The millionaire who erected a construction he dubbed "Britain's best man cave" without getting planning permission and was subsequently jailed has claimed he sold it for £1.
Graham Wildin, an accountant by trade, made the bombshell claim as he lost his appeal against a judge’s decision to jail him for not decommissioning the backyard sports and leisure complex.
Mr Wildin produced papers which he said were land registry documents proving he no longer owned the sports and leisure complex built without planning permission ten years ago.
He said he and his family were so fed up with the whole affair that he had now sold the building to a mystery man, who had read about the case online and wanted to buy it.
Mr Wildin told the court that he did not know the "Mexican" man or what he wanted to do with the leisure centre, which he claimed had been mothballed and could not be accessed legally.
However, he said he was so keen to wash his hands of the decade long planning dispute that he had sold a building worth £1million for £1 and moved most of the contents to the former family home owned by his children, Gloucestershire Live reports.
The Cinderford grandfather, who is in his 70s, said he decided to sell his complex on the day he left prison last year after serving half of his six week sentence for disobeying a court order.
Although he put things in motion soon after he was released on September 28, 2022, he says the land registry paperwork only came through yesterday, Tuesday March 1.
However, the three high court judges agreed with the Forest of Dean District Council lawyer who said the sale did not have any bearing on the case because it happened after Mr Wildin was jailed for contempt.
The Forest of Dean District Council barrister told the court it would take time to find out if the sale of the leisure centre to a Mexican company was “genuine or a sham” because they had just found out about it but it was irrelevant to the case.
The businessman represented himself at the High Court in London to argue that Judge Jarman QC was wrong to activate a six week suspended sentence last August.
He also repeated original claims that it was impossible for him to comply with the detailed court order because he could not access the building, due to his children now owning the properties in front of it.
Mr Wildin told the court he was appealing against the jail sentence because he was 'on the cusp of getting struck off' by professional bodies overseeing his trade.
But three High Court judges said on the contrary the judge was right to jail him, and echoed a previous judge who told Mr Wildin he was the author of his own misfortune.
They said had it had been proven in previous cases that Mr Wildin knew he was unlikely to get planning permission for the giant complex, which at one time contained a cinema, casino, squash courts, bowling alley and other facilities, and went ahead even though he understood he might have to demolish it when it was finished.
The judges agreed with Mr Jarman's conclusion that Mr Wildin had the means and ability to comply with the enforcement notices and court orders before he transferred his assets to his adult children but refused to do so.
They said what he claimed was a legal document denying access via the two properties in front of the Meendhurst Road leisure centre was simply a letter from his three children. The judge noted that they were not in court to back it up.
In the summing up, they said Judge Jarman had taken all the necessary factors into account, such Mr Wildin's age and the likelihood of him losing his livelihood, before jailing him but was right to decide to impose the jail sentence.
Summing up, the judges came down strongly in favour of Judge Jarman QC's decision to jail Mr Wildin over the complex built without planning permission in 2013.
He was jailed for six weeks but served less than half the sentence after being sent to Cardiff prison where he says he was treated well..
They agreed the alleged sale to the mystery "Mexican man" could complicate future matters but said it had nothing to do with Judge Jarman's damning judgement which concluded that Mr Wildin had set his mind against complying with the Forest of Dean District Council and the court order.
The council now have to decide if they want to take things forward by asking the court to impose another jail sentence.
But first, they will have to unravel who owns the building. He was ordered to pay the £9,962 costs of the appeal on top of what he has already been ordered to pay the council.
