Captain Tom's family spa building demolition appeal refused after row over unauthorised building in garden

The family of Captain Sir Tom Moore have had their appeal against a demolition order to tear down an unauthorised spa building on the ground of their home refused.

Hannah Imgram-Moore, the daughter of the late veteran, and her husband, Colin Ingram, had been ordered by Central Bedfordshire Council to tear down the structure, which the council said had initially been presented as being key to the activities of the Captain Tom Foundation. A planning application for the building was filed to the council under the charities name and initially approved and the building partially constructed, before a revised application for a home spa pool and a kitchen "for private use" was filed and later refused.

The family's lawyers told the Planning Inspectorate hearing that the pool would be of benefit to elderly patrons, with the charity able to offer "rehabilitation sessions". Following a hearing held by the Planning Inspectorate, Inspector Diane Fleming announced her decision in a letter. She called the intentions of the Ingram-Moore family as "laudable", but said there was no detailed evidence as to how this would be carried out.

Fleming's decision letter read: "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.”

The family argued that it would take considerable time to comply with the demolition order, giving a time frame of up to one year. However, Ms Fleming said that it was expected that the demolition process would take no longer than three months.

It comes as the family of Captain Sir Tom Moore, who raised millions for the NHS in lockdown by completing 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday, come under fire for its handling of the Captain Tom Foundation, a charity set up in his name following his death in 2021. The charity is currently under investigation by the Charity Commission over concerns about its independence from a business run by the family.