New Forest National Park

Legal & Privacy
1

So I had been having a chat with @PingSpike about the flying rules within the New Forest National Park perambulation boundary and decided to email the Forestry Commission on the possibility of flying.

Now the New Forest is literally on my doorstep so I was familiar with their stance on drone flying but wanted to get clarification as such. In my email to them I chose a very specific location that I knew was extremely quite with very few visitors and wild ponies etc.

So just a heads up if you’re thinking of flying within the New Forest and you’re not flying from private land with the owners permission…

Below is the reply and the bold text are my comments…

Thank you for your enquiry for permission to fly a drone in the New Forest.

Please be advised the Forestry Commission Byelaws prohibits the use of any kind of model aircraft or drones over the New Forest Crownland.

(Well yes and no) You can fly from private land within the Forest with the landowners permission. Also there is a model flying club at Beaulieu Heath Airfield however drones are not allowed.

The Byelaws are in place to enable Forestry England, as the responsible land manager, to protect the internationally important SSSI, wildlife and ecology of the New Forest. Permission for the use of drones may only be granted in specific circumstances such as scientific research, documentary filming or operational procedures. Hobbyist drone flying cannot be permitted.

Also under our Habitats Regulations, we are unable to permit any use of drones over the Crownland during the Ground Nesting Bird season which is from 1st February until 31st August. During other months, permission can be considered for operational, scientific, and documentary filming and will need to be approved by our Wildlife Manager. Permits for these purposes will also need to adhere to the Civil Aviation Authority’s drone code and should have a formal licence from the CAA and appropriate insurance.

For further information regarding our drone flying policy, please refer to our website page:

www.forestryengland.uk/article/new-forest-permission-drone-flying

Drone flying in the New Forest Like many other organisations we believe that recreational use of drones at our sites is incompatible with the vast majority of our visitorsꞌ expectations for peaceful and quiet enjoyment of the forest…

We hope this clarifies the use of drones in the New Forest and we thank you once again for contacting Forestry England.

Kind regards

Southern Permissions, Lyndhurst

Forestry England

1 Like
Can I take off from public road that is surrounded by NT land?
Another new member from Southampton with DJI Mini Pro 4
New Forest
Hello! From near Winchester in Hampshire
Balmer Lawn Hotel & Spa - Added to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in South East
Greetings from Poole
Hello! from Southampton
Hello from Fordingbridge, Hants
2

Not sure if the roads belong to them.

Or if at some are owned by Hampshire County Council highways.

Findmystreet.co.uk ought to tell you.

1 Like
3

Bollocks. I didn’t plan on going there soon, but now on my list.

Thanks for letting me know.

4

No issues still within the NPA itself down by Calshot. It’s outside the perambulation boundary and has the use of Crown Foreshore.

1 Like
5

Oh dear, I’m waiting for the knock on the door from the drone police’s now.
We were caravanning at the Black Knowl site near Brockenhurst in December and I flew the drone over Ober water and the trees in their autumn colours - got some nice footage.

3 Likes
6

Another lot who think they own and control the airspace. Throwing in SSSI’s to scare folk off. :roll_eyes:

I know Lepe extremely well, It’s a pretty boring location to fly from anyway as there’s not much to catch the eye. It wouldn’t stop me though outside of their boundary.

Lepe
Lepe1352×2112 2.89 MB

1 Like
7

Fortunately, it’s not up to them to control airspace. If they really wanted to they could apply to the CAA to have an FRZ. :woman_shrugging:t3:

8

We know that, unfortunately many local and county authorities are still very much uneducated in this field.

1 Like
9

What would be the CAA’s stance if one reported to them that certain councils/quangos/national bodies who ought to know better but don’t are usurping the CAA’s authority? My limited experience of this sort of thing is that authorities get shirty if their remit is stepped on; would there be snotty letters from the CAA to the miscreants? If there would, then surely this is an avenue worth chasing up! After all, the CAA is a central government body, not some local yokel council or rule-by-committee jobsworth quango. Were I to be challenged about drone-flying within the rules by anybody other than the police or CAA, I would tend to ignore the challenge and refer the jobsworth to the aforementioned proper authorities, and he can shove his notice where the sun don’ shine!!!

Just sayin’…

1 Like
10

Not directly central, it’s a public corporation that works with the Department of Transport.

11

The comments on the FB post are golden :popcorn:

1 Like
12

Just like Southampton’s local rag, the comments can be priceless. :joy:

2 Likes