Byelaws. Where?

[AndreaBB]

Hi guys,
I’d really like to fly legally but I struggle to find the local byelaws.
For example, I live in parish council in the south of Reading: postcode is RG2, but we pay taxes to Workingham.
Who is in charge to define where I can fly, on top of the drone code?
Reading Council?
Wokingham Council?
Local Parish Council?
Local Park owner?
Any County (Berkshire) authority?
And moreover... where should I look for these information? A basic google search?
I’ve been on the Wokingham website search engine and found nothing, but I supposed that’s not enough.

please help me to understand where to fly without feeling guilty every time.

 

[old man mavic]

if you follow the drone code then you will be ok to fly
its all relative to whether the conditions in the place where you want to fly are applicable to being able to comply with the rules
by that i mean a park area at certain times during the day will have few if any people in the park ,so as long as you stay out of the 50m bubble around buildings or people then you are fulfilling the rules ,but if you went to the same park on a day when there was a large gathering of people present for some event ,then you would not be able to fly nearer than 150m of them ,its all down to interpretation and common sence

 

[AndreaBB]

When I say park, I don’t mean a playground but something bigger.
For example, I got to know that To fly into the Bracknell Forest area an authorization is mandatory:

Flying drones and model aircraft

We currently have one open space in the borough where model aircraft or drones may be flown, which is at Priory Fields, Warfield. To fly model aircraft or drones here, you need to get our permission before the flight.

www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk

Bracknell Forest is a “unity authority area” (I don’t even know what it means...) that includes 3 towns and some other areas.

Searching the same information on the Bracknell council website doesn’t give any result.


so, if ignorance of the law is no excuse... what should we do?

 

[Starz]

FAA controls air space. Not your local municipality.
Use the search function here and read for days.

 

[old man mavic]

i must be lucky where i fly locally then ,i was talking about a large tract of land some 3 miles from my home where before the lockdown, was my go to place to fly it is on the site of and old mine tip with wooded areas and lots of walks, ponds, and i suppose you would call it a country park,it is owned and run by the council
the first time i went there i went to the ranger complex, and showed them my third party insurance ,and my drone code docs i also always wear a hi vis vest with drone pilot to identify what i am doing and they were fine with me flying there, in fact i have built up a good repore with the council rangers, at other country parks ,of which there are several dotted around the area ,
i have found that if you do everything you can to appear transparent and open about what you are doing then you will be ok

 

[AndreaBB]

FAA controls air space. Not your local municipality.
Use the search function here and read for days.

Each country has different rules, FAA doesn’t apply in UK

 

[AndreaBB]

i must be lucky where i fly locally

I’m lucky enough to have a quite big meadow next to my house where I can fly without bother anyone.
I’m more concerned when I travel on holiday, or just on a week-end walking in a different area.

 

[old man mavic]

I’m lucky enough to have a quite big meadow next to my house where I can fly without bother anyone.
I’m more concerned when I travel on holiday, or just on a week-end walking in a different area.

all you can do is fly where you go, follow the drone code and dont fly near airports ,power stations ,MOD land and if there are any temporary flight restrictions in place

 

[THE CYBORG]

Our national parks say it’s OK but the National Trust has a blanket no drone rule

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

FAA controls air space. Not your local municipality.
Use the search function here and read for days.

Each country has different rules, FAA doesn’t apply in UK

What he's saying is CAA control airspace in the UK, not local councils etc.
Same applies here in Australia, CASA, not council.

What they CAN do is ban the use of drones (model aircraft, model cars etc) from using the park to take off / land, or operate the drone while standing on the said land.

We have councils too, usually referred to as * Council, or if a more flash area City of * .

I google > bylaw (or byelaw as you spell it), followed by the name > * Council or City of *, followed by > drone.
Usually I will get some hits, and I can read through the (usually) bylaw governing recreational use of parlads under their authority.

If I don't find anything, then all good, I just fly to CASA rules.
If I do find anything, usually it's a blanket ban is 'all parks in councils regional boundaries'.
I fly any of them I choose without issues . . . in quiet times, only when I'm the only one around, usually Mon - Fri during work hours, never had a problem.
I doubt very much I'd ever get approached by a ranger or council employee about my brief flights in the main park I go to to test things.
Most times I fly a long way from people or council land.

Common sense and empathy to others in the area, I don't even want anyone to hear my drone in such circumstances.

 

[Starz]

Each country has different rules, FAA doesn’t apply in UK

Sorry. I’ll pay more attention next time.

 

[Cw4bray]

What do you do, if the local law contradicts the national law ? The city allows flight while the federal restricts ?

FAA condoned - City Airspace

"City" designated airspace with a map and rules. This rule has been in place for four years. It mirrors closely the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) airspace. It's boundary was less than a half mile off. The LAANC airspace is more conservative, so if you go...

mavicpilots.com

FAA condoned - City Airspace

 

[wheelman1uk]

Interesting to see what The Cyborg has to say about The National Trust. Within the last ten days I was informed (most aggressively) by a National Trust gardener that I could not fly over National Trust properties. Their guidance is deliberately misleading as it would give the impression that flying over their properties is banned. What they can ban is taking off and landing from their properties, but if you take off and land responsibly from public land and observe the correct distancing from other people you are not breaching any regulations.
What you need to be very sure of is that any road, foot path or track is not owned by the National Trust as they can be very sparse with their signage.
To make clear my own position. I have been a National Trust member for over forty years. I was a Contract Manager working on National Trust properties for over thirty years and have been flying drones for about four years although my Mavi Pro for only nine months.
The National Trust is very very protective about its properties and only in the past two to three years has there been a slight easing of its attitude towards visitors, who many National Trust employees looked upon as a necessary "evil". Many property managers view these properties are their own private fifedoms and visitors as an unfortunate but necessary evil.
There are of course other views available but mine are based on a great deal of experience

 

[Lastrexking]

Unfortunately, there isn’t a cover all answer. It varies from place to place. You’ll just have to check before you go.
I tend to stay away from most parks as some people can be funny. Beaches are similar. I tend to fly in the quiet ones, and not touristy places. The Northumberland coast is great for it. Locally is stick to farm land, and river banks, public foot paths - things like that.

 

[Lastrexking]

What do you do, if the local law contradicts the national law ? The city allows flight while the federal restricts ?

FAA condoned - City Airspace

"City" designated airspace with a map and rules. This rule has been in place for four years. It mirrors closely the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) airspace. It's boundary was less than a half mile off. The LAANC airspace is more conservative, so if you go...

mavicpilots.com

FAA condoned - City Airspace

The question relates to the UK. Why do people keep mentioning FAA regs? Completely different country and completely different rules.

 

[elsmeghead]

Interesting to see what The Cyborg has to say about The National Trust. Within the last ten days I was informed (most aggressively) by a National Trust gardener that I could not fly over National Trust properties. Their guidance is deliberately misleading as it would give the impression that flying over their properties is banned. What they can ban is taking off and landing from their properties, but if you take off and land responsibly from public land and observe the correct distancing from other people you are not breaching any regulations.
What you need to be very sure of is that any road, foot path or track is not owned by the National Trust as they can be very sparse with their signage.
To make clear my own position. I have been a National Trust member for over forty years. I was a Contract Manager working on National Trust properties for over thirty years and have been flying drones for about four years although my Mavi Pro for only nine months.
The National Trust is very very protective about its properties and only in the past two to three years has there been a slight easing of its attitude towards visitors, who many National Trust employees looked upon as a necessary "evil". Many property managers view these properties are their own private fifedoms and visitors as an unfortunate but necessary evil.
There are of course other views available but mine are based on a great deal of experience

I have seen a genuine email from the CAA saying that "keeping a minimum altitude of 200ft flying over NT / English Heritage land should be fine"

 

[AndreaBB]

I have seen a genuine email from the CAA saying that "keeping a minimum altitude of 200ft flying over NT / English Heritage land should be fine"

It would be nice to have a copy of that email

 

[Dronernator]

If you want to fly in a local park, start with the city council. If they can't answer they'll refer you to someone who can. We're lucky in Lancaster, their policy is follow the drone code but you'll find threads about councils who see drone pilots as the devil and have blanket bans on flying.

 

[elsmeghead]

It would be nice to have a copy of that email

I'll have a trawl through my messages and see if I can find it, it was a few months ago.

 

[elsmeghead]

It would be nice to have a copy of that email

I believe it was on the UK Drone Flyers Group [facebook group] around the 10th May 2018. (Didn't realise it was that long ago!)
I'm not a member of that group anymore (banned for daring to politely question the safety of an obviously dangerous and illegal flight) ?‍