DELIGHTED neighbours have told how Captain Tom’s daughter is “humiliated” after her controversial spa complex was finally torn down.
Workmen today demolished the £200,000 building at Hannah Ingram-Moore’s home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, after it was built without planning permission.
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They began tearing down tiles to expose the luxury complex’s blue waterproof membrane at 7.45am.
This afternoon, locals told of the family’s embarrassment – while rejoicing at its removal.
One woman, whose home is overlooked by the spa, told MailOnline: “It is a humiliation for Hannah.
“I think she thought she could get away with it. I wonder if they will move when it is all over.”
Meanwhile, Sue Martindale, 60, said: “They live in a big house and they thought they could get away with it. They deserve what they have got.”
Neighbour Jilly Bozdogan, 70, added: “The tiles are coming off fast and furious. I am glad they are finally getting on with it. It has been a long drawn-out saga.
“My garden backs onto it and it is an eyesore. I have had to plant trees to try to block it out.”
While permission had been granted for an L-shaped building, revised plans for the partially constructed property were submitted by Hannah Ingram-Moore in February 2022.
The amended plans for the “Captain Tom Building” included a new C-shape, spa pool, toilets and a kitchen for “private use”.
How Captain Sir Tom Moore rose to fame & his daughter’s controversies
- March 2020 – D-Day veteran Captain Tom Moore walks 100 laps around his Bedfordshire garden before his 100th birthday, raising £30million for the NHS during the first lockdown.
- April 2020 – Captain Tom reaches No. 1 in the charts with his cover of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. He receives 100,000 cards for his 100th birthday, which is marked with a Battle of Britain flypast. A train is named after him.
- July 2020 – Captain Tom is knighted by the Queen in a special private ceremony at Windsor Castle.
- September 2020 – Hannah Ingram-Moore launches the Captain Tom Foundation to combat loneliness.
- December 2020 – Drones swarm into the shape of Captain Tom’s face at the New Year’s Eve firework display in London.
- February 2021 – Captain Sir Tom Moore dies after catching covid-19.
- February 2022 – The Charity Commission launches a probe into the Captain Tom foundation after it paid £50,000 to companies run by Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin.
- July 2023 – The foundation stops accepting donations. Planning chiefs order Hannah to tear down an unauthorised spa at her Bedfordshire home. The building had been approved to be used “in connection with the Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives”. But a larger building with a spa pool was built instead and was denied retrospective planning permission. Hannah appeals.
- September 2023 – accounts reveal Hannah received more than £70,000 to head the foundation.
- October 2023 – Hannah loses her appeal and is ordered to demolish the spa and restore the garden to its original condition.
- January 2023 – Demolition work begins.
Retrospective planning permission was refused the same year and despite appeals from Mrs Ingram-Moore, it was ruled “at odds” with her Grade II listed home.
Captain Tom’s daughter and her husband failed to seek a judicial review of the decision and the building was ordered to be removed by February 7.
Sir Thomas Moore, popularly known as Captain Tom, was a British Army officer and fundraiser who hit the headlines during the first Covid-19 lockdown.
He raised an staggering £39million for the NHS in the run-up to his 100th birthday by walking laps of his garden in April 2020.He died from coronavirus aged 100 in February 2021.