The family of Captain Sir Tom Moore attended a hearing in Bedfordshire on Tuesday (October 17th) that will determine if the spa pool built in their garden must be demolished.

In 2021, Moore’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband were permitted to develop a Captain Tom Foundation building that would sit alongside their Bedfordshire home in Marston Moretaine. 

Having obtained planning permission for the original structure, Ingram-Moore submitted revised plans to Central Bedfordshire Council in February 2022, including the spa pool along with toilets and a private kitchen. Her request was denied, but building work continued on the extension. A demolition order for the ‘unauthorised’ block followed soon after.

Using the Captain Tom Foundation charity name on plans for the building, initial proposals were for an L-shaped structure, with the family given the green light to begin construction in August of 2021. However, revised plans within the retrospective application demonstrated the desire for a larger C-shaped building, which was subsequently denied last November.

Ingram-Moore states there were ‘no grounds supporting the refusal of the retrospective application’.

Ingram-Moore appealed the demolition order, explaining that the new building was ‘no more overbearing than before’. Pointing to the similarities in height of the two structures, she claimed that the council had ‘no grounds supporting the refusal of the retrospective application’. This follows a statement on an Instagram post last month, where Ingram-Moore assured followers that no charity money had been used to construct the building. The Captain Tom Foundation stopped taking donations following the emergence of the dispute.

The Central Bedfordshire Council have explained that reports ‘detail harm caused to the setting of the listed building’ and stated that the size of the now ‘unauthorised’ building has had a subsequent impact on nearby residents. A small group of locals attended Tuesday’s hearing, with one arguing that the new structure was ‘49% bigger than what was contested’.

One local argues that the new structure was ‘49% bigger than what was contested’.

As for the building’s intended purpose, initial plans stated that the site would be used ‘in connection with the Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives’. Following the refusal from the council, the family further defended their construction, arguing that the pool spa could ‘provide rehabilitation sessions for elderly people’. A written decision on the outcome of the hearing is expected to come within six weeks.

The dispute has emerged following Ingram-Moore’s revelation earlier this month that she kept £800,000 worth of profits from the three books her father wrote before he died. However, the prologue of one stated that Sir Tom had been ‘given the chance to raise even more money for the charitable foundation’ created in his name.

Captain Sir Tom Moore became a widely praised figure after raising more than £38m for the NHS during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday. He was knighted in the summer of 2020 and died less than a year later in February 2021.

 

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