially attract business visitors and spend to Angus. Delivery drones are a fast and reliable solution for many supplies and this trial in Montrose lays foundations from which to potentially grow a permanent drone operation across Angus – one of the future growth industries.

“People often only hear of the negative experiences of drones but like any other device, they need to be used responsibly and are subject to specific safety rules relating to the way they are operated, underpinned by UK law.

“This is why the council and Drone Technologies Ltd are keen to reassure local residents of the safety record and give them the opportunity to raise any concerns and have them answered through a series of online presentations to be held.”

The project is one of our Mercury Programme investments to increase productivity through clean growth, protecting places for future generations to live, work and visit. 

Montrose Drone Port:

The project aims to place Angus at the centre of the industry by developing a Centre of Excellence for drone technologies in Montrose. Planning is underway with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for a 6-month temporary airspace encompassing the vessel anchorages and extending out to the large windfarm developments which are under construction off the Angus coast.

ercury Drone Port would be Scotland’s first drone port and the UK’s first drone port that focuses primarily on the application and testing of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) technology for offshore, marine, agriculture, and rural applications.

Initially, drones are likely to be used for low risk, offshore purposes including offshore inspection and deliveries to vessels at anchor (1-5km offshore), offshore wind farms (30-80km offshore), and oil and gas platforms (100-200km offshore).

These will be designed primarily to facilitate the development of operating UAS Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) and autonomously in unsegregated airspace.

Airspace will be trialled from zero to twelve kilometres from shore, with segregated drone corridors to wind farms and oil and gas platforms.

The 6-month temporary airspace trial will allow the opportunity to demonstrate safe operations and the demand for investment in these facilities. The long term ambition is to create a permanent airspace alongside associated land based facilities.

This is a Joint Venture between Angus Council and Drone Technologies Ltd.

18th December 2020