The family of Captain Sir Tom Moore have lost a planning application appeal over the demolition of an unauthorised spa in their garden.
Hannah Ingram-Moore, the celebrated fundraiser’s daughter, and her husband Colin had launched an appeal against an order to demolish a building in the grounds of their £1.2m home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.
The pair were originally granted permission to build an L-shaped structure in their garden in 2021, with their plans stating that the site would be used partly "in connection with the Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives".
The council refused a subsequent retrospective application in 2022 for a larger, C-shaped building containing a spa pool and in July issued an enforcement notice requiring its demolition as it was unauthorised.
The family appealed to the Planning Inspectorate and the case was heard last month by inspector Diane Fleming.
In a letter announcing the decision to dismiss the appeal, Ms Fleming said the "scale and massing" of the partially-built building had "resulted in harm" to The Old Rectory, the family home and a building in Marston Moretaine.
Chartered surveyor James Paynter, for the appellants, said during the hearing that the scheme had "evolved" to include the spa pool, which could be used to offer "rehabilitation sessions for elderly people in the area".
However, Ms Fleming said while the intentions were "laudable", there was no detailed evidence of how this would work in practice.
"In the absence of any substantiated information, I find the suggested public benefit would therefore not outweigh the great weight to be given to the harm to the heritage asset," she stated in her decision.
Richard Proctor, the council's planning enforcement team leader, said the original building was approved because of "public good outweighing harm" but no information had been provided about the use of the spa.
The Charity Commission launched an inquiry into the Captain Tom Foundation in June last year, after identifying concerns about the charity's management and independence from Sir Tom's family.
Accounts showed that in its first year, more money went to administration and management than to charitable causes.
The former Army officer raised almost £39m for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday at the height of the first national lockdown in April 2020. He was knighted that summer anddied in February 2021.
