Interesting, as a licensed pilot I'll definitely defer to your experience. But I'm pretty sure in reviewing the rules on TC prior to this announcement, the restrictions for recreational use while essentially just "strong recommendations" pretty clearly stated 5 nautical miles of any Aerodrome which includes airports, heliports, etc. 

That said the way it was before, you only had to notify them, so just call ATC at the airport and say "Hey I'm going to fly 3km out and keep it below 200 feet" or whatever, and you're good.

But I might just have mis-interpreted. I agree it's pretty imposing. Looking at a map of airports with 9km radius around them, results in a pretty "full" map with the exception of deep rural areas.

Hopefully the new rules coming in summer are more realistic allowing flying for hobbyists, provided we get an appropriate certificate, and register the drone. (similar to current USA FAA rules)