A MILLIONAIRE who illegally built ‘Britain’s biggest man cave’ says he has flogged the sprawling mansion for £1 after a nine-year legal battle.
Accountant Graham Wildin, 70, lost his latest court battle today after claiming he’s had enough of the controversy.
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It follows his six-week jail term for repeatedly refusing to knock down his extension.
He built the 10,000sq/ft leisure complex, which includes a bowling alley, casino and a cinema, at the back of his home without planning permission.
Wildin, of Cirencester, Glos, was locked up last year for failing to comply with a court order to decommission the building.
And he lost his latest legal battle today 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 today, Wildin claimed 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.
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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 after carrying out the work without the required planning permission in 2014.
Permitted development rights (PDR) allow homeowners to make certain changes to their home without planning permission.
But this does not include buildings taller than four metres.
Wildin has insisted that by digging 18 feet into the hillside he was taking advantage of a legal loophole which allowed him to construct the building for use by his family.
The lengthy legal fight that followed ended with a High Court judge handing down an injunction in 2018.
Wildin was initially given until the end of April 2020 to destroy the complex.
He was ordered to tear down the sports centre because it had a serious impact on his neighbours.
Locals also slammed the loaded accountant for parking his fleet of sports cars on the road to make their lives “difficult”.
He was found in contempt of court after failing to carry out the order.
Wildin argued in the past 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, which could lead to jail time and seizure of his assets.
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