I live right on the edge of an SSSI but it is not an SSI for animals, more for Reen (drainage ditch/dyke) plant life. If I fly a drone along the edge or even over the SSSI do I need permission. I can understand if it upsets wildlife but if it is for water-plants and life, they shouldn’t be affected by drones.
I can easily get permission from my local council’s bio-diversity department but as for Natural Resources Wales, they are much harder to get any response from… it took me over a year to get permission to instal bat detectors on some of their land. Yes, I am also batty…
If there are no airspace restrictions above it then no, you don’t need permission to fly over a SSSI.
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SSSI’s are shown on Altitude Angel based maps such as Drone Assist and GADC’s own Drone Scene as ground hazards, in yellow. There are no restriction on flying over them, but you need the same permissions to TOAL from them as anywhere else, and of course as with anywhere you need to fly sensibly, considerately, and according to the CAA’s Drone Code. The scientific interest might well be to do with something that would not be affected by a drone, such as a geological feature or trees, but if it is to do with wildlife, especially birds, you need to be aware of this in the breeding/nesting season, or if it is to do with small rare plants, don’t tread on them!
Ground hazards in yellow on the maps are marked for your awareness; dealing with them is largely down to common sense. You can fly them, but it is not difficult to understand that flying low over busy roads, or railway lines, or power lines, is not a good idea, nor is flying over crowds in parks or sports grounds, but SSSI’s are just bits of countryside the same as all the other bits of countryside, so it is good that the maps make you aware of them. Common sense is to overfly at a good height to avoid disturbing the critters below…
Thanks @TheJohnster for this very detailed reply.
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Slight correction. SSSI’s are not marked as ground hazards on Dronescene, they have their own layer near the top. Ground hazards are down near the bottom.
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Slight correction
Not all SSSI are in the ‘countryside’
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