A millionaire who lost a 10-year battle to save Britain’s ‘biggest man cave’ has become embroiled in a fresh row after accusing neighbours of prank calling in the middle of the night.
Graham Wildin, 73, has spent more than a decade fighting to preserve his 10,000sq/ft leisure complex, but now he has another issue on his hands.
Mr Wildin first made headlines after he built the elaborate ‘man cave’ at the back of his home – complete with a bowling alley, casino and a cinema – without the relevant planning permission back in 2014.
Forest of Dean District Council started pulling it down in June last year, with and drone pictures showing how it now resembles a ‘concrete car park.’
Residents in the area said they were delighted to finally see it gone – details of how deep the resentment had grown have now been revealed in fresh planning documents.
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In an application to approve a noise management plan at the Airbnb that he now operates on the site, Mr Wildin’s representatives refused to publish a personal number for neighbours to report breaches because of reported ‘prank calls’ to the line.
‘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,’ they said.
In a bid to prevent further prank calls, the representatives said a noise monitoring system has been installed at the property to alert the owners if levels exceed agreed thresholds.
Guests staying at the Airbnb are now banned from making ‘excessive noise’ between 11pm and 7am and from using the outdoor hot tub during these hours.
Building work on the road backing onto the now-flattened man cave continued this week, and neighbours have said they are delighted to see it gone, claiming the situation has improved.
One 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?’
Forest of Dean District Council previously confirmed Mr Wildin would be asked to foot the bill for the demolition of the personal leisure centre.
The dispute dates back to 2013, when Mr Wildin began to build the impressive structure in the back garden of one of two adjacent houses he then owned at Meendhurst Road.
This prompted a member of the public to submit a complaint to the Forest of Dean District Council.
Shortly after the construction began, council officers advised Mr Wildin that the building was not a ‘permitted development’ and required planning permission.
In November 2018, following a series of warnings, the council obtained an injunction against Mr Wildin and he was given until April 25, 2020, to demolish the building.
But in June 2022, he was found to be 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. Mr 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. He again did not comply with the injunction and was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment in August 2022.
In March 2023, Mr Wildin appealed the prison sentence, which was also dismissed.
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