LEGACY IN TATTERS
We live next to Captain Tom’s daughter – furore over spa has tarnished hero’s name… and now WE’RE the laughing stock
An imminent date has been set for demolition of the spa complex
DISGRUNTLED neighbours living near Captain Tom's shamed daughter and the "unauthorised" spa complex say they've become a "laughing stock".
Hannah Ingram-Moore's luxury £200,000 Bedfordshire property in Marston Moretaine is set to be demolished on February 7, with workmen already setting up on site.
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Now, residents of the once sleepy village say Captain Tom's legacy has been "tarnished" after he raised almost £40 million for the NHS during the Covid pandemic.
The Second World War veteran, who was knighted for his achievements, won the nation's heart as he completed 10 laps of his garden each day, smashing his original £1,000 goal.
Frustrated local Ian Knight told the he feels "embarrassed" when people ask about the controversial spa.
“We were proud of what he’s done but now we’re the laughing stock," said the disappointed resident.
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“They’ve spoilt everything. It was a good thing what he’s done, and now it’s embarrassing.”
Another neighbour on the road slammed the C-shaped building, claiming it has "devalued" other homes and looks like a "prison".
Meanwhile, someone else agreed it was "about time they knocked it down".
They also claimed Hannah and husband Colin have "never spoken to anybody", which further soured the neighbours' opinions.
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“It [the building] was built without permission, it’s ugly, it’s featureless, it doesn’t sit well within the grounds of a listed building [The Old Rectory] and it doesn’t sit well with our housing or those around us," the resident added.
A fourth fuming local claimed fury was sparked in the village after Hannah spoke of installing a jacuzzi in the spa.
"They said we will probably let the older people in the village come and use it," explained the resident.
“You must be bloody joking. It’s a load of bulls***.
“The worst bit is that it’s made a mockery of Captain Tom’s name.”
Hannah previously spoke about the ordeal with TalkTV's Piers Morgan and admitted to pocketing money from the £39million NHS fund-raising veteran in the bombshell interview.
She said: "We have to accept that we made a decision, and it was probably the wrong one."
An emotional Hannah revealed they kept £800,000 from the three books her dad had written - claiming he had wanted them to keep the profits.
Other controversies include her £18,000 payment to attend the Captain Tom awards - and only donating £2,000 of it to his charity.
The veteran's daughter was paid the large sum to attend the Virgin Media O2 Captain Tom Foundation Connector Awards in 2021.
DEMOLITION PREP
It comes as preparation to tear down the hated building is underway ahead of D-Day.
Boxes of Captain Tom's plaques including a BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and Guinness Book of Records certificate were seen being wheeled out.
Paintings and a model aircraft were among other items spotted in the clear out.
Yesterday, workmen were seen erecting blue tarpaulins around the spa complex, which sits opposite Hannah's £1.2million mansion, and more belongings were removed.
Heaps of black bin bags and unwanted furniture have been snapped collecting outside, alongside an abandoned running machine and pots of paint.
It comes as Hannah and husband Colin lost their fight to overturn a council decision to tear down the complex in a bitter dispute.
They had six weeks to rescue the building after losing a court case in October - but failed to launch an appeal.
The Planning Inspectorate previously ruled the spa was built illegally. will have to be pulled down in three months.
This came after Central Bedfordshire Council originally granted the couple permission to erect a small charity office in the name of the Captain Tom Foundation in 2021.
Hanna and Colin's statement claimed the building was to be used partly "in connection with The Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives".
How Captain Sir Tom Moore rose to fame & his daughter's controversies
- March 2020 - D-Day veteran Captain Tom Moore walks 100 laps around his Bedfordshire garden before his 100th birthday, raising £30million for the NHS during the first lockdown.
- April 2020 - Captain Tom reaches No. 1 in the charts with his cover of 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. He receives 100,000 cards for his 100th birthday, which is marked with a Battle of Britain flypast. A train is named after him.
- July 2020 - Captain Tom is knighted by the Queen in a special private ceremony at Windsor Castle.
- September 2020 - Hannah Ingram-Moore launches the Captain Tom Foundation to combat loneliness.
- December 2020 - Drones swarm into the shape of Captain Tom's face at the New Year's Eve firework display in London.
- February 2021 - Captain Sir Tom Moore dies after catching covid-19.
- February 2022 - The Charity Commission launches a probe into the Captain Tom foundation after it paid £50,000 to companies run by Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin.
- July 2023 - The foundation stops accepting donations. Planning chiefs order Hannah to tear down an unauthorised spa at her Bedfordshire home. The building had been approved to be used "in connection with the Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives". But a larger building with a spa pool was built instead and was denied retrospective planning permission. Hannah appeals.
- September 2023 - accounts reveal Hannah received more than £70,000 to head the foundation.
- October 2023 - Hannah loses her appeal and is ordered to demolish the spa and restore the garden to its original condition.
- January 2023 - Demolition work begins
Then, in 2022, they submitted a subsequent retrospective application fro an extension to form a C-shape building, containing a spa pool.
The structure was referred to as The Captain Tom Building and described as "a new building for use by the occupiers", aka Hannah and Colin.
The court heard this later "evolved" to include the spa pool, with changing rooms, toilets and showers to sit alongside their £1.2million home.
Chartered surveyor James Paynter, speaking for the family, suggested it could be used for "rehabilitation sessions for elderly people in the area".
But Richard Proctor, Planning Enforcement Team Leader, said: “The Council’s position is that the building is wholly different to the application.”
Meanwhile, Inspector Diane Fleming said the "scale and massing" of the building had "resulted in harm" to The Old Rectory - the Grade II listed family home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
As well as tearing the spa down, the family will need to remove all building materials and restore the land to its "former condition".
The court was also told the Foundation will be shut down when a probe by the Charity Commission is over.
FOUNDATION CONTROVERSY
The foundation stopped receiving donations in June 2022 after an investigation was escalated to a statutory inquiry.
The Charity Commission launched a probe after the charity's accounts showed it had given £160,000 in charitable grants while £240,000 was spent on management and fundraising costs.
Also, in its first year of operation, more than £54,000 was reimbursed to Club Nook Limited and Maytrix Group Limited, controlled by Hannah and her husband.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: "At this moment in time, the sole focus of The Captain Tom Foundation is to ensure that it cooperates fully with the ongoing Statutory Inquiry by the Charity Commission.
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"As a result, The Captain Tom Foundation is not presently actively seeking any funding from donors."
The Sun Online contacted Hannah Ingram-Moore for contact.
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