A millionaire has been jailed after refusing to tear down his infamous man cave following an eight year row with the local council. Graham Wildin remained composed as he was sentenced to prison after failing to comply with a judge's order to tear down the huge leisure complex he had constructed in his back garden in Cinderford, Gloucestershire.
The 70-year-old now faces six weeks behind bars following an eight year planning dispute over the illegally built man cave, believed to be one of the biggest in the UK. Upon his release, Wildin has 18 weeks to comply with the original order to demolish the facilities - a mandate he has repeatedly ignored in the past.
The enormous leisure building features a gym, squash court, cinema, bowling alley, classic car collection, swimming pool, bar, casino and more, according to the Mirror. Judge Jarman QC stated that the accountant had shown - throughout the legal battle - that he had his mind set against acting in accordance with the Forest of Dean District Council.
They also did not accept the argument that Wildin had done most of the clearance work himself but could not afford to hire someone else, or complete it himself. Wildin had fought the council at every turn before he was loaded into a prison van outside the High Court in Cardiff. This included trying to exploit a legal loophole to have his complex declared a fortress.
The long-running planning row dates back to 2014 when Wildin was told to take down one of the country’s largest man caves, then behind his and a neighbouring property - which is now owned by family. Over the years, planning inspectors and courts have repeatedly agreed it was built without permission and set a number of deadlines.
In 2018, Wildin was given two years to comply with the order to break it all down. But, after the first Covid lockdown, when planning officers visited the site Wildin had added the leisure centre and swimming pool.
In June 2021, the judge granted the local council a contempt of court application against Wildin for breaching an injunction. He gave Wildin 18 weeks to cut off the water, electricity and gas and remove all fixtures, fittings and furniture from inside the building.
Wildin’s appeals were refused by two appeal court judges who told him he had been the author of his own misfortune. The court heard this week that when enforcement officer Stephen Colgate visited the property on August 11, the lights were on, taps ran, toilets flushed and a gas boiler could be heard.
Whilst Wildin had removed the casino and bar, the vast majority of the work needed to comply with the order had not been done the court heard. However, when arguing his case, Wildin claimed the electricity had been turned off but randomly came back on, possibly because of work being carried out in the street outside.
He also claimed he had done three quarters of the work he had been required to complete and produced 100 photos to back this up. As well as that, he alleged that because the council turned up without notice and forced their way into his property the evidence should be inadmissible.
But council solicitor Helen Blundell told the court they had every right to check out the non domestic property without permission. She said officers had turned up without notice because they wanted to see the true picture of what was happening inside before anybody had time to turn off the utilities.
Questions were also raised about Wildin’s financial affairs as the defendant claimed he was facing bankruptcy but it was pointed out that he had sold his house, two cottages and a property in Tenerife and provided no evidence where the proceeds had gone. Wildin said a family company now owned his classic car collection and although he still drove the Bentley and Porsche he did not own them.
He admitted he still slept in Altea, his home, but said he would have to stay with his children when they rented it out as a holiday home. Judge Jarman said it was up to Mr Wildin to prove his claims but the disclosure of his assets was "wholly inadequate" when common ground suggested they were "significant".
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