Is flying over SSSIs illegal?

Thank you for that - I naively just cut the words out of my Facebook post and pasted it in here - I forget sometimes that how it reads on the page isn’t always the link thats buried underneath! It looks much better now - appreciated!

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From the news in Southport!

Which includes the statement, “ the flying of drones on Southport beach, an act which is heavily restricted and carries large financial penalties for anyone caught” :grimacing: :thinking:

There is obviously a SSSI, which may be specifically related to the beach, sand dunes, or birds etc. but the council have issued a drone policy.

https://www.sefton.gov.uk/media/3899/gren-sefton-drone-code.docx

Which basically states you can’t fly over SSSI areas!

I’ve seen people flying there frequently; it would be good to have some clearer understanding of the restrictions surrounding SSSI rather than the standard anti-drone mentality that appears to widely exist. Are some of these drone codes scare tactics with little legal weight?

Is it possible to find out the purpose of the SSSI and establish the protected species in order to be able to make an informed assessment of whether flying in that location would be detrimental?

It seems to me that the organisations who seek to restrict drone use are utilising SSSI and bird protection areas to suggest flying is illegal.

Anyway, I presume the Fauna that are spooked by the gentle hum of a M3P will be fine at beginning of next month when Vulcan Bombers will probably be screaming down the beach and all over the SSSI :man_shrugging:t2: but I suppose that will be fine?

Well they are in that POS policy.

Talk about bastardising to suit their needs.

This is the only reasonable bit in the policy

The larger parks and open spaces away from the protected landscapes in Sefton are regarded as more suitable for recreational drone users

They can say what they like - doesn’t mean that it is any more accurate than anything else put out by someone who wants to control others.

Hi. I was hoping to do the same thing, but on the mapping app it shows virtually the whole length of the wall is within an SSSI. I was under the impression that we couldn’t fly in those areas.
Anyone know anything to the contrary?
Cheers.

@Mancunianson I’ve moved your question to an existing thread on this subject, have a read :slight_smile:

My rule of thumb is avoid if it is wildlife, don’t see what harm a drone will do to the remains of a Roman wall unless you recklessley crash into, then your drone will come off worse than the wall. It was the same at Bamburgh Castle, area is covered by an SSI but its for the beach dunes, flora and fauna yet people are allowed to trample through the areas :man_shrugging:

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Thanks for that.

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We stay at the motorhome and caravning site in Southport and have regularly see motorised paragliders taking off and landing on the beech. It is beyond belief that our little drones will cause more upset to the wildlife that and internal combustion engine screaming on take off. Its just plain nonsense.

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Just crack on flying… I do at certain SSSI’s and nobody has ever said a thing to me.

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@HantsFlyer
I would tend to agree; although to be a little prepared, I check the SSSI details and if it’s not relating to birds, then have that information.
And even if it’s birds, my opinion is so long as it’s outside the breeding season, again, you have given it consideration.
Cheers, Dave.

Most of the SSSI’s I fly over are marshes and I’m not going to get anywhere near and it’s mainly whats growing on it.

I see lots of people paraparascending locally over and on SSSI land filming with GoPro etc. Surely they will have a bigger impact than my mini 3 pro!

Just to throw in another thought.
I would love to fly over Northam Burrows near Westward Ho! but I know this is an SSI from my many walks there.
I have been on the natural England site and their citation for this site can be found HERE

In the text it describes many different types of grassland plant.
However it does state “The extensive areas of grassland provide autumn, spring and winter roosting and
feeding grounds for many birds, particularly those using the adjacent estuary.
Golden plover Pluvialis apricaria, curlew Numenius arquata, wigeon Anas penelope
and Brent goose Branta bernicla occur in overwintering flocks. The range of
habitats present also supports a diverse breeding bird community which includes
shelduck Tadorna tadorna, wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe , stonechat Saxicola
torquata, whitethroat Sylvia communis, grasshopper warbler Locustella naevia and
sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus.”

I haven’t got a clue what those birds are, I could google it but CBA. What I am picking up is that it wants to highlight autumn, spring and winter which in my book means flying a drone over grass in summer should be OK… I guess…

In the nicest of possible ways, if you CBA what makes you think others will,

My advice is, would be to try & research what you CBA first, you never know you may find what your looking for ( happy days ) then be able to post it here to help others, or if you have no joy, then say you’ve looked with no joy & maybe someone could help,

Just my honest opinion :+1:t2:

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You are quite right really. I’m no ornithologist but a bit of further education is never a bad thing.

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Flown here a few times.

You can take off from the beach, but not from the burrows themselves.

My company is building dwellings here.

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@Kirky Was trying to think what this acronym was for Rich… Ohhh I get it! No pictures though please!!! :joy: :joy: