Andy Murray £20 million 'legacy' tennis centre plans scrapped after '12 year battle'
27 August 2024, 07:00
Plans by Andy Murray's mother Judy to create a £20 million tennis centre have been scrapped amid spiralling costs.
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Ms Murray said via a spokesperson that the Park of Keir project in the town of Dunblane was no longer viable in its current form.
"Significant increases in construction, material, energy and labour costs, a lengthy and uncertain planning process, and protracted discussions with governing bodies" were among the factors behind the decision, the spokesperson said.
The centre was meant to serve as part of two-time Wimbledon winner Murray's legacy after his retirement, by helping local people play tennis more easily.
Murray retired this summer after winning three Grand Slam titles in total and two Olympic gold medals, making him Britain's most successful tennis player of the modern era.
Read more: Sir Andy Murray immortalised at the tennis club where he learned to play with 20ft mural
His mother Judy battled for eight years to get permission for the Park of Keir project amid strong pushback from some locals.
They had been concerned about the fact it would have been built on the green belt, and the fact that luxury housing would have been included in the scheme.
Ms Murray finally got the go-ahead for the scheme in 2021, but has now had to shelve plans.
The spokesperson said she had spent 12 years investing "significant time" into the project, and had "encountered indifference and opposition for much of that period".
They added: "However, she and her team persevered until several factors conspired to leave the project unviable in its current form and we no longer plan to seek a detailed planning consent on the site at Park of Keir.
"The Murray family is proud of what they have contributed to tennis in the UK and remain committed to growing the game and persuading governments, sports governing bodies and others of the significant health, social and economic benefits that flow from sustained investment in sport and physical activity."
The spokesperson said that the tennis centre would have given people "greater opportunity to access courts, competition and coaching". They added that they would continue to consider other ways in which they could help young people get into sports.
Local Green Party MSP Mark Ruskell, who had opposed the project, said he was "proud the local community has stood up and protected Park of Keir."
He added: "This area is the jewel in the crown of our greenbelt that stretches from Dunblane to Bridge of Allan, and it's important that landscape has been saved.
"At the heart of this project was an exclusive luxury housing development that would have been damaging to the local landscape and would have eroded ancient woodlands and crucial greenbelt land.
"We all want to see a fitting tennis legacy for Andy Murray across Scotland, but building an inaccessible private sports centre, reliant on public funding, in a location that has very little local support was never going to end well.
"I hope that Sport Scotland, the LTA and other parties can re-focus on delivering a Murray legacy in communities across the whole of Scotland. People are crying out for better sports facilities in the communities where they live and they deserve them."
