Former Top Gear star Richard Hammond has said he will "find a way" of sharing his new £2m home with rare bats that have paused his renovation plans.
Work to add a padel court and luxury car garage hit the brakes after a survey found several species of bat, including the common pipistrelle and soprano pipistrelles, foraging in the grounds.
The 56-year-old bought the 19th Century Georgian mansion in Llanwenarth, near Abergavenny, in November 2025.
"If I have to share it with the bats, I'll find a way of sharing it with the bats," Hammond told BBC Wales.
"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."
The survey ahead of the planned renovation work at the property identified a legal requirement to apply for a protected species development licence in order for it to continue.
Explaining the move to Monmouthshire, Hammond said: "It's no secret that I got divorced last year, sadly, and I knew I had to move.
"I saw the house advertised and thought, 'there must be something wrong with that' but went to have a look at it.
"I fell head over heels in love with the house."
Hammond and ex-wife Mindy divorced following 23 years of marriage. They have two daughters.
He said he had viewed the property, set within 21 acres, another five times before buying it.
"Every single week I've discovered another reason to be delighted that I live there," he said.
"I've never been happier moving in anywhere."
Hammond said he plans to look after the home, as the previous owners had, but hopes to renovate some aspects.
"I'm very lucky in that most of what I'm having to do is just make it fit for my lifestyle rather than repair it. So it could be a long project. It's not going to be finished in a month or two.
"I'll do nothing to change the look of the place. Why would I? You don't buy something beautiful and then deface it," he said.
Planning documents lodged for the property said it "occupies an elevated position overlooking the Usk Valley, set within extensive landscaped grounds and the remnant parkland of a former estate".
The estate included "historic outbuildings, former stables, ancillary structures and formal gardens", and sat within Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, also known as the Brecon Beacons.
The documents stated the applications were for "alterations and repairs, new extensions, reversal of modern alterations, replacement windows and forming new doorways".
A "critical element of the proposals" would be a garage that would store Hammond's "collection of historic and specialist vehicles", the application said.
A new padel court and "associated pavilion" would also replace an existing tennis court.
Image source, Monmouthshire County CouncilImage caption, The bats were found to be "foraging and commuting" near the estate's outbuildings
The bat survey commissioned ahead of the proposed building work found "bat activity levels in the immediate vicinity of the building complex were moderate, and the surrounding habitats supported foraging and dispersal by a diverse assemblage of bat species".
Other types of bats found included brown long-eared, noctule and Leisler's. Serotine were also occasionally seen within the same area.
A protected species development licence would be required from Natural Resources Wales (NRW), in order to carry out the proposed barn conversion.
The report said this must be done alongside "appropriate measures" to prevent harm of the bat species concerned.
Without doing so, Hammond would be unable to carry out his plans to renovate the barn.
"The habitats on site at The Pentre support a diverse assemblage of bat species, providing essential foraging and commuting resources to local bat populations and connectivity with the wider environment, which is also of high suitability to bats," the survey said.
It said "loss of or disturbance" to roosts, external in trees on the grounds, which provide shelter for bats, would result in "adverse effects" on the local populations of two common and widespread species.
In Britain, all bat species and their roosts are legally protected, by law, external, meaning it is an offence to kill, injure, take or disturb a bat, or to destroy, damage, obstruct or otherwise interfere with a bat roost, breeding site or resting place.
NRW said it has not received an application for a protected species development licence at this stage, but Hammond confirmed plans to go through the process.
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