Drone ban for Lindisfarne Castle

Nick Lewis, House Steward of Lindisfarne Castle in Northumberland is seeing too many drones. Has written in some detail about why the National Trust does not want them flying over their properties.

The use of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), or drones as they are more commonly known, is not permitted on or over National Trust land as part of our bylaws without the necessarily required qualifications and a licence granted by us.

We are experiencing increasing issues with drones on our sites on the Northumberland Coast and we expect this to continue as the technology becomes more available. This outlines in more detail why we do not allow drones to be flown at National Trust sites.

Why we don’t allow drones to fly at National Trust sites on the Northumberland Coast:

• The use of drones is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority and it is a developing area which is coming under greater scrutiny. Few non-commercial users have the correct training or permission to operate drones, which creates a serious risk to our staff, volunteers, visitors, property and wildlife. We have therefore adopted a strict blanket policy banning the use of drones at our sites.

• The use of aerial vehicles is also prohibited by the Trust “bylaws”. The bylaws reflect the charitable core purposes of the Trust to enable us to preserve special places for the nation.

• Should a drone cause damage or harm, pilots generally do not have the correct insurances to compensate the Trust for remedial actions.

• Drones should not be flown over people; as much of our land is open access we cannot guarantee an area, even if remote, is completely empty.

• Drones should not be flown near the property; the special nature of our properties makes the risk of damage more severe.

• The Northumberland Coast is an important area for wildlife and is covered by many national and international conservation designations. Much of the wildlife use our sites for breeding and are sensitive to disturbance and some species are given additional protection that can result in prosecution if photographed in certain situations. Many birds see drones as a threat and may abandon nests.

• Many drones have cameras attached and these could infringe data protection laws (filming people without permission) and potentially could contravene National Trust rules on photography and filming.

• The presence of drones can be detrimental to the enjoyment of our sites by other visitors.

We, therefore, do not allow drone flying from or over National Trust land. The only exception being contractors or staff who satisfy stringent CAA criteria, have specific insurances and have been commissioned or authorised by the Trust for a specific purpose – and in these cases, the activity is strictly controlled.

The regulatory environment regarding drones is rapidly developing. We will continue to monitor this development and keep our position under constant review.

In addition to this, anyone wishing to carry out commercial activity on National Trust land, such as photography needs to contact us first to obtain permission. For Lindisfarne Castle enquiries please email or call 01289 389244. For Northumberland Coast enquiries please email us or call 01665 576874