07 November 2023 , 12:21
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Irate neighbours of Sir Captain Tom Moore's family today backed an order to demolish a luxury spa complex, fuming: "Tear it down now."
Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband had battled to overturn a council decision to demolish down the "unauthorised" building. But the Planning Inspectorate today said they have three months to bulldoze the building after it was built illegally at their £1.2million mansion.
Originally meant as a hub for the Captain Tom Foundation which launched upon the veteran fundraiser's death earlier that year, Mrs Ingram-Moore later submitted retrospective planning permission after it was built with a pool, spa and changing facilities. But when this was rejected earlier this year, the family was served with a demolition order which they appealed and today lost.
Neighbours said the new building at the home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire 'does nothing for the surroundings here' (PA)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.
And neighbour Jill Bozdogan, 70, whose home is overlooked by the spa, said: “The sooner they tear it down the better. It doesn’t blend in with the two original buildings. For me it was something you can see from all my back windows - upstairs and downstairs.
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"Every time I go into the garden it makes me so cross. It does nothing for the surroundings here. My mum is 99 and lives with me. She liked to go and sit in the garden, but she rarely does now because of that building.” Another Jean Harrison, 80, said: “It looks dreadful from here. It’s made of breezeblock. It is good that it has to come down.”
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 family now has six weeks to appeal the decision.
A view of the home of Hannah Ingram-Moore, the daughter of the late Captain Sir Tom Moore, at Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire. (PA)In her written decision, the inspector said: “I accept that the appellant’s intentions are laudable; however, it has not been demonstrated in any detail how all of this would work in practice. In the absence of any substantiated information, I find the suggested public benefit would therefore not outweigh the great weight to be given to the harm to the heritage asset.”
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”. The foundation is currently the subject of an investigation by the Charity Commission, amid concerns about its management and independence from Sir Tom's family.
Hannah Ingram-Moore, the daughter of the late Captain Sir Tom Moore at Central Bedfordshire Council (PA)The charity watchdog opened a case into the foundation shortly after the 100-year-old died in 2021, and launched its inquiry in June last year.
Scott Stemp, representing Ms Ingram-Moore and her husband, said at the appeal hearing that the foundation “is to be closed down following an investigation by the Charity Commission”. Sir Tom raised £38.9 million for the NHS, including Gift Aid, by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday at the height of the first national Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020.
He was knighted by the late Queen during a unique open-air ceremony at Windsor Castle in the summer of that year.
He died in February 2021.