A leisure complex dubbed ‘Britain’s largest man cave’ is no more as the millionaire behind its construction has been forced to demolish it, ending a decade-long planning row.
Photos show the flat area where the 10,000 square meter leisure complex once stood in the garden of Graham Wildin, who repeatedly defied court orders to demolish it.
Work to demolish the building began at the end of May after the 72-year-old lost a decade-long planning battle with the Forest of Dean District Council to preserve the building at his home in Cinderford, Gloucestershire.
Mr Wildin had received multiple orders to remove the building – which included a bowling alley, casino and cinema – over the past decade and even served time behind bars for refusing to demolish the complex.
He has claimed over the years that he built the building for his children and grandchildren. It came complete with a 7.5 meter high, three-storey dollhouse, indoor tennis and badminton courts and a large soft play area.
Photos show the flat area where the 10,000 square meter leisure complex once stood in the garden of Graham Wildin, who repeatedly defied court orders to demolish it
The structure was built in 2014 and since then Mr Wildin has fought to keep it at his home in Cinderford, Gloucestershire.
Mr Wildin, pictured, was previously locked up after refusing to remove the complex behind his house
But the land where the complex once stood has now been razed to the ground, drone images show.
Built in 2014, Mr Wildin claimed he didn’t think he needed permission when he started construction, saying he built the complex 5.5 meters into the ground to ensure it wasn’t visible.
Over the years he has lost a series of other legal challenges to local planners, and angered residents after parking his classic cars and vans outside his neighbours’ houses and applying to turn his neighboring house into a to create a holiday home.
Wildin’s first of five court defeats came in September 2018 when a Supreme Court order was issued, initially giving him until the end of April 2020 to remove the building.
He failed to comply with the order and was given a suspended sentence in June 2021.
He subsequently lost an appeal against the judgment at the Court of Appeal in November and was ordered to demolish the complex by March 10, 2022.
But as Wildin’s resistance continued, the six-week suspended sentence for contempt of court was activated on August 13, 2022.
Once released from HMP Cardiff, he was given 18 weeks to ‘soft strip’ the inside of the building to make it unusable.
Mr Wildin had received several orders over the past decade to remove the building, which included a bowling alley, casino and cinema.
Built in 2014, Mr Wildin claimed he didn’t think he needed permission when he started construction, saying he built the complex 5.5 meters into the ground to ensure it wasn’t visible.
Work to demolish the building began at the end of May after the 72-year-old lost a decade-long planning battle with the Forest of Dean District Council to preserve the building at his home in Cinderford, Gloucestershire.
In July this year, the roof was torn off the building, exposing the labyrinth that was inside the building
Aerial photos taken in July showed the roof had been torn off and debris was piled high in the rooms inside
Mr Wilden lost his fifth case over the ‘man cave’ expansion in March 2023 when three High Court judges said it was right to jail him for defying court orders – despite Mr Wildin claiming he had sold the building to a Mexican buyer for just £. 1.
In September last year, the millionaire’s neighbors also won a ‘David and Goliath’ lawsuit after complaining that he had parked his eleven classic cars – including a gray Bentley Turbo R and a burgundy Austin 1100 – and two vans on the street with a network of camera surveillance. Cameras have been set up to keep an eye on them.
Residents of Meendhurst Road complained to Gloucestershire Police that Mr Wildin’s behavior in monopolizing on-street parking was anti-social and were granted an interim injunction in September restricting the number of vehicles he could park on the road.
Mr Wildin immediately appealed the order, but in December District Judge Jonathan Napier imposed a full and final injunction on the millionaire, meaning he is now only allowed to park two cars on the road plus a provision for two visitors, who stay maximum eight hours.
The complaints against the pensioner led to a panel being set up by ‘Solace’ – a partnership between Gloucestershire Police and the county’s district and council councils to prevent, investigate and tackle anti-social behavior – who were responsible for obtaining the initial order.
Mr Wildin photographed himself outside his home in July as demolition work continued on his man cave
Graham Wildin in the recreation center he built for himself and his family in his backyard
In addition to a comfortable seating area, Mr. Wildin’s spectacular man cave had room for a foosball table
Mr. Wildin’s man cave also included a casino complete with a roulette wheel and its own bar
The structure even came complete with a fully equipped gym inside
During the two-day trial, Gloucester County Court heard that Mr Wildin had placed parking fines on a number of neighbours’ vehicles blocking his driveway.
The court was also told that due to the large number of vehicles parked on the road, a Forest of Dean District Council refuse truck was unable to collect the waste.
Mr Wildin disputed these and numerous other issues through his legal representative Sasha Wass KC.
During the trial, with Solace seeking a full and final injunction, Mr Wildin’s lawyer insisted his neighbors were to blame and claimed that, apart from one occasion, he had not blocked his neighbours’ driveways with any of his vehicles .
The prosecution, led by Victoria Fennell, alleged that Mr Wildin had moved his collection of classic cars onto the street to create parking chaos in an attempt to force authorities to make a U-turn around the man cave.
Mr Wildin was ordered to pay his own legal costs, believed to be around £80,000, plus £5,000 for Solace’s costs.
The judge did remove one interim condition for causing nuisance and annoyance to others, as well as the power to arrest if he did not comply with the order.
One resident said they and their neighbors were happy the structure had finally been demolished.
‘It’s about time,” they told the newspaper Telegraph. ‘We have a full view of it from here. Absolutely, I’m glad it’s going away’.
Forest of Dean District Council confirmed the demolition has been completed and they intend to recover costs from Mr Wildin.
“It is important to note that the costs of this process should not be borne by the taxpayer and we are now working to recover the full cost of the demolition from the landowner,” a spokesperson said.
‘We would like to thank local residents again for their patience and understanding during this process.’