Heartwarming Treehouse Built by Dad and His 9-Year-Old Son Faces Demolition Due to Council Red Tape

A BELOVED treehouse built by a dad and son is to be torn down by a council in a row over red tape.

Pete Phipps, 51, and Cooper, nine, built the treehouse in Burrow’s Field in .

Cooper working on the treehouse in Burrow’s Field in Cheltenham Credit: SWNS Dad Pete Phipps and son Cooper, as well as other youngsters, have been working on the treehouse almost every day since last year Credit: SWNS

It was a way to encourage Cooper, who has and severe anxiety, to leave the house.

Pete, an artist and sign writer from Leckhampton in said the pair have been to the “special” site near their home nearly every day since they started the project last year.

But Leckhampton with Warden Hill Parish Council has said the treehouse cannot remain because it sits on public land shared by Cheltenham Borough Council and the Parish Council – meaning it “must be covered by public liability “.

Pete said: “This treehouse is a sculptural and magical piece. It’s not something that has just been thrown together.

The project was started as a way for Cooper, who has autism and severe anxiety, to leave the house= Credit: SWNS Leckhampton with Warden Hill Parish Council has said the treehouse cannot remain because it sits on public land shared by Cheltenham Borough Council and the Parish Council – meaning it ‘must be covered by public liability insurance’ Credit: SWNS

“It’s been Cooper and I’s special safe place where we have come every day to just hang out and be together in nature.

“The reason why we came here was in search of something alternative, local and safe for Cooper – who has enjoyed it so much.

“It’s somewhere we decided was a great place to hang out, and we have built up so many friends here too.

“The majority of people love it and are angry and upset it is being brought down.”

The dad-of-two explained how Cooper has not been in school for two years due to autism and (PDA) – which led to their discovery of the treehouse and the value of spending time outdoors.

He said: “Cooper struggled with school and it wasn’t right for him.

“So, we went down the route of home-schooling and not following a set curriculum.

“He had huge school trauma and anxiety once he left year two and it took us a long time to work that out.

“Like other hundreds of families out there we’ve been left trying to find our own way.”

The pair discovered a large tree that had fallen down in Burrow’s Field whilst out on a walk last year.

They soon learnt the tree had been used as a “hang out” spot by locals for up to 30 years – and every time they came back to the tree Cooper and Peter would add another piece to it in an attempt to construct the treehouse that now stands today.

Peter said: “It was like the Elf and the Shoemaker – people kept adding little bits to the tree.

“We then finally bumped into these teens who had been using the tree too, and we all collaborated to build this epic treehouse that has unfortunately been read its last rites”.

As the treehouse started getting more popular, the council became aware of its existence and Cooper and Peter had to meet with the chief tree officer, parish councillor and parish parks councillor back in April Peter said that there are ways to make the treehouse safer, but part of its charm is that it has been used as a tool for Cooper and fellow to learn about nature, building and the importance of playing outdoors.

He said: “There are ways of making it safer but we don’t want it completely safe. If I had a forest school this is what it would be.

“Young people learning by themselves with guidance.”

Pete’s family, which consists of him, Cooper, his other six-year-old son, Jude, and wife, Natalie, have pleaded with the council and say they have asked what they can do to make the treehouse insurable.

A spokesperson for the council said: “In December 2025 Leckhampton with Warden Hill Parish Council (LwWHPC) purchased Lott Meadow from developers to preserve this popular community asset for all to use.

”When we became aware of the Tree House we met with the father, Pete, who built it for his son and others to use, along with Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC).

“The Tree House is built half on PC land and half on CBC land. At this meeting LwWHPC undertook to do all they could to enable the Tree House to remain in use.

“CBC had already spoken to their insurers who had declined to insure it.

“Following extensive enquiries with our insurer, numerous brokers and specialist arboreal insurers LwWHPC were unable to find any insurer who was prepared to provide the necessary Public Liability Insurance required for such a structure to remain on publicly owned land.

“Whilst LwWHPC are very sympathetic to the plight of the family we have been left with no alternative and due to the very poor health of the tree are taking the advice of the tree experts at CBC as to the future of the tree, to prevent any untoward incident.

“The Parish Council shares the disappointment many will feel at this news, and we want to thank the community for understanding the difficult balance we must strike between supporting play and ensuring safety.”