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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Nathan Bevan

Millionaire who built illegal backyard man cave 'buys' neighbouring houses to stop council demolishing it

It's 10,000 square feet and includes a squash court, cinema, casino and bowling alley. The one - arguably most important - thing it doesn't have though is the necessary planning permission.

As a result the luxury backyard 'man cave' built eight years ago by millionaire Graham Wildin has since been the focus of a bitter dispute between the 69-year-old and his neighbours. During that time he has also been ordered by the courts to the tear down the structure - orders which he has so far ignored.

Earlier this year he was even reported to have used his collection of classic cars to effectively block access to the street and cause 'parking chaos' in an attempt to stave off demolition.

Read more: Row over roof terrace without planning permission leads to bitter neighbours' dispute

And now, in the latest twist to the long-running saga, land registry records appear to show a number of the neighbouring properties on Meendhurst Road in the Forest of Dean have either been transferred or sold to a company owned by the wealthy accountant's family members. In doing so it's effectively created a 'fortress' that would make it practically impossible for the local authority to forcibly removing the building.

According to Gloucester Live the surrounding parcel of land has been divided into three over recent years. The illegal leisure centre is on what's now known as 24b Meendhurst Road, which still belongs to Wildin. Meanwhile, 24a - which stands directly in front of it - has been transferred to a company called Expresser Ltd., along with Wildin's former house at number 24 which is situated to the side.

Wildin pictured in the bowling alley inside his backyard leisure centre (David Hedges SWNS.com)

Expresser Ltd has been owned by Wildin's financial advisor son Philip, of Cinderford, and his accountant daughters Deborah Trigg, of Drybrook, and Jacqueline Mannion, of Gloucester, since around a decade before the planning row erupted. All three are listed on the website as working with their father at the family accountancy business in Lydney.

The move means they would have to give permission for the bulldozers to pass over their land in order to reach Wildin's man cave. And the tactic has split opinion among the other residents on the street.

"The council can't now knock it down, as legally they have to have permission of the land owner to cross the land to get to the building - like it or loathe it, it's clever," said one. However, others were less complimentary, adding that Wildin was "digging his own grave and the council will bury him".

How it looks from above (Francis Hawkins / SWNS.com)

That said, one neighbour who lives directly in the shadow of the towering leisure complex admitted he'd rather Wildin was allowed to carry on. He explained that he'd endured years of noise and disruption while it was being built and couldn't face the prospect of similar upheaval if it's torn back down.

Wildin first sparked outrage when he was 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. He was initially given until the end of April 2020 to remove the man-cave and, after failing to carry out the orders, was found in contempt of court.

Wildin was handed down a custodial sentence of six weeks, suspended for 12 months in November last year and a new deadline to pull it down, thereby avoiding jail, was set for March 10 this year. But, nearly a month later, nothing has been done and the structure remains in place.

Both Graham Wildin and Forest of Dean District Council council have been contacted for comment.

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