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5th July 2023
09:39am BST
Captain Tom's daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, has been ordered to demolish a spa and pool complex which she used her father's name to get planning permission for.
Hannah Ingram-Moore, 52, and her husband Colin told planners they wanted an office for the Captain Tom Foundation, which was set up in their father’s name following his fundraising efforts during the first Covid lockdown.
The couple used the foundation's name on the first plans for the "Captain Tom Foundation Building" in August 2021.
Permission for the building to be built on the tennis courts at the Grade-II listed home, where Ingram-Moore had lived with her father, was initially granted by central Bedfordshire Council.
Documents said it was "for use by occupiers... and Captain Tom Foundation," the BBC reports.
In February 2022 though, the family submitted a revised plans for the partly constructed building, included a spa, pool, toilets and a kitchen.
The single-storey build was called the "Captain Tom Building", and the Design & Access and Heritage Statement said it was "for private use".
These plans were refused by the council, with a spokesperson saying: "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."
Captain Tom raised millions of pounds during the first Covid lockdown when he walked laps of his garden to raise money for the NHS ahead of his 100th birthday.
By the time his fundraising efforts came to an end, almost £39m was raised for the health service.
As a result, he was knighted and the Captain Tom Foundation was set up in May 2020 by his daughter, which pledged to support four charities chosen by the late Captain and his family – The Royal British Legion, Mind, Helen & Douglas House, and Willen Hospice.
In February 2021, he passed away at the age of 100.
Since his passing, the foundation has been embroiled in controversy though.
In May 2022, it was investigated over concerns about its accounts, which showed roughly a tenth of all money raised by the foundation was spent on fundraising consultancy fees.
This was followed by reports that the charity tried to appoint Mrs Ingram-Moore as its CEO on a six-figure salary.
The appointment was blocked by the Charity Commission.
The watchdog announced in June 2022 that they were investigating the foundation after “identifying concerns about the charity’s management, including about the charity’s independence from the family of the late Captain Sir Tom Moore and businesses connected to them.”
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