Bulldozed, illegal spa built by Captain Tom’s daughter
She laughs with workers as £200,000 building is torn down
AN unauthorised spa at the home of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter was finally demolished yesterday.
Hannah Ingram-Moore was spotted laughing with demolition workers as she witnessed the destruction of the £200,000 building.
Work began last Tuesday at Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire to flatten the Captain Tom Foundation complex.
Pictures yesterday show an excavator tearing down the spa with the entire structure almost flattened, before the machine then ripped off wood and other debris from its roof and knocked down brick walls.
A crane had previously lifted the spa
‘I wonder if they will move’
pool from the property on Friday after preparation for the demolition. Builders spent a week salvaging as much as they could from the property, including windows, tiles and even a sink.
A film crew and photographer, employed by Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore, were seen recording the demolition on Friday on the third anniversary of Captain Tom’s death aged 100. The family lost an appeal against Central Bedfordshire Council to keep their spa complex after a planning inspector ruled it was ‘at odds’ with their Grade ll listed home, the Old Rectory.
During a hearing in October, chartered surveyor James Paynter, for the appellants, said the spa pool had ‘the opportunity to offer rehabilitation sessions for elderly people in the area’.
Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore had been given permission to make a Captain Tom Foundation Building in their garden to store cards and gifts sent by admirers, but they added a sauna and spa, which were not part of the original plans. Central Bedfordshire Council issued an enforcement notice last July to demolish the building. The couple’s appeal was dismissed in November.
They were given three months to remove the sauna and spa and it must be pulled down by February 7. Last week, neighbours revealed their relief that the building was finally being torn down. One local, whose home overlooks the spa, said: ‘It is a humiliation for Hannah. I wonder if they will move when it is all over.’
Neighbour Jilly Bozdogan, 70, said: ‘The tiles are coming off fast and furious. I am glad they are finally getting on with it. It has been a long drawn-out saga.
‘My garden backs on to it and it is an eyesore. I have had to plant trees to try to block it out.’ The Captain Tom Foundation is the subject of an investigation by the Charity Commission amid concerns about its management and independence from the family.
The charity watchdog opened a case into the foundation shortly after Sir Tom died, and launched its inquiry in June 2022.
Scott Stemp, representing Ms Ingram-Moore and her husband, said at the spa appeal hearing that the foundation ‘is to be closed down following an investigation by the Charity Commission’.
War veteran Captain Tom raised almost £39million for NHS charities by walking around his garden 100 times using a walking frame during the first Covid lockdown in 2020. He was later knighted by the Queen and died in February 2021.
Meanwhile, a company run by Mrs Ingram-Moore saw the value of its assets plunge. Club Nook Ltd was registered in April 2020.
Companies House accounts show the firm’s net assets fell from £482,268 in 2021/22 to £366,000 in 2022/23.