Oxford Direct Services is to become the first council-owned organisation to bring drone services in-house to save time and money.

ODS, the service delivery and commercial arm of Oxford City Council, is Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) licensed and approved to offer commercial drone services.

It plans to offer drone-based services such as roof and building surveying, land mapping, aerial photography and filming.

The drones will save time, drive down costs and reduce the health and safety challenges.

‘Hiring a drone firm costs between £300-£1000 to survey a roof, with scaffolding also expensive and cumbersome,’ said ODS’ managing director, Simon Howick.

‘It made total sense to invest in the drone equipment, flight training and licensing and add this skillset to our portfolio.

‘It’ll pay for itself within a year, we’ll save money for our main customer – Oxford City Council – with drones becoming an additional revenue stream given we can now offer local businesses and residents surveying, mapping, photography and filming services.’