Yorkshire Housing is trialling the use of aerial drones for property inspections across its 18,000 properties as an alternative to expensive scaffolding and mobile work platforms.
The trial is part of the government’s ‘Connected Places Catapult’; the national scheme includes a ‘drone pathfinder catalyst’ programme, resulting in the housing provider working with Vantage UAV on the drone trial.
Yorkshire Housing and Vantage UAV’s trial will be used to collect safety, productivity and efficiency evidence on the use of drones for property inspections by other housing providers.
Andy Gamble, executive director of growth and assets, Yorkshire Housing, said, “It’s exciting to be part in the government’s national Drone Pathfinder programme. We look after around 18,000 properties across Yorkshire, so drones offer us a real opportunity to improve our service.
“Not only does it make real savings by reducing the need for expensive scaffolding and using heavy machinery to carry out safety checks, but it also means our tenants can have problems at their homes diagnosed and fixed much faster and with less disruption.”
