A spa pool at the home of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has been hauled out by a crane as part of ongoing demolition works.
The tub was hooked up to chains and hoisted up through the open roof of the block, which was taken off by workmen earlier in the week.
Planning inspector Diane Fleming ruled that the spa block must be destroyed by February 7 ater Central Bedfordshire Council refused a restrospective application for a C-shaped Captain Tom Foundation Building containing a spa pool.
The local authority had only given permission for an L-shaped building at the property in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, and issued an enforcement notice that was upheld by Ms Fleming – despite Hannah Ingram-Moore’s claim that the spa pool had “the opportunity to offer rehabilitation sessions for elderly people in the area”.
The removal by a large yellow crane came exactly three years after Captain Sir Tom’s death on February 2, 2021.
The foundation is the subject of an investigation by the Charity Commission amid concerns about its management and independence from Captain Sir Tom’s family.
The charity watchdog opened a case shortly after the 100-year-old died. It launched its inquiry in June 2022.
Scott Stemp, representing Ms Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin, said at a planning appeal hearing over the spa pool that the foundation “is to be closed down following an investigation by the Charity Commission”.
Captain Sir Tom raised £38.9million 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.
He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II during a unique open-air ceremony at Windsor Castle in the summer of that year.
