here is the reply historic scotland sent me .
Hi John,
Thank you for your questions regarding drone activity at sites under the care of Historic Environment Scotland (HES).
With the new regulations and CAA guidance which came into effect in the UK in December last year, we have been working hard to ensure that our Drone Policy reflects these changes, whilst continuing to safeguard our visitors, staff and the special monuments in our care.
We appreciate that the CAA provide guidance on flight safety aspects of drone use, and this forms the basis for our own policy. However, over and above that, HES has a legal duty to reduce risks, as far as is reasonably practicable, to members of the public who visit our properties and our staff. We also have a duty to look after the properties in our care and protect them from damage.
While we recognise that most drone pilots are responsible fliers, unfortunately we have had incidents in the past where drone users without permission, license or insurance have caused damage to our properties through irresponsible drone activity. There is a risk that visitors to our sites could be injured as a result of unauthorised drone activities. Some of our properties are Scheduled Monuments, which means that damage to them is a criminal offence. We care for extremely historically important sites, some of which are 5000 years old. We understand that there is a real appetite to capture views of these sites from the air, but we must ensure that this is done safely.
In answer to your question regarding drone signage, we do already have this in place at many of our properties. At the moment this signage is in place at the sites where we encounter the most unauthorised drone activity, or sites with restrictions such as proximity to an airport, but the rolling out of signage is ongoing and we aim to have this at as many of our sites as possible in the near future.
We currently don’t differentiate between weights of drone used at our properties, but instead base our policy around level of pilot qualifications and competence through training.
We are more than happy to consider a request from a pilot to launch their drone from one of our properties provided this first goes through an application process. We require pilots to demonstrate that they have strong practical and theoretical skills and knowledge in safely flying their drone, proven through having obtained a CAA PfCO (Permit for Commercial Operations while still valid or the new Operational Authorisation with GVC). We also ask that pilots provide us with a suitable level of Public Liability Insurance, as well as a detailed risk assessment and flight path of the site to demonstrate that they have a sound knowledge of the area they are flying and suitable protections in place to guard against damage.
Many of our sites are in close proximity to farms or residential areas, or are Sites of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) for their protected wildlife or flora and fauna, and these also require special consideration.
We also view commercial airlines passing overhead above 40,000 feet by a crew of highly trained and experienced pilots to be quite different from the small unmanned aerial vehicles that our policy relates to.
If you are recording footage then privacy concerns come into place when filming above private land too, particularly if capturing uninvolved people. You could be breaching data protection law by capturing members of the public or staff at our properties without their consent. The CAA also stipulate that you cannot overly a crowd. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean a large gathering of people, but instead refers to any group of people who cannot safely or easily disperse if the drone was to fall to the ground. This is a consideration at many of our sites where small spaces may mean that visitors are not able to get out of the way safely.
We do have several pilots within the organisation who have been fully trained by the CAA. Our pilots capture not just scenic shots but also operate for essential Conservation purposes. Our pilots must meet the same standards of professional qualification as external pilots and must also submit flight paths, risk assessments and method statements for any flying they do.
We understand that launching a drone from outwith our land is a suitable alternative for many pilots who cannot meet our application requirements. Provided the pilot has appropriate permission from whoever does look after that land, perhaps Council, then we have no objection to this if it is done while maintaining a safe radius around the site and not flying directly over. Though many of our properties are closed, they are still vulnerable to pilot error or a malfunctioning drone, which could cause irrevocable damage.
We are continually reviewing our policy in line with changes in CAA regulation, and with feedback from pilots such as yourselves, which helps us shape how we look after drone use at our sites.
Please know that our intention is not to be preventative to drone users, but instead to ensure that these fantastic shots can be taken without any compromise on safety, and so that these special monuments are protected now and for future generations.
With kind regards,
Note they sticking to no flying over there buildings
