Delighted neighbours have told of their relief that Captain Tom's "humiliated" daughter's unauthorised luxury spa is finally being ripped down.
Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin were instructed to pull down the unauthorised £200,000 building after a council enforcement. Last week workmen were seen removing boxes and artwork from the site in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire following a November ruling demanding the spa be demolished within three months. On Tuesday, a low-loader lorry was seen entering the back garden of their home for scaffolding to be erected.
Villagers say Hannah "thought she was going to get away with it" and are pleased the so-called "eyesore" is on its way out. Sue Martindale, 60, said: "They live in a big house and they thought they could get away with it. The deserve what they have got."
Neighbour Jilly Bozdogan, 70, said: "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."
In August 2021 the couple were granted permission to build a Captain Tom Foundation Building, to house the Covid-19 hero’s memorabilia. Sir Tom, who was knighted by the late Queen, raised £38 million for NHS charities by completing 100 sponsored laps of the garden of the home during the pandemic in 2020. The World War veteran died in January 2021 aged 100.
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Photo from yesterday shows the demolition work underway (PA)The couple used the foundation’s name on their first set of plans. However, it was not used on a retrospective application for a larger building with a spa pool. The council refused the retrospective planning permission for the revised plans in November 2022 and residents signed a petition calling the structure "ugly, featureless, overbearing, oversized and completely out of character". Following the demolition neighbour Richard Gough, 68, said he heard one of the workmen throwing the tiles down from the roof first thing this morning.
His wife Lesley, 67, added: "It was not nice for the people who live next to the building. There were trees there before and a tennis court. It is a shame they let it go on for so long. I think they thought they could get away with it. Captain Tom was so popular. His legacy has got lost. He did all those good things and people aren't talking about that anymore."
A woman, whose home is overlooked by the spa, said she is relieved they are getting on with it and said: "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." Another said it was not a nice sight and that she was glad it was going: "It is a shame because of all the good he has done - they have tarnished it. It is not a good look for the village."
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