London Council Website Links ~ Drone Byelaws
Below are links to boroughs within London City, along with a brief on each councils’ stance on drone flights as of January 2024.
- Barking and Dagenham – Permissible. Need consent of council to launch in public parks.
- Barnet – Permissible in public parks.
- Bexley – Permissible. No mention of drones or model aircraft in byelaws.
- Brent – Permissible. Not in public parks.
- Bromley – Permissible. Byelaws only address “combustible propulsion” flights in public parks.
- Camden – Permissible. Byelaws do not reference flight in public parks or spaces.
- Canary Wharf – No. Although Canary Wharf is within the Tower of Hamlets borough, launching of drones from Canary Wharf is prohibited without approval from the Canary Wharf Group. The Isle of Dogs is not within the private land of Canary Wharf and therefore, the CAA Air Navigation Order of 2016 takes precedence for the launching of drones from private land.
- Croydon – Permissible. Byelaws do not address the flight of drones in public parks but follow byelaw rules.
- Dartford – Permissible. Not a London borough. Not permitted in public parks.
- Ealing – Permissible. Flight in public parks allowed subject to ranger’s discretion.
- Enfield – Permissible. Allowed in designated public playing fields but not in parks.
- Greenwich – Permissible. No flights in public parks “without reasonable excuse”.
- Hackney – Permissible. Not in public parks.
- Hammersmith & Fulham – Permissible. Fulham is located within a restricted flight zone.
- Haringey – Permissible. Byelaws not defined for flying in public parks.
- Harrow – Permissible. Application to council required for flight in public parks.
- Havering – Permissible. No flights in public parks except for Bedfords Park.
- Hillingdon – Permissible. Not in public parks.
(74% of Hillingdon is located within a Heathrow flight restriction zone) - Islington – Permissible. Not in public parks.
- Isle of Dogs – See Tower Hamlets below.
- Kensington & Chelsea – Permissible. Website does not stipulate details regarding the launching of a drone from private property. Note that a large portion of Chelsea and Kensington are located within the Hyde Park R157 flight restriction zone. In addition, both boroughs lie within the London Heliport Flight Restriction zone which requires an online permit application and fee to be paid prior to flight.
- Kingston – Permissible. No reference to drone flights in public parks.
- Lambeth – Permissible. Not in public parks “without reasonable excuse”.
- Lewisham – Permissible. Clearly states no-drone-flying in public parks.
- City of London – No. Located within its own R158, R160, and CTR restricted flight zones.
- Merton – Permissible. Only permissible in defined area of Merton Park.
- Newham – Permissible. Not in public parks.
- Redbridge – Permissible. Not in public parks “without reasonable excuse”.
- Southwark – Permissible only when remote pilot is certified. Not in public parks “without reasonable excuse”.
- Sutton – Permissible. Not in public parks.
- Tower Hamlets – States within its byelaws launching of drone is prohibited including public parks. However, the CAA Air Navigation Order of 2016 would take precedence when launching a drone to take images of a property from private land (includes Isle of Dogs).
- Waltham Forest – Permissible. Flights in public parks only with consent from council.
- Wandsworth – Permissible. Not in public parks. Some of Wandsworth is located within the London Heliport flight restriction zone which requires a remote pilot to make an online application for flight approval. A fee of either £30 or £180 will apply depending on property’s location to heliport.
- Westminster – Only with a waiver from NATS. Located within the R158, R160, and CTR restricted flight zones.
