A date has been set to appeal against an order to demolish a spa pool block built at the home of Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter.
Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin applied in 2021 for permission to build a Captain Tom Foundation building on the grounds of their home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
The L-shaped building was given the green light, and in a design, access and heritage statement it was described as being used in part “in connection with the Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable purposes”.
The planning authority rejected a later retrospective application in 2022, for a larger C-shaped building containing a whirlpool.
Bedfordshire Central Council said last month that a notice of enforcement was issued requiring the demolition of the “now unauthorized building” and was subject to an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
Sir 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.
He was knighted by the late Queen during a unique outdoor ceremony at Windsor Castle in the summer of 2020. He died in February 2021.
In documents appealing the notice, the family said the building was “no more authoritative” than a previously approved planning application and that “heights are the same.”
Mr. Ingram-Moore’s statement of appeal stated: “The view is virtually identical except for a sloped roof added to the elevation treatment. The heights are the same. As such, there can be no unacceptable authoritarian impact.”
It also said that the council had “no reason to support the denial of the retrospective request” and “requested” that the inspector uphold the appeal.
The document also notes that the building is located at the back of the site, meaning it is not a problem for public viewing.
The council said its reports “detail the damage caused to the surroundings of the listed building and, in particular, the significant difference between the two schemes which arises from the lack of sufficient public benefit that has been proposed in respect of the unauthorized building.”
The local government body documents also state that the demolition requirement is not “excessive” and that the “unauthorized size and scale of the building” has an adverse impact on Ingram-Moore’s residents.
The Town Planning Inspectorate is scheduled to hold a hearing on October 17.
