Date set for decision over unauthorised spa building at Captain Tom's family home
A date has been set for a hearing which will decide if the family of Captain Sir Tom Moore must tear down a spa building they built in their garden.
Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin were ordered to demolish the building in the grounds of their Bedfordshire home.
They originally applied for permission to build what they called a Captain Tom Foundation Building in the garden of their home in Marston Moretaine, in 2021.
The building was approved to be used "in connection with the Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives", but later revised after a larger building containing a spa pool was built.
The Planning Inspectorate will hold a hearing on 17 October to decide the fate of the building.
It has been branded ugly, featureless, overbearing, oversized and completely out of character with the Grade II adjacent Old Rectory" in a petition signed by neighbours.
Colin Ingram-Moore submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, defending the building as "no more overbearing than the consented scheme".
World War Two Army veteran Captain Sir Tom raised nearly £39m for NHS Charities with a fundraising walk around his garden which caught the imagination of the country during the first coronavirus lockdown.
The appeal document submitted by Mr Ingram-Moore points out that the building is "no more overbearing than the consented scheme", and is the same height.
"As such there cannot be an unacceptable overbearing impact," he said, adding: "There are no grounds supporting the refusal of the retrospective application.”
Central Bedfordshire Council claims there are “significant differences” between the approved and constructed buildings and it “doesn’t consider the need to demolish the building is excessive”.
The local authority said: “The size and scale of the unauthorised building have an adverse impact on the amenity of the neighbouring dwellings.”
A petition signed by people living in the village states: "The building is ugly, featureless, overbearing, oversized and completely out of character with the Grade II adjacent Old Rectory".
Neighbours have previously complained it was an "eyesore", pointing out it was far too large for the site and out of character with the surrounding buildings.
As a result of the controversy following the demolition order, the Captain Tom Foundation said it would not seek donations, and was closing all payment channels, while the Charity Commission carried out an inquiry.
Captain Tom raised £38.9m for the NHS, including gift aid, by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday at the height of the first national Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020.
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