Reference the VOR 19R approach at Concord, California, KCCR. An excerpt from the notes read, “Circling NA west of Rwys 1L-19R. Cicling Rwy 1L, 1R, 19L, 32L, 32R NA at night.” KCCR has runways 1L-19R, 1R-19L, 14L-32R, and 14R-32L.
The question: assume you're inbound on the VOR 19R approach, and assume winds are strongly favoring runways 14. Is it legal to circle to 14L by, for example, entering a left base from the approach?
I think it's important to review the airport diagram in answering this question. Or, is it? Is the prohibited circling area that airspace west of 1L-19R that is also south of 14R-32L? Or does that prohibition also extend to the north of 14L-32R?
@Alan Marcum
When they say “Circling NA west of 1L-19R” they mean draw the extended centerline of that runway in both directions and stay on or east of that line. The runway 14/32 pair is not part of the equation. So, when the tower is closed, the answer is “no”, because that would involve “circling…west of runway 1L-19R”, which is explicitly prohibited.
That said, the regulations on this sort of thing say “unless authorized by ATC” or words to that effect. If the tower is open, ATC could approve such a circling maneuver. If tower approved a maneuver west of 19R, they'd tell you exactly what to do. That might be something like “Circle northwest of the airport and make left base runway 14L” or “Cross the airport and circle southwest, join right downwind runway 14R.”
My advice is if you're planning to fly to CCR during tower operating hours and foresee the need to fly an approach to 19R (the only approach runway choice you have, whether it's LDA, GPS, or VOR, all of which contain this restriction) and then land on 14L/R, you'd do well to call the tower before takeoff and find out what they can and might approve.
And yes, studying the airport diagram is an important part of any preflight study to fly an instrument approach whether you plan to circle or not.