Drones flying in Margaret Drive every Sunday disturb peace, says resident: 'Very shrill, very piercing'
All he wants is a peaceful Sunday.
But a Margaret Drive resident has been driven up the wall by people flying drones and disturbing the peace in the area.
Stomper Jack said: "Since late June this year, between 11am to 2pm on Sundays, residents at Margaret Drive have been hearing loud drone rotor sounds."
He described the sounds as "very shrill, very piercing and very sudden".
"They come from a group of drone hobbyists who fly their drones in the field behind and next to the Queenstown Public Library," said the Stomper.
"The sounds can only be heard at Blocks 34, 35, 36 and 37 Margaret Drive and only from level 27 onwards. That is because these blocks form a ring that capture the shrill drone rotor sounds and echo them."
He said it wasn't always like this.
The Stomper explained: "There have been drone hobbyists flying their drones here before and those drones were not as loud.
"This particular group of hobbyists seems to be flying drones that are extremely high-pitched and loud. The shrill drone sounds are even worse than construction noise - this area is surrounded by ongoing construction works and those sounds are not as loud."
He added: "A quick skim of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) website does not show any regulations for drone noise. Perhaps CAAS should start regulating drone noise, like how the National Environment Agency regulates construction noise."
The Stomper lamented: "Almost every Sunday since June, this group of drone operators fly their drones and give us no peace."
Videos taken from a drone flying around Margaret Drive have been posted online by Facebook user Rick Tan.
In response to a Stomp query, CAAS Unmanned Systems Policy, Regulations and Operations director Maran Paramanathan said CAAS does not prohibit the flying of unmanned aircraft (UA) at the open field at Margaret Drive as it lies outside no-fly zones and protected areas.
"Notwithstanding the above, following public feedback, CAAS has been monitoring UA activities in this area to ensure that they are conducted safely and in compliance with CAAS' regulations," said the director.
"We have also shared with the UA operators the feedback we received from nearby residents. They are mindful of the feedback and have told us that they plan to reduce the frequency of their UA operations."
He added that CAAS will continue to monitor the situation.
