Families being forced out of their homes on the grounds of Andy Murray’s Cromlix Hotel have demanded an explanation from the Wimbledon Champion.
The tennis ace bought the run-down property for £1.8 million from local landowners Henry and Edward Eden last year.
He has spent thousands renovating Cromlix and the company which manages the hotel for Murray has now set its sights on taking ownership of the Square, five houses on the estate.
Tenant Laura Campbell, 21, lives at the Square with partner Grant Skinner and their children, Leah, three, and seven-month-old Kieran. They pay £500 a month to rent the two-bedroom house.
She said: “They swore to us that our tenancies would be safe. We got told if the Murrays bought the Square that our tenancies would remain, they would just be the new landlord.
“We didn’t know anything about being evicted until Saturday morning when we opened the mail.”
Laura’s cousin Kathleen Brown, 29, also lives at the Square with her daughter, Holly, nine. She left her job after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and could now lose her home.
Kathleen, from Kinbuck, said: “This is affecting my health. I feel terrible. I feel like I’m at breaking point. It’s all right for them sitting in their fancy houses with all their money, no threat of getting evicted. They don’t care about us little people.”
Laura and her family have vowed to stage a sit-in when their tenancy agreement ends on April 8, a week after Cromlix Hotel reopens.
She said: “I’m certainly not going into homeless accommodation. That’s not a route I’d like to go down.
“I would rather they take court action against me. At least then I know I’ve done what I can for my children and I’m putting them first.”
Dunblane-based estate agent Marshall MacCallum, which acts on behalf of brothers Henry and Edward Eden, said: “I know nothing about this. All I did was send the appropriate notices which were duly received.”
The Edens issued a statement through a public relations firm which also acts for Inverlochy Castle Management International, the company which manages Cromlix on behalf of Andy Murray.
It said: “As owners of the Square near Dunblane we can confirm we have served notice on three of our tenants.
“This is because the property is being sold and is completely within the terms of their short-term tenancy agreements.
“The tenants were first made aware that their agreements may be terminated six months ago.”
Mr Murray refused to comment on the matter.