A millionaire who was found to have illegally built 'Britain's best man cave' has lost his latest court battle, despite claiming he had now sold it all for just £1.
Accountant Graham Wildin, 70, has said he's had enough of the controversy after he served six weeks in jail for repeatedly refusing to knock down his extension. He built the 10,000sq/ft leisure complex, which has a bowling alley, casino and a cinema at the back of his home, but without planning permission.
Wildin, of Cirencester, was locked up last year for failing to comply with a court order to decommission the building. And he lost his latest legal battle on Wednesday (March 1) after three High Court judges said it was right to jail him for defying court orders.
He was initially given 18 weeks from his release to comply with a previous court order to make the giant leisure complex unusable by 'soft stripping' the inside.
At the Court of Appeal, Wildin revealed he had sold the complex to a Mexican man for just £1 and produced land registry documents to prove he was no longer the legal owner. He also claimed it had been mothballed and could not be accessed legally, with most of the contents moved to other family members.
Despite his claims, the High Court ruled the ownership revelation should not have any bearing on the existing case as it happened after he was sentenced and jailed. Wildin was ordered to pay £9,962 in costs and Forest of Dean District Council will now decide whether to pursue the matter further legally.
Wildin first sparked outrage amongst his neighbours when he was later found to have carried out the work without the required planning permission in 2014. A lengthy legal fight followed ending with a High Court judge handing down an injunction in 2018 and Wildin was initially given until the end of April 2020 to remove the complex.
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This ordered Wildin to tear down the sports centre as it had a serious impact on his neighbours. But after failing to carry out the court's orders, he was found in contempt of court.
Wildin had argued in the past that he did not need planning permission for the construction, and that having to pull down the luxury leisure complex would ruin him and force him to lay off 40 staff. He was warned at the time that failure to comply with the injunction would see him held in contempt of court, enabling him to be jailed and have assets seized.
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