image of salta nd tar in bootle taken by EFP Drone Footage on July 27, 2024.

Salt and Tar 2024 – Bootle Regeneration – The Story So Far

by EFPDroneFootagein EFP Drone Footageon Posted on

Salt and Tar project progression data captured by EFP Drone Footage not only showcases the ongoing works on-site, it may be used to assist the project planners, related building firms and contractors, and Sefton Council.

The construction project to build the Salt and Tar live events venue is located on the banks of Bootle Canalside and local drone service provider, EFP Drone Footage began to capture aerial data to document the site on April 8, 2024.

Salt and Tar project progression includes aerial mapping techniques which help generate 3D models, and 2D maps, of the site, created with drones and 3D rendering software.

3D Gaussian Splatting is another way to create 3D renders of the site, and surrounding environment, which can be both informative and fun to navigate.

Salt and Tar progression videos and photographs further help to showcase the venue and provide more insights for any interested parties.

360 photos of Salt and Tar are also available, all courtesy of EFP Drone Footage.

See the following example from Google Maps.

My photos do very well on there if you would ever like to see more.

Salt and Tar Project Progression By EFP Drone Footage

EFP Drone Footage at Salt and Tar

And so it began, it was March 1, 2024, when I first uploaded a video to YouTube, it showed the roof of Bootle Strand and a glimpse of Salt and Tar in the background.

Little did I know this was the precursor to an amazing introduction phase after moving home to overlook the entire Bootle regeneration project.

I had a purpose, I wanted to document the redevelopment of Bootle Strand from start to finish.

This would be from the air using drones and utilising the view from my balcony.

If all went well, I would also document the progress on the ground with my camera equipment and microphone, this could include interviews with people connected to the project.

I took the steps to move to what will become a noisy, dusty demolition and construction site, after hearing about the project announcement (in March 2023) as I was learning skills to automate flights with my drones.

The following example is one of my favourite routes to fly my drone.

Crosby Lakeside Adventure Centre and the Lakehouse Bar & Grill.

EFP Drone Footage at Salt and Tar

I have been doing this since June 2022, and I took up flying drones to get me out of the house more and to put all my creative, editing, media, and technical skills into something new that I can enjoy.

I was determined to take control of my world and do something different.

I always knew this would happen one day, I just never had any idea it would be a drone that would be the key to my transition.

It was in June 2023 when I was told that I had to leave my then home, along with all the other residents as part of a decant by our landlord One Vision Housing.

That was the moment I decided the only place for me was close to the Bootle Strand regeneration project.

I was going to move there and be happy to see every truck, every skip, every crane, every contractor, every bit of dust on my windows, every nut and cranny, every step of the way.

I was settled in my old home, happy, it was a very nice place.

The first thing I had to do after waiting 6 months to know I had secured my new home, in my prime location, was to make sure it reflected me, my work needs, and my style.

I had my work cut out though, it was a huge task to bring the new place up to standards.

I designed my custom-built desk with a theme of it being 4x better than my last desk and bought 4 new televisions for the wall and got new hardware for my Davinci Resolve editing software.

I had designed my desk in my old place too, and having to leave it, along with my wallpaper, was the reason I knew I would have to work extremely hard to feel settled again.

Before I could document the progression of Bootle, I had to make my own progression and my own place was like a building site for weeks.

I got there by the first week of April.

I could relax and take my drone out to begin planning and mapping the area, learning the environment, and automating flight routes that would become content that some of us will never forget.

From April 8 I had my Wembley for drones, it was my playground, I was there after tracking the project announcements, waiting and waiting to see what contractors and construction firms were going to be connected to the works.

I spent months sending emails to alert people, and companies to my goals.

Any information was vital to me as I worried I may not live there in time for the works to begin on the larger scale demolition.

Hello Salt and Tar - EFP Drone Footage Introduction Phase

EFP Drone Footage has been in an introduction phase at Salt and Tar in my quest to document the whole Bootle Strand and Town regeneration project.
After first visiting the site with my drone on April, 8, 2024, I met Scott who was working on the final touches in the bar and stage area when I approached him with my drone in hand.
I explained how I was there to begin tracking the site progression via drone utilising automated flights that I designed on my PC before testing at the location.
EFP Drone Footage Salt and Tsar Auitomated Drone Flight Route first tested on April 8, 2024.
I then make final tweaks to heights, speeds, and points of interest.
I save the flight for repeatable future use.
Automated flights are set by GPS coordinates for relative accuracy each time.
 
I say relatively because the drone may fly a few inches off the specified path at times due to environmental factors such as wind gusts, or to avoid obstacles.
 
I do plan each flight with risk assessments in mind.
 
For example, at other locations, factors such as extra growth on trees since previous flights are taken into account.
 
Plans are then adapted to fit the new safety requirements of the area in question.
 
At Salt and Tar, I have a flight programmed to concentrate on the Red Rum Club mural, and that flight comes down low to a safe height at one stage.
 
It is just above a tree, and although that part of the footage looks very good, if you see my flights since then, you would notice that it comes down about 8 feet over to the right.
 
This was tweaked to account for extra growth.
 
Job done. flight saved.
 
This can be repeated any day, from sunset to sunrise, in any season.
 
This video was created on April 18, 2024.
I met Scott again on April 9, 2024, as he reintroduced himself to me, and likewise, myself, after he was understandably a bit wary of someone just showing up with a drone and filming him as he worked.

I have posted a video below that shows Scott and his colleagues at work on Salt and Tar before the official launch weekend from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th of April as the venue kicked off a fantastic 2024 schedule.
 
In the clips from the flights on April 8, you can see Scott looking up at the drone before getting his phone out to make a call to alert others that I was there and he maybe didn’t feel comfortable.
This all changed very fast on April 9, 2024, as we spoke more about my plans after he shook my hand and told me his name, we chatted about the site, and he told me he had passed my contact details onto his clients at Sefton Council.
 
It was from that moment on that I was allowed to come and go, quietly, and politely, Scott became a friendly face as he began to see and understand what I was doing and at that stage, it was just all a bit nerdy to him instead of anything to be wary of.
 

If I saw any changes, I was there to document them.

I know it was April 8, when I first tested a flight at Salt and Tar because I uploaded the video above on that date and I have the very first 3D model I created of the venue which is also timestamped that day in its metadata.
 
This is the 3d model that was generated form the initial test flight in the video above.
 
It was also my first aerial 3D model of Salt and Tar having created them at other locations in 2022, and 2023.
When I create flight routes I do it to capture video and photographs which are then used to create 3D models, as well as 2D maps.
 
This becomes useful because they can be relative scale meaning distances and heights can be measured before being used by potential clients in ways such as getting quotes for repairs, materials, construction, and so on.
 
I have a bricklayer friend who has said he could build things to, or from, the relativity of the scale in my 3d models.
 
The 3D models and 2D maps are also good to look at and navigate too.
 
Below, is a 2D map that I uploaded to Open Aerial Maps.
 
This gives us a more up-to-date perspective of Salt and Tar, than can be provided by viewing Google Earth or Maps.

Salt and Tar 2D Map More Up-To-Date Than Google Maps

After Scott welcomed me and was okay to complete my tasks, quietly and tucked out of the way bothering nobody on site aside from alerting people that I was there, and never walking onto the project, always stood outside the gates waiting to be seen before explaining what I would like to do.
 
Scott is the owner of his business, Moonlight Events LTD.
 
He recently spoke of his pride at starting his business 5 years ago, by hiring out lit-up letters and gazebos to functions and events.
 
Scott even had support from his mum who helped him, by delivering his goods and services to clients around Southport, and how he utilised the family garage and two sheds to sustain his business during his early days.
 
A big well done to Scott, his story is one of many that have verged upon Salt and Tar and I have been working through telling the stories of the people involved in many levels of the project.
 
Scott is someone who I am very eager to interview but I understand he is an extremely busy man.

Salt and Tar You're So Cool - April 22, 2024

Thanks to Scott’s friendly personality, I began to get to know the Sefton Council staff and contractors arriving on-site daily.
 
I was further welcomed by all involved and began to feel more confident that my plans were being executed at a pace I was very happy with.
 
I was also very pleased to finally be in a position to introduce myself and my small local business to people connected to the regeneration project.
 
I had spent two years building EFP Drone Footage, learning new techniques and technologies, and passing tests to obtain higher UAV pilot licenses with a goal in mind.
 
I have had a lot of luck with people connected to the project from Sefton Council who have taken me on board and encouraged me by listening to my ideas.
 
Everyone has allowed me to follow my natural progressions.
 
This relaxed me and made me even more driven.
 
Whilst on my journey, I have walked straight into people at Salt and Tar without realising who they are, and their huge importance to the Bootle Strand and Town regeneration.
 
I introduced myself to each person and explained why I was there.
 
The luck kicked in each time this happened, for example, on the morning when the official launch weekend, I saw about 8 people standing in front of the Salt and Tar sign, they all looked very formal.
 
Salt and Tar pic for facebook
I thought it looked like a perfect picture opportunity and I walked over to them, although I did not bother them by taking a photograph, I cheekily asked why they were all there, and the answer was another moment I will never forget.
 
A lady responded to say they were there to talk about the project progression being captured by video and photographs of Salt and Tar, and the wider regen area.
 
My eyes lit up the city in daylight!
 
I smiled from ear to ear whilst replying: “Well that is exactly why I am here too”, and told of my plans, ideas, things I had done, and what is possible.
 
This is the luck I have had on-site at Salt and Tar with project managers associated with the site.

Salt and Tar You're So Cool Under The Lights

On April 22nd, I saw lights being tested by Scott at Salt and Tar and ran some flights.
 
That was the night when I first felt a romance between the work I was doing and the venue.
 
This was emphasised by a video I created using different parts of a couple of flights I pre-planned.
 
One showcases the whole venue and the other concentrates on the Red Rum Club mural.
 
The two flights combined into a video that is nothing but adorable (in my opinion)
 
More so because of the tune that I used from the Quentin Tarantino movie, True Romance, and the track is called You’re So Cool.
 
The automated drone flight seems to dance to the music and the lights give it that romantic look and it is one of the nicest videos I have ever made.
 
You can see Scott testing the lights in the video and taking photographs of his, and Moonlight Events LTD’s, progress on the job.
Scott had taken my contact details from me when I first met him on April 8, 2024, and gave them to the Senior Manager of the project and the site manager.
 
I then met both of them and the gent was very impressed with the footage with the lights.
 
The lady then came over, listened to me and offered positive feedback.
 
They even offered to help me with information and alert the board overseeing the Bootle Strand regen my presence at Salt and Tar.
 
The lady is Karen Yates and she has become someone I am not just very proud of, but inspired by.

Salt and Tar Launch Weekend - April 26 - 28, 2024

My focus was then on the opening weekend, and it was another big step for me as this was when I first felt the community vibe of Salt and Tar.
 
I was allowed to attend the launch weekend where I interviewed one of the stall holders named Theo from the Cockatil Apothecarium, I enjoyed myself that weekend.
 
The interview came about because I had asked Nicky Owens, the Project Manager of the Growth Regeneration Team, if I could interview her and other colleagues, as well as other people having input.
 
Nicky was the person who told me she was at Salt and Tar to discuss gathering project progression photographs.
 
She kindly agreed and I went home and ordered the new DJI Mic 2 and the DJI Osmo Mobile 6 that you may see me with at the venue.
Affiliate Link: See DJI Mic 2 and DJI Osmo Mobile on Amazon
The interview with Theo was brilliant and he hit on so many factors, and community aspects, I felt he was so natural he made me feel like I had done it a million times.
 
I stood there with my thumb up to him as if to say perfect whilst nodding my head and miming the words “keep going, keep going”.
 
I met a lot of people that weekend and further built my foundations.
 
This was when I realised there were many stories to be told at Salt and Tar, it felt like a movie where people were on a path and they did not know it would all converge on one place. 
 
Untold stories of how and why we are connected to the project.
 
I could see it unfolding and knew I could present it to everyone involved and the public for us to be proud of, something to look back on and remember, and track the story as the pages unfold in real time.

May Comedy Weekender With Bren Riley

Over the days and weeks, I just kept doing my thing and documenting any changes on the site, as I have a passion for it so as soon as I see anything taking place, you can bet I am there capturing it.
 
I was called one of the family by the senior manager in the week that the Marquee was being installed by Elite Marquees Ltd and Elite Bars as I ran onto site for the first time.
 
I had always waited but the day before I had began documenting the tent go up, and the next day was further documentation.
 
I had spoken to the lads from Elite Marquees Ltd and told them I wanted to capture the marqee going up, and they welcomed me as every person does, so I was running to talk to one of them fast a moment. He was called John, and he did his comapny proud as did they all.
I must say all the companies attending Salt and Tar have sent staff who have been nothing but a credit to their respective businesses.
 
I often take 360 images with the drone at height and tag the companies in them on Google Maps, along with any photos or short clips and leave a review to say thank you.
 
You can see a lot of my images or clips on the Salt and Tar Google Maps page right now if you would like to see them.
 
The 360 pano image shows when the marquee installation was coming to an end.

May Comedy Weekender With Bren Riley

I was on site and met Bren Riley as he saw my drone flying over and he got excited and asked me if it was a DJI drone, to which I replied yes and ran around to talk to him at the gates.
 
He had just bought a very trendy DJI Pocket 3, I loved it and we chatted about why I was there, he then explained how he ran Big Comedy Uk and was setting up inside the marquee with his friend Jason.
He was impressed by me enough to offer me a staff badge for the Salt and Tar Big Comedy Weekender and we struck up an instant friendship.
 
Bren guided me with a lot of tips, you can thank Bren for me picking up my Facebook page and using it as well as setting up Instagram, which I also did that week.

May Comedy Weekender Hosted By Big Comedy Bingo's Bren Riley