Roof of Captain Tom's daughter's illegal spa complex cracked as workmen continue demolition
WORKERS today ripped off the roof of a controversial £200,000 spa building that belonged to Captain Tom's daughter.
Builders came at the family home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshirewearing orange high-vis around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday.
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They began chipping away at tiles to expose the luxury complex's blue waterproof membrane.
Metal posts have been installed by three workers around the C-shaped building, which would 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 was instructed to do so tear down their spa complex because the building did not have planning permission from Central Bedfordshire Council.
Although permission had been granted for an L-shaped building, revised plans for the partially built property were submitted by Hannah Ingram-Moore in February 2022.
The revised plans for the “Captain Tom Building” include a new C-shape, a 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 declared “in conflict” with her Grade II listed home.
Captain TomThe woman's daughter and her husband failed to apply for a judicial review of the decision and the building had to be removed on February 7.
Sir Thomas Moore, popularly known as Captain Tom, was a British Army official and fundraiser who made headlines during the first Covid-19 lockdown.
He raised a whopping £39 million for the NHS in the run-up to his 100th birthday by walking laps of his garden in April 2020.
He died of coronavirus 100 years old in February 2021.
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CHARITY CONTROVERSIES
Hanna and Colin initially claimed that the spa would be used partially 'in connection with Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives” in 2022.
This was vastly different from their original proposal for one small charity office on behalf of the Captain Tom Foundation in 2021.
However, their foundation stopped receiving donations in June 2022 after an investigation was launched that escalated into a legal investigation.
The Charity Commission launched a probe after the charity's accounts showed it had given £160,000 in charity grants, while £240,000 was spent on management and fundraising costs.
Meanwhile, in its first year of operation, more than £54,000 was returned to Club Nook Limited and Maytrix Group Limited, controlled by Hannah and her husband.
The Council's position is that the building is completely different from the application.
Richard Proctor
Hannah previously spoke about the ordeal with TalkTV'S Piers Morgan and admitted pocketing money from the £39 million NHS fundraising veteran in 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 battle to overturn the council decision to demolish the complex.
The planning inspectorate ruled it a health spa built illegally and should be demolished within three months.
The couple then had six weeks to make it through lost a lawsuit in October – but failed to appeal.
a court heard their retroactive plans, submitted in 2022, later 'evolved' into the spa pool, with Dressing roomstoilets and showers next to their £1.2 million home.
How Captain Sir Tom Moore became famous and his daughter's controversies
- March 2020 – Captain Tom Moore, D-Day veteran, walks 100 laps of his garden in Bedfordshire before his centenary, raising £30 million for the NHS during the first lockdown.
- April 2020 – Captain Tom reaches number 1 in the charts with his cover of 'You'll Never Walk Alone'. He will receive 100,000 cards for his 100th birthday, which will be marked with a Battle of Britain fly pass. There is a train 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 in the shape of Captain Tom's face during the New Year's Eve fireworks in London.
- February 2021 – Captain Sir Tom Moore dies after contracting Covid-19.
- February 2022 – The Charity Commission launches an investigation 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 demolish an unauthorized spa at her Bedfordshire home. The building was approved for use “in connection with the Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable purposes.” But a larger building with a spa pool was built instead, but retrospective planning permission was refused. Hanna appeals.
- September 2023 – Accounts reveal Hannah was paid more than £70,000 to run the foundation.
- October 2023 – Hannah loses her appeal and is ordered to demolish the spa and restore the garden to its original state.
- January 2023 – Demolition work begins.