Stork watching could provide a new visitor attraction on a Dorset farm.

Dorset Council has granted consent to redevelop the site, converting barns to an education and community centre, putting in a bird hide and creating a pop-up café.

At the centre of the application is the addition of four six-metre tall stork nesting towers on the River Stour flood plain.

The application for Bere Marsh Farm, Newmans Drove at Shillingstone also includes the rebuilding of a two-storey mill and other dilapidated farm buildings.

The proposals come from the Countryside Regeneration Trust which aims to show how small farms can be regenerated with wildlife conservation as a driving force.

The organisation says the Dorset farm could become one of its most important sites: “Bere Marsh Farm sits adjacent to the River Stour and is set to become the Trust’s national showcase for its holistic fusion of sustainable, traditional farming methods, habitat restoration and a dedicated education programme focused around the importance of food provenance. Furthermore, its 92 acres of wetland, grassland and woodland, rich in butterflies, birds, wildflowers and rare mammals makes it the perfect setting to commemorate the history of the CRT.”

The Trust says it acquired the 92-acre farm in 2020 attracted to its low-lying land by the River Stour, offering the chance of improving the biodiversity of the area through ‘regenerative farming’ practices which protect and enhance wildlife.

Nationally the Trust now owns 19 properties across England working with tenant farmers, wildlife groups and volunteers to develop and implement sustainable farming and conservation measures.

Said a statement from the Trust: “The farms have become part of the local community providing access to members of the public to enhance understanding and appreciation of the countryside and its wildlife. Bere Marsh Farm forms part of that mission and provides the opportunity to save dilapidated farm buildings and areas and to bring them back into viable and productive use…

“The cornerstone of the CRT’s philosophy is that both traditional and innovative farming methods can be made to work profitably and sustainably together in conjunction with the protection and restoration of wildlife habitats and precious eco-systems.”

Shillingtone parish council has supported the application, although asking if the 100-plus car park area could be reduced to 80 spaces which is says would be more in line with the capacity of the buildings on the farm.

An ecological study says that there is evidence that Barn Owls use the site and the proposals outline that they will be catered for with the addition of a new permanent roost.

White Storks were once common in the UK although, as with other species, their numbers declined to critical levels. A successful project on the Knepp Estate in West Sussex has re-introduced the species there with chicks being hatched in 2020 for the first time in what could have been hundreds of years.

Storks flocks of 36 birds have been sighted in recent years over Poole harbour, thought to be on a migration flight.