Couple's dream home renovation went £150k over budget, so they've set up GoFundMe to finish it
Couple's dream home renovation went £150k over budget, so they've set up GoFundMe to finish it
They say they can't afford it themselves
Mary and Sean Davies are 'determined' to complete the project
(Image: Collect/PA Real Life )
A couple dedicated to transforming a Second World War water tower into a seven-bedroom house have stated they "can't afford" to leave their ambitious project unfinished, turning to GoFundMe for assistance.
Mary, aged 57, and Sean Davies, 55, took possession of over an acre at the abandoned RAF Hospital Nocton Hall site, securing it for £25,000 back in 2018. Embarking on a significant refurbishment of the 1940s edifice in Lincolnshire in 2021, the Davis family brought a sizeable £350,000 fund to realise their vision for a spacious family abode featuring seven bedrooms and four bathrooms.
However, with five children and five grandchildren to consider, the couple encountered a series of setbacks. Love dreamy Welsh homes? Sign up to our newsletter here .
They endured a period residing in a caravan whilst their future residence was inhospitable and personally sorted essential services such as sewage and potable water infrastructure, which were absent on the unoccupied land, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Confronted with unforeseen overruns in their renovation budget, Mary and Sean were impelled to launch a GoFundMe appeal, foreseeing a daunting £500,000 total expenditure – asserting that abandonment is not an option as it would result in "nothing".
The hopeful pair envisages finalising the work by summer's end, focusing on the upper tiers of the five-level structure and fitting a fire prevention sprinkler system.
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Following Sean's diagnosis with motor neurone disease (MND) in March 2023, an incurable condition that progressively damages parts of the nervous system, they are eager to finish the project so he can enjoy the fruits of their labour before his condition worsens.
"The sooner it's all finished, the sooner we can enjoy it," Mary told PA Real Life.
The water tower and holding tank
(Image: Collect/PA Real Life )
"Sean's diagnosis made us even more determined to get the project completed.
"For him to be able to experience what we have created here in its fullest and reach the top of the tower, he needs to be mobile.
"He's mobile now, but we don't know how long for."
Having previously lived in council properties, the couple were drawn to the RAF site by the abundance of space and privacy it offered, with more than an acre of land included in the sale.
Mary and Sean's living room in the glass extension
(Image: Collect/PA Real Life )
"When we arrive home, we go through the big military gates on the site and drive past all the derelict buildings," Sean said.
"There's no street lighting, no public access, no neighbours – we're driving through history just to reach our home.
"When the site finally gets developed, the tower is very likely going to be the only bit which remains."
Mary added: "It's been part of the landscape for the locals since the 40s, it would have been a shame for that to have disappeared.
"We're custodians to the water tower, I don't feel like we own it really and, one day, it will be passed onto someone else in the future when we've finished enjoying it."
Mary, who has deep ties to the site through her father's work as an electrician at the hospital and her partner Sean's time there as a patient when he was seven, has embarked on an ambitious project.
Sean remarked that they saw the potential for "it would be a fantastic build" in converting the tower, which led to their endeavour to turn the 15-metre-tall structure into a home with seven bedrooms and four bathrooms.
The couple purchased the site for £25,000 in 2018
(Image: Collect/PA Real Life )
The main living areas, including the kitchen, lounge, office, gym, utility room, and a toilet, are housed in a contemporary glass extension, while the tower itself accommodates the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Mary discussed the necessity of the glass addition, noting: "It was the only way we could get planning permission so it was a little more costly with the glass and the timber frame, but at the end of it we're going to have a seven-bedroom property,".
During the renovation, Mary and Sean resided in a caravan on-site for a period while the water tower underwent its transformation.
They were also tasked with installing essential utilities in the previously uninhabited space, such as sewage treatment, drinking water filtration, and a heating tank.
Mary commented on the tower's dimensions, stating it is "not a huge space" in terms of width, but its height allows for five floors, two of which currently house bedrooms and a bathroom, with three more to be finished.
"We're experiencing now what it's like to sleep in the tower," Mary said.
"It's the perfect place for a restful sleep, it's absolutely brilliant, and it's a miracle we've been able to do this."
To fully complete the renovation, the couple need to finish converting the tower, install a sprinkler system, and complete any remaining plastering, painting and decorating.
After Sean was diagnosed with MND in March 2023 during the renovations, they are eager to finish the conversion by the end of summer so he can "enjoy" their efforts before his condition worsens.
Sean shared his experience with an experimental treatment drug called Tofersen, which he credits with helping manage his symptoms, such as weakness and muscle reduction, for around a year.
Renovation work underway in the tower
(Image: Collect/PA Real Life )
"It's given us hope for a better future," Mary said.
Facing unexpected costs that stretched their budget, the couple set up a GoFundMe page, estimating the total spend on the conversion at about £500,000.
"We're really grateful to everyone who has donated," Mary added.
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"You don't set up a GoFundMe page without a lot of thought and we're just trying to relieve some of the stress on us.
"Once you start a project like this, you've got to finish it – you can't afford to not finish it because then you've got nothing."
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