Andy Murray hit with fresh warning over renovations at luxury £2million Cromlix hotel

Andy Murray hit with fresh warning over renovations at luxury £2million Cromlix hotel

SIR Andy Murray has been urged to check for bats as he plans to make renovations at his luxury five-star hotel.

The double Wimbledon champion, 37, has applied to make repairs and alterations to an outbuilding in the grounds of Cromlix House near Dunblane.

Plans lodged with Stirling Council revealed Murray and his wife Kim want to install a new slate roof on the building and fit new roof lights.

But the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) have warned roosting bats could impact plans if the creatures are discovered.

Bats are a protected species under UK law and it is illegal to kill, possess or handle them without a licence or to cause them harm or disturb their habitat in any way.

The SWT said: “Due to the structure of this building/roof and its location for bat foraging, please alert the applicant to their legal duties to bats found on site.

“There have been bat surveys completed for other structures at the Cromlix site and perhaps this has also been surveyed in anticipation of replacing the roof, so appropriate recommendations have been made by the ecologist commissioned.

“Please require a survey as a condition of planning permission if not.

“All bats and bat roosts, including bat roosts not currently in use, are fully protected by law under The Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1994, as amended.

“The reason this protection includes bat roosts which are not currently in use, is that bats use different roost-sites at different times of year.”

Murray bought the 15-room venue near his home town for almost £2 million in 2013 and it has become the venue for several family celebrations.

The tennis hero held his wedding reception at the hotel in 2015 and his elder brother Jamie was also married there.