Robert Rycroft built a steel-framed shed to safeguard belongings from repeated floods, but Wakefield Council ordered its demolition for lacking planning permission in the Green Belt, leaving the family fearing future losses.
A desperate father who built a 'flood survival shed ' to protect his family's belongings after being swamped by filthy river water so many times they could not get insurance has been ordered to tear it down.
Robert Rycroft, 57, put up the huge steel-framed outbuilding in the garden of his home in Horbury, West Yorkshire, after years of devastating floods left them scrambling to move treasured possessions out of the water's path. The father-of-three, who is a full-time carer for his 16-year-old daughter Rose, who has Down's syndrome, says the shed was never intended as a luxury addition to their secluded property.
Instead, he says it was a 'lifeline' to haul their belongings above the flood level at a moment's notice whenever the neighbouring River Calder burst its banks. However, Wakefield Council ruled the 4.5m-tall metal structure was built without planning permission in the Green Belt. A planning inspector has now upheld an enforcement notice ordering the family to tear down the building and clear the land within six months.
Mr Rycroft, who lives at the 18th-century cottage with wife Joanne, 55, daughter Rose, and sons Cole, 22, and Kendall, 19, have been subjected to four serious flood events since purchasing the home in 2015. He said the demolition ruling has left the family fearing the next flood will wipe them out again.
The Rycrofts bought the property in 2015, hoping to knock down the existing cottage and build a raised bungalow on the plot to escape the cycle of flooding, but claim planning obstacles made that impossible. Within months, they were hit by flooding - and again in 2020, 2022 and 2024, with filthy water rising through the ground and surging into the house.
Mr Rycroft described the devastating impact: 'As soon as it starts raining, I can see the colour drain from my wife's face. The water comes up through the ground in no time, because it's all sand and gravel. Before you know it, it is in the house. It has risen so high it covers the radiators and comes just below the window sills.
The smell is vile. You cannot escape it. Even with dehumidifiers running day and night, the damp stays for months. The repeated floods have taken a heavy toll on the whole family.
' He said that Rose, who has Down's syndrome and a serious heart condition, becomes overwhelmed by the fear and disruption. 'It spirals her into panic. She sees her toys, the sofa, the house - everything - at risk. It is too much for her.
She will talk about it over and over because she is frightened. We have all ended up in one bed, the five of us, listening to the water and smelling it. You cannot get away from it. It changes your life.
' The family say they have lost furniture, electrical equipment, machinery and outdoor items in repeated floods, while Mrs Rycroft's BMW was written off. They have claimed on insurance to replace damaged possessions, but say they were advised to take steps to 'mitigate' against future flooding or risk payouts being refused.
During the Covid lockdown, Mr Rycroft began building the outbuilding himself, believing he did not need planning permission because it replaced a larger, derelict structure that had stood on the land for decades. The new building sits around a metre higher than the family cottage, meaning he can move possessions into it quickly using a loader when flood warnings are issued. He said: 'From September to February, that's all you do - you move stuff.
Without that building, we are back to losing everything again. It makes no sense. We are not hurting anyone. We are just trying to protect our home and our family.
' Despite the council's order, Mr Rycroft remains defiant, expressing fears that the next flood will destroy their belongings again. He said: 'I'm going to lose everything I've got again, aren't I? If it can't go upstairs in the house, then it'll get ruined. It might not be today, it might not be this year - but there will be another flood at some point.
' The family now faces the prospect of demolishing the shed within six months, leaving them vulnerable to the next calamity
Flood Planning Permission Green Belt Family Survival Shed
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