Eyes are on the skies in Dovercourt!
Business leaders, shop owners, community workers, parents, grandparents, children, friends and neighbours are invited to turn their eyes to the heavens to help create unique views of Dovercourt life.
The special images of the seaside town will be generated via a drone sent up to capture a bird’s eye view of the town and its residents. The images will be used as part of the on-going campaign to attract more visitors to the town featuring on the Visit Harwich website as well as to create a moment in time to add to Dovercourt’s historic archives.
To launch the project, more than 50 members of the community spanning all ages met in Orwell Place, Dovercourt, gathered to welcome the drone – despite the wet weather.
There is another chance for residents to take part as the drone is to swoop over the town centre again next week <
The idea for the drone footage came from Gina Patrick, who runs Unique Antique Shop UK and Dovercourt Vintage and Antiques in Dovercourt High Street.
She said: “We have such a wonderful community spirit here and I thought it would be a fantastic idea to capture that by uniting everyone for an iconic shot – reminding people that this is a vibrant community and high street.
“The weather was a bit wet and windy but the town’s sense of togetherness shone through. This video footage will go into the archives to be seen by generations to come.”
The next drone filming will take place on Thursday, August 14 and everyone is invited to meet outside The Dovercourt & Harwich Hub, 276 High Street, CO12 3PD, at 2pm.
Once complete, the set of images will feature on the newly created Visit Harwich website as well as on its social media channels.
The drone filming project is part of the on-going renaissance of Dovercourt town centre which is being rejuvenated thanks to £737,000 of funding from the High Street Accelerator Project.
Money has been spent on improving town centre shops, introducing new CCTV, creating new banners and constructing a new website to become a database of businesses and events in the town.
Harwich councillor Ivan Henderson, who is deputy leader of Tendring District Council and Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism, said: “It is wonderful to create this new perspective of Dovercourt.
“We all know how the High Street looks from ground level but this is a unique illustration which will be so valuable for the Dovercourt archives.
“With every step of this reinvention of Dovercourt town centre, we are making it more attractive for the community and creating a thriving shopping centre which boosts the local economy and supports its long-term sustainability.”
Dovercourt is one of ten town centre pilot schemes across the country sharing a total funding pot of £7 million.
In addition to the money already invested, more will be used to strengthen transport links between the seafront, the High Street and park spaces, while green spaces will be added to the town’s retail areas and access routes into the town centre.
