The man cave was knocked down but animosity remains
Graham Wildin, from the Forest of Dean(Image: David Hedges SWNS.com)
A millionaire who lost a ten-year battle to save Britain’s ‘biggest man cave’ has become embroiled in a fresh neighbour row after accusing neighbours of bombarding him with prank calls in the middle of the night.
Graham Wildin, 73, spent more than a decade fighting to preserve his illegal 10,000sq/ft leisure complex and has even served jail time over it. The row began in 2014 when he built the ‘man cave’ with a bowling alley, casino and a cinema at the back of his home without planning permission.
Forest of Dean District Council started pulling it down in June last year – and drone pictures show it now resembles a ‘concrete car park.’
The complex had sat behind his home in Cinderford, Gloucestershire and at one time included plush squash courts, soft play area and bowling alley.
While local residents said they were delighted to finally see it gone, details of how deep the resentment is has been revealed in fresh planning documents.
In an application to approve a noise management plan at the Airbnb that he now operates on the site, representatives of Wildin refused to publish a personal number for neighbours to report breaches.
It instead wrote: “Local residents are already aware of the owners’ place of work, Wildin & Co. The relevant contact telephone number and email address are provided within the Noise Management Plan.
“The email address is accessible by all owners on their mobile phones, including weekends.
“The owners are not willing to provide personal mobile telephone numbers to neighbours due to previous issues with prank calls received at unreasonable hours, which are believed to have originated from some neighbours and which the police have been unwilling to pursue.”
General view of properties owned by Graham Wildin(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
The noise management plan was approved last month, satisfying a planning condition of turning the site into a holiday let.
Representatives of Wildin added: “A noise monitoring system has been installed at the property and will alert the owners immediately should noise levels exceed agreed thresholds.
“The owners consider that the combination of this system, together with the provision of a work contact telephone number and email address, provides a suitable, proportionate, and effective method of managing and responding to noise-related issues.”
Among the restrictions placed on guests are a ban on the outside hot tub between 11pm and 7am and any other ‘excessive noise’ during that period. Neighbours said things had improved since the man-cave was knocked down
One said: “It has all gone very quiet. He [Graham] has his moments but keeps himself to himself – there’s no noise or trouble from the holiday home. The main trouble was back when there were loads of vehicles on the road.”
Building work on the road backing onto the mancave was ongoing this week and another neighbour said they were delighted to see it gone. They said: “It was about time and I think everyone down the bottom are very happy it has gone.”
Aerial view of Graham Wildin’s ‘man cave’ (grey roof) and the swimming pool (red roof)(Image: Icebox Media / SWNS)
Another neighbour said: “I don’t know anything about any prank calls to him but that probably shows just how much he upset people here. He thought he could keep throwing money at it and get away with it. But there’s nothing left now – so what did he really achieve?”
Mr Wildin didn’t respond to requests for comment on the prank calls but the earlier demolition brought an end to a lengthy battle to try and preserve it. Forest of Dean District Council had earlier confirmed it would be pursuing costs from Mr Wildin.
Mr Wildin first took steps to construct a leisure centre in the back garden of one of two adjacent houses he then owned at Meendhurst Road in November 2013, prompting a member of the public to submit a complaint to the Forest of Dean District Council.
Shortly after the start of construction, various council officers advised Wildin that the proposed building was not ‘permitted development’ and required planning permission. Following a series of warnings, in November 2018 the council obtained an injunction against Wildin, and he was given until 25 April 2020 to demolish the leisure building.
In legal proceedings brought by Forest of Dean District Council in June 2022, Wildin was found in contempt of court for non-compliance with the injunction. The judge sentenced him to six weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months, on the condition that the building be permanently stripped and decommissioned within 18 weeks.
Wildin subsequently appealed the decision. The appeal was dismissed, and he was given until March 10 2022 to comply with the Order to complete the required work, if he was to avoid prison. Again, he did not comply with the injunction and was sentenced to six-weeks imprisonment in August 2022.
In March 2023 Wildin appealed the prison sentence, this was also dismissed. The latest deadline for Wildin to comply with the injunction expired in early January 2023.