Use of drones within harbour limits:
Littlehampton Harbour General Direction E31 states that “no person shall fly or operate a Drone within or over the Harbour without the prior written permission of the Harbour Master:
a) over or within 150m of any congested area;
b) over or within 150m of an organised open-air assembly of more than 1000 persons;
c) over or within 50m of any vessel, vehicle or structure which is not under the control of the person in charge of the drone;
d) over or within 50m of any person except during take-off and landing;
e) over or within 30m of any person except for the person in charge of the drone.”
Requests for permission to deviate from the above must still fall within the Civil Aviation Authority’s latest guidelines (including the Drone and Model Aircraft Code) and should be directed by email to harbour@littlehampton.org.uk in the first instance with at least 5 working days’ notice. Requests should include details of launching and landing location, routes and heights. The privacy of members of the public on the river’s edges and of the many residents overlooking the harbour must also be considered.
Amongst other CAA requirements on the link above, it should be noted that (even if flying for fun) if your drone has a camera or weighs 250g or more then you need to register with the CAA. You need to renew this registration every year. Anyone flying a drone 250g or more needs to pass a test and get a flyer ID from the CAA. If you already have a flyer ID that is still valid, you don’t need to re-do the test until it expires, although you are required to keep up to date with the new regulations. More info at Register-drones.caa.co.uk. In most cases you must be at least 12 years old to fly a drone on your own. You can fly if you are under 12, but you must be supervised by someone 16 or over and both of you must have passed the flyer ID test.
Flying for commercial reasons has elevated requirements which are also set out here.