Mega rich lotto couple’s £5m Edinburgh mansion plans disrupted by BATS
A MEGA-rich Lotto pair been warned plans for their £5m mansion could be brought to a standstill - by bats.
Lisa Charters and hubby Craig, both 33, want to demolish a modest bungalow and replace it with a new £5million villa with views of Edinburgh Castle.
But now - after the project attracted almost 50 objections - the pair have discovered they will have to take account of the city’s bat population.
Architects acting for the couple commissioned an ecological survey.
The study by David Dodds Associates Ltd found four bat species were recorded within 5 kilometres of the site.
And the surrounding habitat was found to have “moderate suitability” to be used by bats for roosting, foraging and commuting.
No evidence of roosting bats was found during the “stage 1” roost assessment.
But it said the absence of them did not rule out their presence at other times.
It said: “The building on site has roosting suitability and will require a further survey to determine if and how bats may be using it.”
It added: “Based on these findings either two sunset bat emergence survey, or one sunset emergence survey and one dawn re-entry survey, with sufficient surveyors, equipped with broadband bat detectors to view all elevations of the building are recommended.”
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And it said there are a number of ways the site can be ecologically enhanced, including the use of “bat boxes” for “roosting opportunities”.
The surveyor added: “Restoring hedgerows and treelines gives bats and other mammals connectivity between habitats. Alternatively, bat bricks or slates can be incorporated into the proposed development.”
The survey says there are laws designed to prevent harassment or disturbance of bats.
In April we revealed 48 comments submitted reacted negatively to the plans submitted by the couple - who have shared in a £33million Lottery jackpot won by Lisa’s parents.
There were 15 comments of support.
Lisa and Craig snapped up the three-bedroom single-story pad last year by paying £200,000 over the £670,000 asking price.
They want to knock it down and replace it with an architect-designed modernist home, with a zinc exterior, five glass-fronted bedrooms and a driveway rising from the garden.
Lisa, of Hawick, Roxburghshire, announced her engagement to Craig in 2017 on a Bahamas beach.
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The pair's architect was contacted for comment.
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