Andy Murray backs Park of Keir

 
Arrived home to find the Judy Murray PR machine in full swing.
 
 
Andy Murray has finally come out in support of his mother and urges the Scottish Government to back her plan to build a tennis centre on the controversial Greenbelt between Dunblane and Bridge of Allan. (See photo)
 
Despite:
1)    Stirling Council rejecting the application on planning grounds.
2)    Both Dunblane Council and Bridge of Allan community council oppose it.
3) Over 1,000 letters were sent to Stirling Council objecting.
 4) An online petition attracted over 2,000 signatures.
5) Both communities raised £10,000 to pay an Advocate to represent them at the recent Park of Keir Public Inquiry.
 
 
He told the (Glasgow) Herald: “For my mum, she has been working on it for a very, very long time.  I hope for her that it goes ahead.”  (NB he has not said it would be good for tennis in Scotland- only that it would be good for his mother).
 
Part of Andy Murray’s legacy may well be he helped destroy the Greenbelt between two historic towns, one of them his own hometown, to satisfy his mother.
 
Would the same argument have applied if Andy and Jamie Murray had been racing drivers? Would we now be faced with a massive PR campaign to turn Park of Keir into a racetrack to train potential Formula 1 drivers?
 
Perhaps we ought to be grateful that we are only talking about tennis balls.
 

Planning regulations exist to safeguard Scotland’s heritage, a landscape that is the envy of the world, a magnet for tourists and one that we tamper with at our peril for short-term gain.