Andy Murray’s proposed tennis centre in Dunblane dropped amid spiralling cost and local opposition
Former Wimbledon champion’s mother Judy scraps plan to build multimillion-pound sports base for community ‘with deep regret and sorrow’
Plans for a multimillion-pound tennis centre near Sir Andy Murray’s hometown that was meant to secure his sporting legacy have been axed.
Judy Murray had spent more than 12 years working on the proposals for a community tennis and sports centre at Park of Keir, near Dunblane.
Billie Jean King, the former tennis player, recently said that the completion of the centre would be the “best legacy” for Sir Andy, who retired after this summer’s Paris Olympics.
A local campaign group, Protect Park of Keir, has opposed other plans to develop the site over the past 35 years.
It said it did not support the Murray legacy project because “there are already 59 tennis courts within a 15-mile radius of Park of Keir, the best-served area of Scotland”.
In an about-turn, the Murray Play Foundation charity released a statement on Monday announcing “with deep regret and sorrow” that the scheme had been scrapped.
Among the factors it cited were “significant increases in construction, material, energy and labour costs, a lengthy and uncertain planning process, and protracted discussions with governing bodies”.
It said Ms Murray had “invested significant time and encountered indifference and opposition for much of that period”.
However, it said that “several factors conspired to leave the project unviable in its current form”.
The Murray family will now “explore alternative options” for projects to secure the legacy of Sir Andy and his brother, Jamie, a seven-time Grand Slam tournament doubles winner.
