I have just added this to the map of places to fly your drone at Drone Scene:
Land owner permission requirements unknown.
Large car park by the common and lots of places to TOAL around the lake
The originator declared that this location was not inside a Flight Restriction Zone at the time of being flown on 02/04/2023. It remains the responsibility of any pilot to check for any changes before flying at the same location.
I did a demonstration flight for East Hampshire District Council several years ago, and permission was subsequently given to fly over the heath, but we are actually limited in where on the heath we can fly. Local council permission extends over all of it EXCEPT the lake itself and the main drag that runs from the primary / pre school to the cafe. They particularly do not want anyone flying out to the islands (including that big one in the centre of it !) where the birds nest and there is constant danger of collision over water with low-level big birds in flight (swans / large ducks / geese / gulls etc.)
This is so that UAV flyers avoid the main drag where public density is highest, and also avoid annoying the huge numbers of birds and other fauna that call the lake home.
We are better of flying from the cricket ground adjoining the heath (superb visibility and large area of mowed, open space for TOAL, or from the part of the heath that runs parallel with the car park opposit the pay and play golf course, where wre very close to the lake, but protected straying too far over it by huge tree banks. RC signal is superb everywhere. Some risk of low flying private planes at weekends and constant checking needed for hawks, which frequent the area, but rarely attack.
@AeroJ fyi:
East Hampshire District Council do not have any byelaws or policies regarding the use of recreational drones.
Source (26th March 2024): Freedom of Information Request: Byelaws and Policies on Recreational Use of Drones - a Freedom of Information request to East Hampshire District Council - WhatDoTheyKnow
That’s interesting. Seems what the councillors said to me at the time was not underpinned by policy, but was more of a request, which I have nonetheless fully abided by ever since, because it seemed like a very sensible policy ! Flying over that lake at low altitude remains fraught with risk of bird collision and they are present in such densities that I can’t really see how they could NOT be stressed by the presence of UAVs so close to their nests, most of which are actually on islands within the lake.
There are large flocks of gulls here too, which are ‘very confident’ in defending their space !
There are also ‘aeration fountains’ that have been added since the last algae outbreak in 2024, which further increase risk to drones at surface level to about 30 ft above it if you have to avoid the spray from these.
