Captain Sir Tom Moore's daughter ordered to demolish home spa

The Captain Tom Foundation has stopped taking money from donors after the retrospective planning permission was refused

Captain Sir Tom Moore, whose daughter has been ordered to demolish a building in a planning row. Reuters

The daughter of army officer and lockdown fund-raiser Captain Sir Tom Moore has been ordered to demolish a building used as a spa after a planning application was rejected.

The Captain Tom Foundation, set up in the Second World War veteran's honour after he raised £38.9 million for the NHS, has stopped taking money from donors after retrospective planning permission was refused.

The foundation said it was also closing all payment channels while the Charity Commission carried out an inquiry.

Captain Sir Tom's daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, and her husband Colin first applied for permission to build a Captain Tom Foundation building in the grounds of their home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, in 2021.

The L-shaped building was to be used partly “in connection with the Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives”, and was given the green light.

But a retrospective application in 2022, for a larger C-shaped building containing a spa pool, was refused by the planning authority.

In supporting documents, it was described as “a new building for use by the occupiers” of the home of Mr and Ms Ingram-Moore.

In a design and access and heritage statement, it was referred to as The Captain Tom Building.

Captain Sir Tom raised £38.9 million, including gift aid, for the NHS 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 died in February 2021.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Central Bedfordshire Council, the local planning authority, said it had received a planning application in August 2021 for the erection of a detached single-storey building by the occupiers of the home of the Ingram-Moores and the Captain Tom Foundation.

It said this was approved.

In 2022, planners received a retrospective planning application for a “part-retrospective erection of detached single-storey building (revised proposals)", which was refused, the spokesperson said.

The council spokesperson said: “An enforcement notice requiring the demolition of the now-unauthorised building was issued and this is now subject to an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.”

The foundation said: “At this moment in time, the sole focus of the Captain Tom Foundation is to ensure that it co-operates fully with the continuing statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission.

“As a result, the Captain Tom Foundation is not presently actively seeking any funding from donors. Accordingly, we have also taken the decision to close all payment channels while the statutory inquiry remains open.

“Once the findings of the statutory inquiry have been communicated, the Captain Tom Foundation will be in a better position to make a decision in relation to its future, but for now, our main priority is to assist the Charity Commission with its inquiry.”

Captain Sir Tom Moore – in pictures

“In the meantime, on behalf of the trustees of the Captain Tom Foundation, we wish to extend a warm thank you to all our supporters who have enabled us to help charities that were close to Captain Sir Tom's heart.”

Efforts have been made to approach Ms Ingram-Moore for comment.

In a statement to a national newspaper, the foundation said: “At no time were the Captain Tom Foundation's independent trustees aware of planning permissions made by Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore purporting to be in the foundation's name.

“Had they been aware of any applications, the independent trustees would not have authorised them.”

The Charity Commission opened an inquiry in to the foundation in June 2022 after identifying concerns about the its management and independence from the late veteran's family.