The Captain Tom Foundation has stopped taking money from donors after a local council ruled an unauthorised building in the home of the daughter of the late charity fundraiser had to be demolished.
The charity was set up in memory of Captain Sir Tom Moore who raised £38.9m for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden during the first national Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. He died aged 100 in February 2021.
Central Bedfordshire council said a retrospective planning application had been refused and an enforcement notice issued requiring the demolition of the “now-unauthorised building” containing a spa pool.
The foundation said it would not seek donations and was closing all payment channels while the Charity Commission carried out an inquiry.
Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband, Colin, applied in 2021 for permission to build a Captain Tom Foundation Building in the grounds of their home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
The L-shaped building was approved and was described as to be used partly “in connection with the Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives”.
A subsequent retrospective application in 2022, for a larger C-shaped building containing a spa pool, was refused by the planning authority.
In supporting documents, it was described as “a new building for use by the occupiers” of the home of the Ingram-Moores. In a design and access and heritage statement, it was referred to as The Captain Tom Building.
A spokesperson for Central Bedfordshire council, the planning authority for the area, said it received a planning application for the erection of a detached single-storey building by the occupiers of the home of the Ingram-Moores and the Captain Tom Foundation, which was approved.
In 2022, planners subsequently received a retrospective planning application for a “part retrospective erection of detached single-storey building (revised proposals)”, which was refused, the spokesperson said.
The council spokesperson said: “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.”
In June last year, the regulator launched a formal investigation into concerns over the charity.
The Charity Commission began a series of discussions with the foundation amid concerns about the way it was governed, which escalated into a full inquiry after fresh evidence emerged of potentially serious misconduct.
On Tuesday, the foundation said: “At this moment in time, the sole focus of the Captain Tom Foundation is to ensure that it cooperates fully with the ongoing statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission.
“As a result, the Captain Tom Foundation is not presently actively seeking any funding from donors. Accordingly, we have also taken the decision to close all payment channels while the statutory inquiry remains open.
“Once the findings of the statutory inquiry have been communicated, the Captain Tom Foundation will be in a better position to make a decision in relation to its future, but for now, our main priority is to assist the Charity Commission with its inquiry.”
