I wonder if FPV UK can push for a national legal challenge against local councils that are still enforcing bans on drone take off and landing in public parks, etc. If this hasn’t already been considered. Could a government petition be used as a means to get action and gather the signatures needed to force a change?
As of May 2026, the justification for these council bylaws has evaporated. With Remote ID now fully active and the 100g registration threshold in place, drones are now as traceable and accountable as road vehicles.
We allow cars on roads and bikes in parks. Banning a DJI drone is no longer a proportionate response to risk.
How can we collectively get the Department for Transport to “preempt” these local bylaws? We need a national “Right to Take off/Land” without complicated/lengthy councils approval application for any pilot who is:
• CAA Registered (Flyer/Operator ID)
• Remote ID Compliant (Broadcast active)
• Fully Insured (Public Liability)
I’d love to hear the community’s thoughts on this idea
One of the annoying aspects is that the sort of people that the bi laws are there for are probably the sort of people who are not sticking to the rules, therefore creating some justification on the eyes of the council that the rules are required to protect whoever it is that sends angry letters to the council about the perils of walking their French Bulldog in the park in constant fear of an aerial attack or heaven forbid being captured in a public place on a camera.
May be worth doing a subject access request for any such reports or incidents to the council, I doubt they have many, this then goes to add weight to your argument that the “ban” is disproportionate.
A subject access request is ONLY for information a data controller holds on you personally; for the information required, it would need to be a freedom of information request, which is normally free.
I suspect that the reasoning behind these rules, and the NT rules and other similar is that if any injury or damage results from drone use, whether in accordance with the code or not, the council/NT/etc has protected themselves against legal action for joint responsibility.
A petition would be a good idea, there seams to be more and more places where they try and stop you flying. National trust England have a full ban while National Trust Scotland welcome drone flights. All they ask is that you contact them prior toy your visit with your details. If they can do it, why don’t others?
FWIW Rossendale Borough Council have banned all drones being flown in, on or above council owned property.
Which for me is rather annoying as I live near a park, this park was given to the people of Rossendale and the council left responsible for caring for it.
I spit on their policy
As they do not enforce any other park rules, like dogs on leads (actually covered by a bylaw) then saying no drones is just laughable.
CAA controls the airspace in the UK the council doesn’t have the authority to ban flights over their land… sure the can control take off and landings from land they own but that’s it
Some of there other rules about not flying over people without permission etc have no legal basis.
for example:
"A pilot cannot fly a drone directly over people, roads or buildings which have not been given permission from the person and/or landowner. "
someone representing the drone community needs to approach them and advise them
of the law !
Greetings from Bristol
A council (or anyone else for that matter) has no authority to ban flying in airspace above their land although they can restrict TOAL from said land.I rather suspect that they,like NT,keep the wording deliberately ambiguous to make you think so.I have a reply from the CAA to an e mail I sent that clarifies exactly where you stand on use of airspace.It’s on here somewhere amongst my posts
This is, in my view, a clear case of regulatory overreach and should be challenged in court.
Perhaps as a community we should organise a fund for such legal challenges. I would certainly be willing to contribute to such a fund.
Petitions are pointless, and in fact demonstrate a submissive attitude to these contrived “regulations”. Legal action (or at least the threat thereof) is what we need here.
As it’s the usual BS that councils give, it’s IMO totally ignorable.
They do not regulate dog owners letting dogs off leads which is against their bylaws, they do not stop dogs going into play areas etc.
So I have zero faith in them actually enforcing this even if it is not legal.
As usual, it’s some rubbish put together by people that have zero knowledge about the issue and just go off some old persons complaint that they heard a drone once etc.
My local park is the best place for me to practice as all others with open areas have a lot more wind so I’ll continue there.
I may print some of those leaflets I have seen mentioned here just in case.
@RiverPilot360 I think it’s a discussion worth having. If drone pilots are CAA registered, Remote ID compliant and properly insured, then blanket bans by local councils do seem increasingly difficult to justify on safety grounds alone.
A national framework would certainly provide more consistency, as the current patchwork of council rules can be confusing and restrictive for responsible operators. Whether that comes through FPV UK, a legal challenge, or a government petition, the key would be demonstrating that modern regulation and accountability measures already address many of the concerns these bylaws were originally designed for.
That said, councils will likely argue they still have responsibilities around nuisance, privacy, wildlife protection and public safety in specific locations. Finding a balance between those concerns and the rights of responsible pilots will be the challenge.
I’d definitely support a conversation aimed at creating clearer, evidence-based rules rather than the current postcode lottery.
I have notified Rossendale Borough Council of the misinformation in their drone policy. Their guidance lacks legal standing, as the Civil Aviation Authority—not the local council—is the sole authority governing UK airspace.
Hi, this may not be a byelaw. It refers to guidance applying when permission is requested to fly on or over council land. Might be a case of guidance dressed up as something else.
I made a specific request to my council and they confirmed there is no byelaw. They have guidance but it is not enforceable only advisory at best.
