No permissions needed as such as the CAA ( civil aviation authority ) control the airspace and they have no restrictions in the area. You have to have a CAA operator id displayed on top of the drone, but then everything else you need depends on the size of the drone. If the drone weighs less than 250g ( DJI minis etc) you need nothing else and are quite unrestricted on where you can fly as long as you keep it in sight at all times. The only other thing to follow is “the drone code” which is basically don’t fly near anyone that it would put them in danger and basically don’t be a nuisance.
Bigger drones brings more regulations. You have to have a CAA flyer id and then you can only fly 150m from people and NOT over residential or commercial areas so areas like the Etihad would not be allowed. You have to do a qualification called A2 C of C which then gives you permission for residential and commercial areas and reduces the distance down to 50m from people.You can then become a member of FPVUK which then reduces that distance down to 30m as you fly under a regulation called article 16. That is what I fly under as I have all of the above and my drone is 800g.
Insurance isn’t compulsory unless you get paid for work.
i have full commercial insurance and public liability insurance.
Most YouTube droners you see will use DJI mini drones as they are less than 250g and have no restrictions.
I've got a DJI (-250). Still in the box. I've never got around to using it. There's too many good drone videos on YouTube like yours to make it worth while for me to use the drone
Do you put your videos on Vimeo?
Slightly off topic.
This drone operator on Youtube does amazing Manchester city centre drone videos.