"We turned old water pumping station into luxury retreat and celebrities love it"

SWNS 2024-08-07

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A couple have spent £50,000 transforming a derelict water pumping station into a stunning luxury countryside getaway - which is now being booked up by celebrities.

Tyler Richards, 29, and his girlfriend Megan Mullen-Knight, 26, snapped up the neglected concrete tank in Trimpley, Worcs., at auction in May 2022.

The innovative pair paid £55,000 for the former Severn Trent Water building - which measures just 3.5m (11ft) x 2m (6ft) - and found it "dark, damp and full of spiders."

Builder Tyler and dad Darren, 57, then went about transforming the site into a £200-a-night deluxe retreat - complete with hot tub, indoor cinema and putting green.

They took out thick concrete walls - built to withstand thousands of tonnes of water - to put in French doors and an outdoor area offering amazing countryside views.

The upstairs control room was converted into a stylish living space, kitchen and bathroom while the downstairs tank is now an underground cinema bedroom.

The property recently featured on Channel 4's 'George Clarke's Amazing Spaces' with the host describing it as "off-the-scale brilliant" with a "serious wow factor".

The incredible deluxe duplex was built by Tyler and his father with the inside being decorated and furnished by interior designers Megan.

Tyler, of Kidderminster, Worcs., said: "I only live a few minutes down the road and I was driving along one day when I saw this place and wondered what on earth it was.

"I jumped the fence and went and had a look at it and I instantly saw it had potential as a possible property mainly because of the stunning views up there.

"I showed it my dad and he thought the same so we had a look online to see how much it was being auctioned for. At that point it was only £15,000.

"In the end we paid £55,000 for it, which we were over the moon with as we'd been prepared to go up to £100,000 as we could see the potential yield.

"We sort of just fell in love with the place - even though it was this neglected Severn Trent building.

"When we got inside it, it was dirty, damp and dark and we knew we had one hell of a job on our hands.

"But Megan has an amazing eye and we had this vision for it, which we determined to make a reality.

""We had to wait a year for the planning to go through as it faced some opposition from the local council and residents originally.

"But as soon as it got the go-ahead in May last year, we were up there night and day most days a week and it took five months to complete.

"We faced obstacles because the concrete in the pump station itself was reinforced to withstand tonnes of water pressure.

"It was the strongest concrete you could get and took some getting through.
Severn Trent really built the tank to last.

"We then tore out the equipment from the control room. It all had to be stripped back to brick and we had to dig out loads of soil too outside as it was so raised.

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