Richard Hammond has vowed to ‘find a way to share’ his £2million Welsh manor with the eight bat species that recently upended his grand renovation plans.
The former Top Gear host, 56, plans to make extensive additions to the six-bedroom Georgian manor house in Wales, including adding a heritage-style showroom to house his extensive car collection, a library and a memorabilia gallery.
The plans would also see the tennis court replaced with a padel court and pavilion.
However, the ambitious refurbishment plans were thrown into doubt after a bat survey found eight species living on the 21-acre estate.
It is illegal to kill, injure, disturb bats or damage their roosts across the UK, with all species protected by both domestic and European legislation.
This means that renovation works, such as fixing a roof or building a second storey, are strictly regulated by local and conservation authorities.
The presenter bought the home for £1.99million in March – just over a year after he and his ex-wife Mindy announced their divorce after 23 years together.
And he is determined to press ahead with the renovations, telling the BBC: ‘If I have to share it with the bats, I’ll find a way of sharing it with the bats.’
Richard Hammond has vowed to ‘find a way to share’ his £2million manor with the eight bat species that recently upended his renovation plans. He is pictured with girlfriend Kiki Glen
Since the end of his marriage, Richard, 56, has bought a £2million sprawling Georgian farmhouse (pictured) near the Welsh town of Abergavenny as he seeks a fresh start
A bat surveyor found access and egress points (pictured) among the roof tiles of the barn in photos shared on Monmouthshire council’s website
Hammond continued: ‘You don’t move somewhere as beautiful as this and expect to stamp out everything that already lives there…
‘I’m sure there’s room for the bats and me in Abergavenny.’
It comes after three dusk surveys detected eight species of bats on the property, including brown long-eared, common and soprano pipistrelle.
The report warned that unless preventative measures were taken, the work could cause the loss or disturbance of roosts on the property.
It also states Hammond must obtain a protected species development licence before work can proceed.
Photos on Monmouthshire council’s website taken by a bat surveyor show activity in and outside a stone barn, which Hammond plans to convert into a bar. The surveyor also found access and exit points among the roof tiles of the barn.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) states that development, infrastructure or maintenance work cannot legally proceed if it will impact bats or their roosts, unless a species mitigation licence has been granted.
It also states work must cease immediately if the homeowner or a contracted builder finds evidence of bats mid-renovation.
Hammond purchased the estate, in Llanwenarth, Abergavenny, just over a year after he and ex-wife Mindy announced their divorce. Pictured together in 2023
Three dusk surveys detected eight species of bats on the property, including brown long-eared, common and soprano pipistrelle (pictured)
Hammond submitted planning proposals to Monmouthshire council last month. Public consultation and consideration by planners will close on September 16.
The presenter this week confirmed he had found love with therapist girlfriend Kiki Glen eight months after his divorcé from ex-wife Mindy.
In an interview with The Times, the presenter spoke about his new love and newfound happiness after the pair were spotted outside Waitrose together.
He said: ‘It’s the best thing that’s going on for me. I played golf three times this week. I’ve taken up more serious running, and I’m going to have a go at a small triathlon next year. Which means I’ve had to take up wild swimming.
‘My partner took one look at the lake, clapped her hands and said, ‘Oh, darling, doesn’t it just make you want to get in?’ No, I spent 40 years avoiding it. But sure enough, the next day, both of us are in wetsuits, swimming. And I absolutely loved it.’
Her full name is Keira Glen, but ‘everyone calls her Kiki’. She’s a governor of Headington Rye School in Oxford and a therapist.
The divorcée has two daughters, aged 26 and 24, nearly identical in age to Hammond’s daughters: Izzy, 26, and Willow, 23.
It’s been a tough few years for Hammond. He was understandably affected by being with his father in the final weeks of his life at St Michael’s Hospice in 2024.
Kiki is a governor of Headington Rye school in Oxford and a therapist. The divorcee has two daughters, aged 26 and 24, nearly identical in age to Hammond’s daughters
Despite their divorce, Richard and Mindy appeared civil at their daughter Willow’s graduation from Hartpury University in Gloucester after splitting.
The pair said last year they had an ‘amazing’ relationship with ‘two incredible daughters’, adding they are ‘proud of the family we created’.
In 2025, the Top Gear star told the Daily Mail he had a ‘year from hell’, including the ‘devastating’ collapse of his marriage, which had become increasingly strained in recent years due to injuries sustained in two near-fatal car crashes.
In 2006, he was hospitalised after crashing a Vampire Dragster at a speed in excess of 200 miles per hour and was put into a coma while filming a segment for Top Gear.
Eleven years later while filming the second season of The Grand Tour, he crashed a Rimac Concept One in Switzerland, rolling several times and fracturing his knee.
Announcing the divorce in January 2025, he said: ‘A little update from us; this Christmas we were together as a family and this year we will still be a family but just structured a bit differently.
‘Our marriage is coming to an end, but we’ve had an amazing 28 years together and two incredible daughters.
‘We will always be in each other’s lives and are proud of the family we created.
‘With Love, Richard and Mindy.’
