After a billionaire who unlawfully constructed “Britain’s finest man cave” was arrested for refusing to knock it down, his neighbors declared it was “the beginning of the end.”
Graham Wildin, 70, will serve six weeks in jail for failing to destroy his 10,000-square-foot expansion, which contains a movie theater, squash court, casino, and bowling alley. In June 2021, the accountant from Cinderford, Gloucestershire, was given a six-week suspended sentence, with the condition that the building be totally stripped and deactivated within eighteen weeks.
Due to the council’s decision to soft strip the leisure facility, Wildin has parked his collection of antique automobiles in front of his house for the last six months. As a result, neighbours have been furious because they are unable to park their cars on the street.
Garbage trucks and ambulances were unable to go down the road, and locals were often unable to commute to work owing to Wildin’s vehicles blocking the route.
Neighbors are delighted to see that justice has been done now that Wildin has been imprisoned, and they hope that this is the end of the millionaire’s disruptive behavior.
One commented, “This hopefully represents the beginning of justice, but the issues for the neighbors won’t disappear immediately.
It is the beginning of the end, but not the end itself. It has been a very difficult period for all the neighbors, but at least some action has been done. The eight-year struggle began in 2014 when the Forest of Dean District Council filed a complaint against him for building his “man cave” without authorization.
The council secured an injunction against Wildin in November 2018 and he was forced to dismantle the structure.
He was given until April 25, 2020 to demolish the structure, but he disobeyed the order and left it standing.
MailOnline claimed in April that family or neighbors must now request permission for bulldozers to cross their property in order to approach Wildin’s mancave and demolish it violently.
In April, neighbors on Meendhurst Road said that Wildin ‘doubled down’ on them in response to their protests to his failure to obey the guidelines.
A neighbor who lives on the same street said at the time, “He’s not particularly popular.
He has angered everyone on this street by disregarding zoning regulations and putting his historic automobile collection everywhere.
He just had a swimming pool installed in the backyard. This continued for around four to five months. It is payback time for everyone on this route, according to him, as he attacks everyone’s backs.
Even his gates have been restored to keep people away from his home. There’s always something happening on the upper level; construction on the swimming pool began late last year.
We do not see him often. It’s a pity since he used to be a member of the community and would join us in street parties and other activities, but now he annoys everyone on the street and treats us poorly.
“I don’t know how they’ll demolish the structures now that he’s given away his homes, but maybe they’ll find a solution.”
After Mr. Wildin was sentenced to prison yesterday, Cllr. Paul Hiett, Deputy Leader of the Forest of Dean Council, said, “The enforcement case against Mr. Wildin has been a lengthy and complicated one.”
“In a scenario that should have been entirely preventable, Mr. Wildin has consistently disregarded planning rules and regulations designed to safeguard local communities.
“The law is the law, and we will continue to pursue Mr. Wildin and ensure that he complies with the law in the same manner as everyone else.
“As a council, it is essential to ensure that development projects enhance the settings in which they reside while protecting the community.
“Every year, hundreds of individuals seek planning advice from the Council and adhere to it.” This has not been the case in the case of Mr. Wildin.
‘I would want to thank the residents of the Forest once again for their perseverance, as well as the Council employees who continue to press this cause forward.
To safeguard local communities from conduct similar to that saw in this instance, we will continue to prosecute individuals who disregard planning regulations via the legal channels provided.
A council spokeswoman noted, ‘Following a series of warnings, the Council won an injunction against Mr. Wildin in November 2018 and he had until April 25, 2020 to remove a recreational building he constructed in 2014 without planning permission (except the considerable retaining wall).
“In committal proceedings initiated by Forest of Dean District Council in June 2021, Mr. Wildin was found guilty of contempt of court for failing to comply with the injunction.”
This compelled Mr. Wildin to gently strip and decommission the building’s services, and the court postponed Mr. Wildin’s six-week sentence for a year on the condition that the facility be completely stripped and deactivated within eighteen weeks.
Mr. Wildin challenged the judgment on the grounds that the Council provided no proof of the estimated expenses for the work to be undertaken and that 18 weeks was insufficient to finish the job.
“On 28 September 2021, the Court of Case in the Royal Courts of Justice in London heard the appeal before Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing and Lord Justice Edis.
Mr. Charles Auld for Mr. Wildin and Mr. Stephen Whale for the Council submitted statements. The verdict was postponed and delivered on November 4th.
“The appeal was denied, and Mr. Wildin was given until 10 March 2022 to comply with the Order and perform the necessary tasks in order to avoid incarceration.
‘Throughout the course of the procedure, the Council has been granted considerable costs on a number of occasions. Mr. Wildin will still be compelled to demolish the structure after serving his sentence.’