The owner of Mentmore Towers, the Buckinghamshire mansion that served as Wayne Manor in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, has pushed back against Buckinghamshire Council after it issued a listed-building repairs notice demanding bat surveys and masonry repairs. A spokesman for owner Simon Halabi insisted that "professional surveys, ecological investigations and preparatory work" were already under way, calling suggestions that nothing was being done "false", and warned that failure to comply could ultimately allow the council to seek government approval to acquire the Grade I-listed property.

The Rothschild-built mansion, dating from 1852-54 and the only major surviving work by Crystal Palace architect Sir Joseph Paxton, has been described by Historic England as in "very bad" condition with "high" vulnerability, showing cracked walls, broken windows and ivy overgrowth, with bat droppings also found on site. The council's notice requires three bat-emergence surveys to be completed by August 2027, alongside any necessary Natural England licensing, and weekly inspections by council and Historic England officers once repair works begin. Halabi's spokesman also accused the council of removing security fencing through legal action, which they say has led to repeated trespass and break-ins at the property, which was bought in 1999 with plans to turn it into a luxury hotel.