United Utilities flying problem

[megray]

Hi Folks, I have been flying my drone (Mavic 2 Zoom) at the same place for the last 3 years without incident or problem.
Yesterday this jobsworth came up to me and said have i been flying drone. Yes I said. He said I was not allowed and i replied under what law is that then? No reply. Apparently this is united utilities land. I explained to him that he had no control over the airspace i was flying that was the C.AA. What is the legal stance on this folks ? There is not one sign ANYWHERE to say NO DRONES. Thanks all Graham

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

If they own the land they have the legal right to prevent you from launching and landing on their land.
If push comes to shove they could probably prosecute you for trespass.
However, if you launch out side their land they can not prevent you over flying it. As far as I know the same argument applies to National Trust etc. land.

 

[zocalo]

Hi Folks, I have been flying my drone (Mavic 2 Zoom) at the same place for the last 3 years without incident or problem.
Yesterday this jobsworth came up to me and said have i been flying drone. Yes I said. He said I was not allowed and i replied under what law is that then? No reply. Apparently this is united utilities land. I explained to him that he had no control over the airspace i was flying that was the C.AA. What is the legal stance on this folks ? There is not one sign ANYWHERE to say NO DRONES. Thanks all Graham

If the land is owned by UU, and they do own a lot of it, then the law says that you are supposed to have the permission of the the landowner before you can operate from it, e.g. take off and/or land on it. so if you had done that then he would have been correct.

The CAA having jurisdiction over the airspace comes in on overflights. You can legally fly *over* a UU land, as long as you have taken off from public land or somewhere you do have permission to operate from, and follow all the other restrictions in the Drone Code. I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is that would also include any public rights of way crossing UU land (footpaths, bridleways, and the like), but I don't think this has been tested in court, so it's a judgement call if you want to try and use this in an attempt to keep flying if confronted.

Even so, a landowner could still bring a civil suit, with their best chance of success probably being for trespass. To minimise your chances of that it's best to physically remain on land from which you do have permission to fly (which totally prevents them going after you for trespass), maintain a resonable AGL, and don't give them any reason to go after you for things like invasion of privacy, disturbance of wildlife, etc. either.

 

[old man mavic]

@megray ,the M2zoom can be flown only 150m from any buildings and not over built up areas or factories or people if on the other hand you have an A2 C of C certificate ,then till the end of this year it can be flown under the old 50m rules ,during the transitional period ,really the only safe way to fly where you mentioned is to pass your GVC and fly with permissions or purchase a Mini 2 or other under 250 g drone which can be flown over residential, commercial ,areas and people etc
its like my MPP, it will become a paperweight from 1st January 2023 ,but as i have my A2 C of C i am still able to fly it under the old rules at the moment

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

@old man mavic from 2023 will you not be able to fly the MPP out in the wilds, well away from buildings and people?

 

[ICHOTT]

So Graham, you say he didn’t reply but also that it was apparently UU land!
Who said that?

Where were you when you took off/landed ?

Yes, the CAA controls airspace not those whose land is under the airspace - have you got your Operating license? If not you should, the training and exam will answer your questions giving ‘you’ the confidence to respond.

My response is never to engage with them, ie do not admit to anything, even saying anything will never help you - ignore them!

 

[old man mavic]

@Yorkshire_Pud ,out in the wilds is a very apt description ,and yes i could take the MPP up to the Brecon beacons like i did today ,but other than very secluded areas ,it would not be conducive with getting any spectacular shots other than that of what i already have after all the time i have been flying there
if you hold a GVC certificate, then it would be possible to fly any of the legacy group of drones ,with the necessary permission's in place as now, but that would mean flying in the specific category ,not the open category
the A3 fly far from people is what the MPP will fall into ,and that means 150 m from any property commercial, recreational , persons or otherwise dwellings occupied by someone
and because you need to be 150m from such places it would be impossible to fly at 150m high so effectively the new rules have made legacy drones useless ,you are not going to get much from 450 ft from a landmark ,and you wouldnt be able to fly over it either
the main reason i got my A2 C of C was to give me the extra two years of flying it under the old rules called the transitional period ,but of course the wonderful virus made a mockery of that when all the bans on travel were in place ,but i will continue to fly my good old MPP till 2023 god willing