Stopped by local council - uk

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I was flying in my local park yesterday away from people and minding my own business when I was stopped by a council worker saying they were land enforcement officers. They said that in order to fly there I needed to provide a risk assessment, proof of public liability insurance, a mission statement, and a record of flying experience.

There are no signs at the park saying you cant fly rc, and they weren`t able to offer any other explantation. I asked if there was other parks I could use and was told No until i had provided that info.

Has anyone else heard of this. I aware that there might be local bylaws but I thought there needed to be signs up etc.
 
also in Italy ENAC is trying to regulate the "flying things"
specially after the fellas of blacksheep done the video over Costa Crociere ship or over Venice
or other so-smart people show off their long distance fpv videos over 1000m altitude and 10-20km away :evil:
 
eflyer01 said:
I was flying in my local park yesterday away from people and minding my own business when I was stopped by a council worker saying they were land enforcement officers. They said that in order to fly there I needed to provide a risk assessment, proof of public liability insurance, a mission statement, and a record of flying experience.

There are no signs at the park saying you cant fly rc, and they weren`t able to offer any other explantation. I asked if there was other parks I could use and was told No until i had provided that info.

Has anyone else heard of this. I aware that there might be local bylaws but I thought there needed to be signs up etc.

Yep I thought there needed to be clear visible signs.. Mmmm I wonder if they would ask if you had an RC something that didn't have a camera ? Council jobs worth's springs to mind...
 
The funny think was that the two guys loved it, one of them said he might go and buy one.
 
I watched a Team Black Sheep video of London the other day. They were flying their drone around the Houses of Parliament. It occurred to me then that if you want to get these things banned there would be no better place to fly. In some of their videos they openly state they try to be provocative. Why? Enjoy yourselves by all means but please don't get my hobby banned.

As for the council snoopers they can stuff their mission statement somewhere dark. Produce liability insurance on demand ok, thats probably reasonable but asking for permission and being granted it just makes them a better target to sue as they probably have more money than the person flying the quad.
 
Shrimpfarmer said:
I watched a Team Black Sheep video of London the other day. They were flying their drone around the Houses of Parliament. It occurred to me then that if you want to get these things banned there would be no better place to fly. In some of their videos they openly state they try to be provocative. Why? Enjoy yourselves by all means but please don't get my hobby banned.

As for the council snoopers they can stuff their mission statement somewhere dark. Produce liability insurance on demand ok, thats probably reasonable but asking for permission and being granted it just makes them a better target to sue as they probably have more money than the person flying the quad.

I`ve seen that london video as well, and I thinks its great, however you are right those kinda of things are giving the hobby a bad press.

I am not sure what to do now, should I just go back and fly in the parks or not. Soon there wont be anywhere to go and fly.

Seems that the powers that be are really not for these things.
 
Shrimpfarmer said:
I watched a Team Black Sheep video of London the other day. They were flying their drone around the Houses of Parliament. It occurred to me then that if you want to get these things banned there would be no better place to fly. In some of their videos they openly state they try to be provocative. Why? Enjoy yourselves by all means but please don't get my hobby banned.

As for the council snoopers they can stuff their mission statement somewhere dark. Produce liability insurance on demand ok, thats probably reasonable but asking for permission and being granted it just makes them a better target to sue as they probably have more money than the person flying the quad.

Yes never ceases To Amaze me what those guys with furry coats on get up to... If Its advertising they seek then do it the safe way and help preserve our hobby !
 
Common sense must be used in order to not get things looked into. I saw a great video the other day that somebody took of my local church. But in so doing the person flew over the main expressway (A55) And its this sort of thing that will attract attention to our hobby.
 
There is a difference between public land (footpaths, bridleways, national trails, etc) and land open to the public. The council is the landowner and lets people use the park subject to various conditions (dogs on leads, no golf, all that stuff). They can put whatever restrictions in place they see fit.

Check an OS map - if any of the paths through the park are designated public footpaths then they can't stop you taking off/landing on the path and overflying the park - they only control the ground and anything attached to it.

HOWEVER I strongly recommend you get third party insurance anyway, it's not expensive and is available from a few sources (I get mine through membership of FPVUK.org ). Also, as we have a camera attached to our aircraft we have additional legal restrictions placed on us by the Air Navigation Order, including not flying over or within 150m of a congested area, or closer than 50m to any person or thing not under our direct control.

Bearing in mind all the ramifications of the above it's probably best to find a different flying site, to be honest. You could always get your insurance and then write to whichever department deals with parks and recreation stating you;d like to fly, you won't be doing aerobatics, you're not a reckless kid, etc. If they say no, you're in no worse a position than you were, and if they say yes then you've got a nice document to show to the hi-viz wearers and ask them politely to Foxtrot Oscar. :cool:

I have recently written to my town council for permission for occasional use of a park for climbing straight up to get aerial shots of the town (it's bigger than 300m across so if I'm in the middle I'm legal). It's a small market town, though, so no major bureaucracy to break through. I'll let you know when/if I get a reply.
 
Pull_Up said:
There is a difference between public land (footpaths, bridleways, national trails, etc) and land open to the public. The council is the landowner and lets people use the park subject to various conditions (dogs on leads, no golf, all that stuff). They can put whatever restrictions in place they see fit.

It would probably be worth asking, ever so nicely... where what they told you is written "just so I can read it, understand and make sure I comply"... To see if it's real...
 
eflyer01 said:
I am not sure what to do now, should I just go back and fly in the parks or not. Soon there wont be anywhere to go and fly.

I use Google Earth to scout for new flying sites. Ideally I look for a reasonably large open space where I can easily gain access if my quad lands where I don't want it to. Its the clear airspace you need not the actual land underneath it. Parking in a lay-by and flying out over a farmers field will work you just need to be able to retrieve it if needed. Flying from such sites also means your less likely to encounter dog walkers etc. Being a quad we are fortunate we don't need runways to take off and land. This certainly opens up a much larger range of possible flying sites.

If I were you I would try and have a look at the parks actual bylaws and see if you can identify which bylaw you might be breaching. The bylaws are normally displayed at or near the entrance to the park. Failing that see if you can find them online. I wonder if these 2 workers may be making things up on the spot. Did they say what action would be taken if you were to continue to fly?
 
Pull_Up said:
There is a difference between public land (footpaths, bridleways, national trails, etc) and land open to the public. The council is the landowner and lets people use the park subject to various conditions (dogs on leads, no golf, all that stuff). They can put whatever restrictions in place they see fit.

Check an OS map - if any of the paths through the park are designated public footpaths then they can't stop you taking off/landing on the path and overflying the park - they only control the ground and anything attached to it.

HOWEVER I strongly recommend you get third party insurance anyway, it's not expensive and is available from a few sources (I get mine through membership of FPVUK.org ). Also, as we have a camera attached to our aircraft we have additional legal restrictions placed on us by the Air Navigation Order, including not flying over or within 150m of a congested area, or closer than 50m to any person or thing not under our direct control.

Bearing in mind all the ramifications of the above it's probably best to find a different flying site, to be honest. You could always get your insurance and then write to whichever department deals with parks and recreation stating you;d like to fly, you won't be doing aerobatics, you're not a reckless kid, etc. If they say no, you're in no worse a position than you were, and if they say yes then you've got a nice document to show to the hi-viz wearers and ask them politely to Foxtrot Oscar. :cool:

I have recently written to my town council for permission for occasional use of a park for climbing straight up to get aerial shots of the town (it's bigger than 300m across so if I'm in the middle I'm legal). It's a small market town, though, so no major bureaucracy to break through. I'll let you know when/if I get a reply.

I have just been looking at third party insurance, found bfma offer 25m for £30 per year. what other ones are there ?
 
Shrimpfarmer said:
eflyer01 said:
I am not sure what to do now, should I just go back and fly in the parks or not. Soon there wont be anywhere to go and fly.

I use Google Earth to scout for new flying sites. Ideally I look for a reasonably large open space where I can easily gain access if my quad lands where I don't want it to. Its the clear airspace you need not the actual land underneath it. Parking in a lay-by and flying out over a farmers field will work you just need to be able to retrieve it if needed. Flying from such sites also means your less likely to encounter dog walkers etc. Being a quad we are fortunate we don't need runways to take off and land. This certainly opens up a much larger range of possible flying sites.

If I were you I would try and have a look at the parks actual bylaws and see if you can identify which bylaw you might be breaching. The bylaws are normally displayed at or near the entrance to the park. Failing that see if you can find them online. I wonder if these 2 workers may be making things up on the spot. Did they say what action would be taken if you were to continue to fly?

Yep its a breach of the bylaw public health act 1874 section 164 pleasure grounds and open spaces. However there are no signs they also said it covers all of the parks/council open spaces. they didnt say what action they would take, but abit of digging on the bylaws says possible court action could be taken.
 
eflyer01 said:
I have just been looking at third party insurance, found bfma offer 25m for £30 per year. what other ones are there ?

Membership of FPVUK.org gets you £5m (valid UK and Europe) included for £15.80 per year (they also do 3, 6 and 9 month memberships if you join part way through their policy year.
 
Pull_Up said:
HOWEVER I strongly recommend you get third party insurance anyway, it's not expensive and is available from a few sources (I get mine through membership of FPVUK.org ).

I agree your post reminded me I needed to take care of this also. Just joined FPVUK myself.
 
Pull_Up said:
eflyer01 said:
I have just been looking at third party insurance, found bfma offer 25m for £30 per year. what other ones are there ?

Membership of FPVUK.org gets you £5m (valid UK and Europe) included for £15.80 per year (they also do 3, 6 and 9 month memberships if you join part way through their policy year.


Thanks Pull Up, just gone with fpvuk.org. £11. automatic cover as well. cheers
 
Pull_Up said:
Wherever you get it from, I think liability insurance is a no-brainer for RC aircraft of any sort. There are too many valuable (in every sense of the word) things out there that we might drop onto for a whole host of reasons out of our control.

Amen.

Every time I see someone flying I run over to them as quickly as I can but I have never been hit yet. One day I am going to sue someones ***. Whats the betting I pick someone who hasn't bothered to get insured :roll:
 
I am also a member of FPVUK. I think it might be a good idea if someone could draw up a voluntary code of conduct that us in the UK could adhere to. I know it might seems like limiting our freedom to fly but the possibility of further regulation of our hobby is far worse. It would seem that FPVUK would be the ideal organisation to draw it up. Quite a lot of work for someone but it may be worth it. (it may be that such a code exists)
 

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