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The Captain Tom Foundation is likely to close down following an investigation into its management, a hearing to decide the fate of an unauthorised spa at his daughter’s home has heard.
The organisation, which was founded in June 2020 in honour of Captain Sir Tom Moore – after he shot to fame by doing sponsored laps of his garden during the COVID pandemic – is currently being investigated by the Charity Commission.
Barrister Scott Stemp, acting on behalf of the late fundraiser’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin, said: “It’s not news to anybody that the foundation, it seems, is to be closed down following an investigation by the Charity Commission.”
Captain Tom Foundation: What has happened and why is there an inquiry?
He also told the hearing, at the headquarters of Central Bedfordshire Council, that the foundation was “unlikely to exist” much longer.
The admission was made at an appeal launched by Ms Ingram-Moore and her husband 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 the site would be used partly “in connection with The Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives”.
However, last year they submitted a retrospective application for a larger, C-shaped building containing a spa pool, along with a kitchen and toilets.
The new application was rejected by Central Bedfordshire Council, which then served an enforcement notice demanding the “now-unauthorised building” be demolished.
Chartered surveyor James Paynter, a representative for the couple, told the hearing the scheme had “evolved” to include the spa pool.
He said: “It was felt that a larger building could provide this extra space for this extra…
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