Captain Sir Tom Moore’s family appeals order to demolish 'unauthorised' spa pool in planning permission row

17 October 2023, 08:24 | Updated: 17 October 2023, 12:42

Read more: Captain Tom’s daughter wants unauthorised spa pool to be used for ‘rehab sessions for the elderly’

Captain Sir Tom Moore's family will today appeal the demolition notice.
Captain Sir Tom Moore's family will today appeal the demolition notice. Picture: Alamy

By Jenny Medlicott

The family of Captain Sir Tom Moore are set to appeal an order to demolish a spa pool that was added to a building made in his name.

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Captain Sir Tom’s daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband, Colin, were granted permission to build a Captain Tom Foundation Building on the grounds of their Bedfordshire home in 2021.

However, a retrospective application for a larger building with revisions, including a spa pool, was rejected by the council in November 2022.

Central Bedfordshire Council notified the family to demolish the “now-unauthorised building”.

Captain Sir Tom’s family have since appealed the notice to the Planning inspectorate and are set to attend a hearing on Tuesday to decide whether it should be demolished or not.

The family will argue that the revised building was “no more overbearing” than the one that was originally granted permission in 2021.

“The subject building is no more overbearing than the consented scheme,” Mr Ingram-Moore’s appeal statement read.

“The view is virtually identical save for a pitch roof being added to the elevational treatment. The heights are the same. As such there cannot be an unacceptable overbearing impact."

Read more: Captain Sir Tom Moore film delayed after daughter admits to pocketing £800,000 raised from his books

Read more: Captain Tom Moore's family says getting rid of their spa pool is not ‘an option’ they’d considered

Captain Tom Moore, with (left to right) grandson Benji, daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and granddaughter Georgia, at his home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, after he achieved his goal of 100 laps of his garden.
Captain Tom Moore, with (left to right) grandson Benji, daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and granddaughter Georgia, at his home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, after he achieved his goal of 100 laps of his garden. Picture: Alamy

The hearing is expected to last one day with a decision published between four to six weeks later.

In the documents submitted for appeal, the family have also said the council had “no grounds supporting the refusal of the retrospective application”.

Sir Tom raised £38.9 million for the NHS at the height of the first national Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020 by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday. He died in February 2021.

The council said its reports "detail harm caused to the setting of the listed building and, in particular, the significant difference between the two schemes that arises from the lack of sufficient public benefit that has been proposed in respect of the unauthorised building".

It also stated that the demolition requirement is not "excessive" and the "size and scale of the unauthorised building" has an adverse impact on the Ingram-Moores' neighbours.

A view of the home of Hannah Ingram-Moore, the daughter of the late Captain Sir Tom Moore, at Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
A view of the home of Hannah Ingram-Moore, the daughter of the late Captain Sir Tom Moore, at Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire. Picture: Alamy

It comes after it emerged Captain Sir Tom Moore's daughter admitted to pocketing £800,000 from books written by the NHS fundraising war veteran.

Responding to allegations about her late father's charity millions, Hannah Ingram-Moore said her father wanted them to keep the profits from his three books: Captain Tom's Life Lessons, One Hundred Steps and his autobiography Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day.

Ms Ingram-Moore said the money made went into Club Nook Ltd - a firm separate to the charity in his name.

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