09 February 2024 , 14:07
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A metal bench made in honour of Captain Tom Moore’s 100th birthday is all that remained in the garden today after his family’s luxury £200,000 spa complex was completely demolished.
New aerial photos show the black steel bench alone on the empty grounds of the property in the village of Marston Moretaine in Bedfordshire after the controversial spa was finally demolished. Workmen have been busy clearing away the bricks, tiles and debris this week after Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband, Colin were told to bulldoze the property by Central Bedfordshire Council and return the land to its original state.
The rubble has now been taken away and the bench - which was made by Lincolnshire businessman Chris Kennedy at his fabrication firm, Roll and Scroll, and presented to Captain Tom on his 100th birthday - is all that is left standing.
The spa complex at Captain Tom Moore’s family home in Bedfordshire was demolished this week (Bav Media)Originally meant as a hub for the Captain Tom Foundation, which launched after the veteran fundraiser's death in 2021, Mrs Ingram-Moore later submitted retrospective planning permission after it was built with an unauthorised pool, spa, and changing facilities. The planning permission was rejected but the demolition was put on hold while the family appealed. During the appeal process, the family's lawyer set out the case for keeping the complex.
Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband, Colin were told to bulldoze the property by Central Bedfordshire Council (PA)In a hearing in October, chartered surveyor James Paynter suggested the spa pool could offer rehabilitation sessions for elderly people in the area. But this was dismissed by inspector Diane Fleming, who ruled the "scale and massing" of the building had damaged the grade II-listed family home.
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Builders had been hard at work for the last week removing the large building after Ingram-Moore was told it must be gone by February 7, and workmen were later seen clearing away the bricks, tiles and debris after the building was bulldozed and reduced to rubble.
Workmen have been clearing away the bricks, tiles and debris (Bav Media)Photos from the garden showed Ms Ingram-Moore looking downcast as her luxury spa complex was emptied late last month ahead of demolition. But supporting the demolition, 70-year-old neighbour Jill Bozdogan whose home was 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."
World War II veteran Captain Tom rose to fame after he raised almost £39 million for NHS charities by walking around his garden 100 times using a walking frame during the first Covid lockdown. He was later knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and died in February 2021.