Judy Murray's tower plans approved

Judy Murray has won her battle with the neighbours over changes to the tower attached to her Gothic Scottish home.

The 56-year-old Strictly Come Dancing star and mother of tennis star Andy Murray bought Khyber House in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, in 2012.

Set in grounds of almost half an acre, the imposing property has four bedrooms and three reception rooms, and had been refurbished shortly before the sale.

However, there was one problem with the house: the roof of the tower was leaking, and experts couldn't fix the problem.

As a result, Mrs Murray applied for permission to change the flat, crenellated roof of the tower to a more standard pitched tile roof earlier this year.

However, her plans didn't go down well with the neighbours, who believed that they might spoil the 'rather quirky character' of the building and 'lessen the distinctive style of the house'.

However, Stirling Council has rejected these concerns, pointing out that at 86 years old, the house is relatively modern, belongs to neither of the Arts and Crafts nor the Scottish Baronial period, and isn't listed.

"The reason for the application is that the crenellated tower feature has been leaking, there have been two attempts at fixing the leaks without success and this seems to have been an ongoing issue," the decision reads.

"The view of the architect is that the existing tower is basically a very poor design detail in that it creates a vulnerable area for water ingress and is fundamentally, architecturally unsound in that it is an attempt at style over substance."

The new design, the council agreed, would allow water to run off the tower instead of being collected and causing damp.

The decision will no doubt be a welcome win for Mrs Murray, who recently had a rather larger planning application - for a £40 million tennis and golf centre nearby - rejected on the grounds that it would put too much stress on the road network.

She has appealed against the decision, though, and there's a chance the project may still go ahead.