Looking for hosts/site recommendations for balloon launch in October

[Amy Li]

Hi UKHAS,

I'm part of a HAB project at Imperial College London and we have a balloon ready to launch.

I'm reaching out to ask if anyone with a permit would be happy to host us sometime in October, or if anyone has site recommendations within a 1-2h drive from London we could apply for a permit at. 

We'd be really grateful for your help!

Best,

Amy

[Steve]

Hi Amy,

    you have probably seem my recent posts on my permit application.  If the permit comes through I'd be happy to host you at the new location (about 10 miles north of Elsworth) .  I've just sent another reminder (the 4th) to the CAA.

 Given my recent experiences** I doubt that you will get a permit on site that hasn't been used before within the October time frame.

Regards

    Steve 

** unless there is something specifically difficult about that application. 

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[Stephen Billings]

How big is the Balloon? I have two or three sites in mind, near, and in Wellingborough.

Stephen Billings.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ukhas/b0828066-dba1-41eb-8b7b-0256dd1b1f85%40randomaerospace.com.

[Nick McCloud]

On 23/09/2025 16:05, Amy Li wrote 

if anyone has site recommendations within a 1-2h drive from London we could apply for a permit at. 

A permit or just permission? Even permission requires a minimum of 28 days in advance. 

 

Imperial have been launching regularly over the years, so you may already have info on sites you've used before.

On Thursday, 25 September 2025 at 02:21:42 UTC+1 Stephen Billings wrote:

How big is the Balloon? I have two or three sites in mind, near, and in Wellingborough.

How so it's size of balloon dependent? 

And do your sites already have a permit or will they need a permission request?

The best way to find a site is look for a large municipal park with car parking where the predictions have the flights away from important airspace - mostly airports. 

[James Bell]

Hi Nick,

I’m also having trouble finding a launch site myself (south east of London). 

I’m interested in your suggestion of finding municipal park with card parking - would permission then be from the council? I had no luck asking National Trust for permission 

Thanks,

James

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[Nick McCloud]

On Thursday, 25 September 2025 at 16:59:03 UTC+1 James Bell wrote:

I’m interested in your suggestion of finding municipal park with card parking - would permission then be from the council?

I can't tell you what to do or what's legal, I'd just ask you to consider if you'd ask the council if it's OK to play cricket in your local park - something involving a high speed solid object that is very hard for spectators to track and could do considerable harm if it hit anyone. As opposed to filling soft latex with inert gas attached to softish polystyrene and then having it go straight up in to the sky.

I had no luck asking National Trust for permission 

And I'm pretty sure the council will totally not understand just like I'd expect the NT to do because they don't have time to think. At least with a municipal park you are entitled to use it for recreational activities - particularly if you are a council tax payer.

The most important thing is that you can manage your payload weight, balloon size, gas fill, ascent rate and descent rate so that you can avoid built-up areas, airfields and any part of the flight being in the critical airspace and other stuff like sites of scientific interest. And then document that so you can show due diligence just in case it badly wrong.

[James Bell]

Understood thanks! I had thought there was a requirement in notifying the CAA that you had the legal landowners permission - I thought maybe that would require evidence to be submitted which could be problematic with council.

Thanks,

James 

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[Nick McCloud]

On Thursday, 25 September 2025 at 17:19:47 UTC+1 James Bell wrote:

Understood thanks! I had thought there was a requirement in notifying the CAA that you had the legal landowners permission

It says "have you sought the land owners permission" - which as it's owned by the residents / council tax payers for recreational purposes, I checked with myself and he said it was OK.

I know this may not seem entirely right & proper but I am using land set aside by community consensus for recreational activities. For my park, it was proposed to build a new Academy Trust (hmmmmm) secondary school on the site but the community told the council planners, developers and the trust where to go. So I'm pretty sure it's purpose is for recreational activities.

Obviously do all the elf-n-saftey things - toddlers getting the balloon line tangled around their ankles would be a variant of a First Responder job I did on Mam-tor of toddler vs paraglider (he was a total idiot).

The overriding problem is due to the way that the laws around land ownership developed in England, pretty much everywhere is going to be a struggle to dot i's and cross t's unless you have a very large garden that backs on to the large field or find a friendly farmer or go buy a largish patch of land.

By large, I mean 10m x 10m - I could launch from my garden as there are no trees or BT lines on poles to the North, but it would be a bit nerve racking.

 

- I thought maybe that would require evidence to be submitted which could be problematic with council.

Perhaps have a go at filling in the form so you know what is actually required?

Are you with a school or community group that could ask a school? Assuming you have a school with playing fields!

 

[Nick McCloud]

Also, have you run any predictions? 

South-east is not prime territory if you want you payload to not get wet or end up in the Netherlands.

[Steve]

It's generally (but not always) the parish council that's in control of the local paying fields.  

I approached a couple of parish councils a recently for a commercial launch (the customer wanted to launch in some specific geographic areas).  You can often find the council secretary and phone or email them to get the lie of the land.  The ones I spoke to got twitchy when I mentioned compressed gases (you can forget using Hydrogen) - cordoning of an area for filling was discussed. They did say the field would need to remain open during the launch.  Not being a resident of those areas was a definite negative point.  I was told to put a proposal in writing which would then be discussed at the next parish council meeting - a month away.  You know when you get the feeling you already know the response your going to get .... well this was one of those occasions.  I gave up with that idea not least due to the problems getting the CAA to issue a permit on a new site.

If its for personal recreational use and local,  then you might argue the "owned by the residents" case.  I doubt that the council will have any specific by-laws against launching balloons - but worth a check due to sky-lantern and party balloon release backlash.

If is for a school (especially private) or uni then I think you are on much shakier grounds if you say you have the land owners permission.

    Steve

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[Steve]

Yeah - certainly more of a problem as you push further into the year.

    Steve

On 26/09/2025 09:10, Nick McCloud wrote:

Also, have you run any predictions? 

South-east is not prime territory if you want you payload to not get wet or end up in the Netherlands.

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[Nick McCloud]

On Friday, 26 September 2025 at 10:21:10 UTC+1 Steve wrote:

If its for personal recreational use and local,  then you might argue the "owned by the residents" case.  I doubt that the council will have any specific by-laws against launching balloons -

I'd be totally amazed if they've  by-laws against launching HAB. I'd invite them to about their policy on the dirt-bike driving drug taking contingent that terrorises the small kids in the play area. A calm quiet bunch of middle aged peeps quietly having what looks like a picnic until you get to inflation stage, by which time it's mostly over is can only result in us being told to not do it again.

It did cross my mind to show them the CAA permission and say we have to send up the balloon because the government said so and the weather forecasting may well totally fail if they don't leave us alone.

Mostly it's about being a reasonable human being, a bit of emotional intelligence when dealing with someone who has concerns and with the restrictions on pretty much everything, including being employed without an identity card, seeking forgiveness rather than permission.

I have other parks in short driving distance of my house that are so big no one would ever know unless they saw the release - literally emerging from the middle of a clearing in the wooded area. The park I have is big enough and next door, convenient for popping back to get something.

but worth a check due to sky-lantern and party balloon release backlash.

I'm not sure that's entirely comparable - I guess it is one big party balloon but without the sausages on sticks or fairy cakes or beer ...

As most of my launches are with schools this isn't much of an issue for me, but for the BWC launch no school to ask. There was a young person as the grandchild of one of the participants, so it could have been an educational science project. This could turn in to a long winded pub debate without the benefit of any real ale.

If is for a school (especially private) or uni then I think you are on much shakier grounds if you say you have the land owners permission.

I'd only suggest that if you ARE the school doing the launch or you have a school your offspring goes to or some good reason for asking.

I'm only suggesting public recreational parks of a size that you can tuck yourself away in the corner and not impede anyone else from going about their business, lawful or otherwise. And being sensible.