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Springwatch granted permission for Arne filming base

BBC Presenters of winter watch, Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Iolo Williams, Gillian BurkeBBC
Winterwatch - with Iolo Williams, Michaela Strachan, Gillian Burke and Chris Packham - was broadcast from RSPB Arne last year

Makers of BBC's Springwatch programme have been given planning consent for a filming base at Arne, in Dorset, for their Springwatch series.

Three portacabins will be used at Arne Farm near Wareham. Staff and presenters had previously used marquees.

The 20ft by 8ft (6m by 2.5m) portacabins will be used for storage, office space and crew shelter.

They will remain in use until mid-June, when filming will be completed and the structures will be removed.

Getty Images RSPB ArneGetty Images
RSPB Arne hosted Springwatch in 2023

Adjacent farm buildings are home to a pair of breeding barn owls and a pair of breeding kestrels, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A report to Dorset Council said the birds were unlikely to be impacted by the cabins as they were used to human activity from the farm, RSPB staff and visitors to the reserve.

The BBC Natural History unit also broadcast its recent Winterwatch series from RSPB Arne as well as Springwatch in 2023.

The 635-hectare (1,570-acre) site, which includes mixed heathland, woodland, wetland and pasture, attracts about 75,000 visitors a year.

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