Parish council says plans to film Marvel's new Black Widow film will disrupt nesting of rare birds

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow Credit: Disney/Marvel

A Parish council is at war with Marvel and Scarlett Johansson as villagers argue plans to film the new Black Mirror on a bird reserve will disturb and upset the rare breeds there.

Hankley Common in Surrey has been picked as a spot for filming the new Black Widow motion picture, and some scenes have already been shot there — without the requisite planning permission, the council says.

The wreckage of a helicopter and several temporary buildings have appeared on an army training area near Thursley as Marvel Studios shoots the film.

There are also helicopter and plane 'crash sites' for the film, which focuses on the origins of Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow character from the Avengers movies.

Local wildlife lovers fear the action-packed filming will disturb rare amber-listed birds including nightjars and Dartford warblers.

They are in the middle of the nesting season, and if the shooting causes them to flee the nest, their eggs and chicks will be at the mercy of predators including crows, foxes and stoats. 

Stretching over 1,400 acres, Hankley Common is managed by the Ministry of Defence and is a protected Site of Special Scientific Interest.

As well as endangered birds, it is also home to a host of wildlife including rare butterflies and lizards.

Some scenes were shot on July 16 and 17, but Marvel has not yet received planning permission to use the Ministry of Defence land for filming, prompting objections from Thursley Parish Council, who called the planning process 'redundant and irrelevant' if the Hollywood bosses were allowed to take no notice of it.

It is understood five further days of filming are scheduled for August 20 - August 27.

In a letter to Waverley borough council, the parish council complained "The application is currently shown as 'pending decision' when the works have already commenced and will be completed before a decision is made, rendering the time committed by Waverley borough council to considering the application apparently redundant.

"It would also seem that there is no merit in asking the parish council to comment when their comments are completely irrelevant. The planning process has not been followed."

A Waverley council spokesman said that Marvel has been reprimanded for filming before planning permission was granted: "The planning application is currently under consideration and there will be no decision on this until at least August 2.

"The agent for the application has been contacted to remind them that any filming which takes place outside of a planning permission may represent a breach of planning control and may be subject to enforcement action."

Marvel Studios was contacted for comment but did not respond.

The planning application includes the "change of use of land for a temporary period to allow outdoor filming", "use of building and hardstanding construction of sets" as well as 200 parking spaces and use of "controlled fire effects".