Hi everyone. My name is Russell. I live in Colchester. I recently purchased a DJI mini 3. I’ve had drones before, but sort of cheaper ones.
Anyone else in or near Colchester? Where are some good spots? I’d also like to know if I can legally fly at Highwoods country park? I have my flyer and operator ID and I have insurance. Currently doing the A2 CofC just to future proof larger drone purchases.
Reading up on Colchester council bylaws has caused a bit of anxiety. Can they really implement such things even though the CAA have legislation in place? Are their bylaws actually enforceable and legal if a pilot is flying according to CAA legislation? Has anyone been challenged or fined for breaking bylaws by councils?
Yes, I’ve watched the black belt barrister and done research. But I’d like to hear from people who have encountered problems and how they have dealt with it.
Hi Russell @Russh and welcome to GADC 
Good morning @Russh Russel welcome along,
Yes you can fly there with your sub 250g drone, the yellow is just showing ground hazard ie public etc so just follow the drone code & your good to go, I also see there is no byelaws for that location
Hi @Russh and welcome to Grey Arrows 
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There is no yellow zone at all. In theory I can. I just want to know about the validity of Colchester borough’s bylaws. Personally, I don’t think they’re valid. But the thought of being stopped and questioned by a misinformed council employee is very off putting 
the only thing they can moan about is people taking off and landing on their land, which is really unfair considering I pay my taxes and therefore can use the land recreationally in a responsible manner.
Welcome to Grey Arrows @Russh
Grey Arrows Drone Club members can get £5m of Public Liability Insurance for just £9 per year, check it out on your next renewal 
They can’t implement any changes in airspace regulation above their land, but they can very much control what happens on their land, ie. you flying a drone.
Not that I’ve seen.
What charges would they bring against you in court? 
I don’t know what the odds of a council employee responsible for their byelaws being in the same place as you are while flying a drone, but I’d suspect winning the lottery has better odds
Hi Russ. Welcome to the group.
Nice one Rich, I didn’t think to actually check it 
You gotta love drone scene 
We fly in a local park to us and had a meet. No one bothered us. We did think somone official was coming towards us so i was about to be nice a friendly to them to try to avoid conflict only to find they were from a factory the other side of the park. During the night a vehicle had gained access to the park driven to the river over the grass then connected a pipe to go through the river and over the whole park, over the fence and into their compound. They then drained 10s of thousands of gallons of diesel from the onsite tanks. We assisted with the drone to follow the tyre tracks for a short distance to give them an idea of where the vehicle had been in case of any evidence. We also fly at another park where there is a model plane club that have the rights to fly. The club are never there and the website is so outdated i believe they may not exist. During our flying, park keepers drove past in a buggy. Looked over… kept going… some turn a blind eye. Obviously you will get one set on rules or bad mood.
Oh wow. Could you please send a link to that? 
It’s built in to Drone Scene (along with 101 other features), check it out @Russh
You’ll need to be a club member to access all the features.
More info available here:
Done. Just paid to be a member. I didn’t realise it was only visible through a paid membership.
Well worth it though I reckon.
Thank you for your help.
Welcome!
Be sure to check out all your member-discount goodies
How long would you have waited for a response on other sites ;o)
Welcome to the club
You are so right. I am honestly really impressed. Super happy I joined.
@Russh welcome! 