Countryside Alliance highlights the need for further clarity on drone use in rural areas

The Countryside Alliance is aware that many of our members are concerned about the increased use of drones in rural areas, and as well as responding to Government consultations we are asking our members to share their experiences with us.

Drones are increasingly common and used both for recreational and commercial purposes. Users of drones need to comply with the law regulating the use of drones which is intended to ensure public safety and protect privacy. This is a developing area of law and there have been a number of recent changes to the regulations governing the use of drones and a draft Draft Drones Bill is due to be published later this year. In the light of the recent changes the Alliance has produced a brief summary of the current rules concerning the use of drones which can be found here.

Ahead of the publication of the draft Drones Bill the Government are consulting on a number of proposals. The proposed measures include:

• Police powers to issue fixed penalty notices to those disregarding drone rules


• introducing minimum age restrictions for drone owners in addition to the new tests they will need to take


• proposals for regulating and mandating the use of 'apps' on which pilots would file flight plans ahead of take-off


• using new counter-drone technology to protect public events and critical national infrastructure and stop contraband reaching prisons

The Alliance will be responding to the consultation and highlighting that more consideration needs to be given to ensuring that drones are not used in a way which is disruptive, causes harassment or fails to respect people's privacy. The focus at the moment is too urban centric as afar as privacy is concerned and we will be arguing that people's peaceful enjoyment of the countryside and privacy in rural areas must be fully recognised. We are also of the view that the law should be explicit where it comes to drones being used to harass, intimidate or disrupt activities in the countryside and the there should be rules about the use of drones in the vicinity of animals, which can result in harm to people and animals alike. The other area of growing concern is the use of drones by criminals in rural areas to recce land and property with a view to theft and other criminal activities.

If you are aware, or have experience, of drones used as part of criminal activity in your rural community then please let us know: [email protected]

The consultation closes on 17 September and can be found here.