TORN DOWN
Roof ripped off Captain Tom’s daughter’s illegal spa complex as workmen continue demolition
Neighbours claimed the extension had 'spoilt everything'
WORKMEN today ripped off the roof of a controversial £200,000 spa building belonging to Captain Tom's daughter.
Builders arrived at the family home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, wearing orange high-vis at around 7.45am on Wednesday.
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They began tearing down tiles to expose the luxury complex's blue waterproof membrane.
Metal poles have been assembled by three workers around the C-shaped building, which was set to house a spa pool, toilets and kitchen.
A van belonging to demolition contractors C. Jackson and Sons of Bedford was also parked outside.
The family were ordered to knock down their spa complex because the building did not have planning permission from Central Bedfordshire Council.
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While permission had been granted for an L-shaped building, revised plans for the partially constructed property were submitted by Hannah Ingram-Moore in February 2022.
The amended plans for the "Captain Tom Building" included a new C-shape, spa pool, toilets and a kitchen for "private use".
Retrospective planning permission was refused the same year and despite appeals from Mrs Ingram-Moore, it was ruled "at odds" with her Grade II listed home.
Captain Tom's daughter and her husband failed to seek a judicial review of the decision and the building was ordered to be removed by February 7.
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Sir Thomas Moore, popularly known as Captain Tom, was a British Army officer and fundraiser who hit the headlines during the first Covid-19 lockdown.
He raised an staggering £39million for the NHS in the run-up to his 100th birthday by walking laps of his garden in April 2020.
He died from coronavirus aged 100 in February 2021.
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CHARITY CONTROVERSIES
Hanna and Colin initially claimed the spa was to be used partly "in connection with The Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives" in 2022.
This was hugely different to their original proposal to build a small charity office in the name of the Captain Tom Foundation in 2021.
However, their foundation actually stopped receiving donations in June 2022 after an investigation was launched which 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.
Meanwhile, 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.
The Council's position is that the building is wholly different to the application.
Richard Proctor
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."
Hannah and husband Colin then lost their fight to overturn the council decision to tear down the complex.
The Planning Inspectorate ruled the spa was built illegally and would have to be pulled down in three months.
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The couple had six weeks to rescue it after losing a court case in October - but failed to launch an appeal.
A court heard their retrospective plans, submitted in 2022, later "evolved" to include the spa pool, with changing rooms, toilets and showers to sit alongside their £1.2million home.
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.
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