The Whakatāne District Council’s Policy Committee has adopted a recommended ‘blanket approval’ for operators to fly drones over Council-owned or managed public open spaces. The blanket approval means that operators would not need to notify the Council when they are flying on Council land, but would still need to ensure that they comply with all Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) rules.
Committee Chairman, Mayor Tony Bonne, welcomed the “sensible and enabling approach” taken to drone use. “This allows drone enthusiasts to continue to capture the natural beauty of our District from the air, and providing they follow the guidelines, there will be no cause for any concern about aircraft safety.”
Earlier this year the CAA amended its rules on flying drones in response to the potential hazard to aviation created by increased drone use. A report adopted at yesterday’s Council Policy Committee meeting included a set of guidelines for flying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones) which provides a local context for flying drones in the Whakatāne District.
Council Strategic Policy Team Leader Catherine Ball says it’s important that drone operators familiarise themselves with these guidelines, to ensure that safety is paramount. “While a blanket approval has been agreed upon, this doesn’t mean drones can be flown anywhere, anytime,” Ms Ball says. “The CAA has a specific set of rules for the flying of drones which include restrictions around not flying over other people, only flying during daylight, and not flying within four kilometres of an aerodrome.”
The Whakatāne Airport and Whakatāne Hospital Heliport are both recognised aerodromes, the latter meaning that the whole Whakatāne township lies within its 4 km zone. Ms Ball says non-certified operators are only permitted to fly drones within these areas if they are undertaking a sheltered activity. “This is where a drone is flown within 100 metres of a physical structure (natural or man-made) and below that structure’s highest point,” she says. “This would mean a drone could be flown around tree-lined perimeters, so long as it flies no higher than the highest tree and no further than 100 metres from it. The same would apply if flying close to an escarpment, or any built structure.”
Council staff carried out a workshop with commercial and recreational drone users, local aircraft operators and aerodrome operators to determine what approach would be preferred under the new CAA rules.