The demolition of Britain’s ‘biggest man cave’ has finally been completed.
New aerial photos today show millionaire Graham Wildin’s 10,000 sq ft leisure complex he built in his garden in 2014 left nothing but a shell.
Work to tear down the building started at the end of May after the 72-year-old lost a decade-long planning battle with Forest of Dean District Council to keep the building at his home in Cinderford, Gloucestershire.
The council initially said the demolition would take eight weeks to complete and confirmed it would be looking to recover the full cost of the works from the landowner.
Mr Wildin had received multiple orders over the last ten years to remove the building – which included a bowling alley, casino and cinema – and even served time behind bars for refusing to tear it down.
BEFORE: Millionaire Graham Wildin, 72, built Britain’s ‘biggest man cave’ in 2014 in the garden of his home Cinderford, Gloucestershire, without permission
AFTER: New aerial photos taken today show the leisure complex left nothing but an empty shell
The controversial pensioner has also lost a string of other legal proceedings to local planners, as well as angering residents after he parked his classic cars and vans outside his neighbours’ homes and applied to turn his adjoining home into a holiday let.
Earlier this year, the Forest of Dean District Council confirmed it would be tearing down Mr Wilden’s leisure complex.
A spokesperson for the council said: ‘As a council it is our duty to ensure that planning and development proposals comply with the law and bring benefit to the local area, whilst also safeguarding the community.
‘Hundreds of people every year follow the correct process for planning applications and development, sadly this has not been the case at this location.
‘It is important to note that the cost of this process should not be borne by the taxpayer, and we will look to recover the full cost of the demolition from the landowner in due course.
‘We will work closely with our demolition contractor, to limit any disruption for residents.
Mr Wildin had received multiple orders over the last ten years to remove the building – which included a bowling alley, casino and cinema
The demolition job began at the end of May with the council initially saying it would take eight weeks to complete
Graham Wildin inside the leisure centre he built for himself and his family in his back garden
Pictures taken in July showed the demolition gathering pace with the roof torn off the building
‘We would like to also take this opportunity to thank the people living in close proximity to this property for their patience during this lengthy legal process.’
Wildin’s first of five court defeats came in September 2018 when a High Court injunction was handed down initially giving him until the end of April 2020 to remove the building.
He failed to comply with the injunction and was given a suspended sentence in June 2021.
He then lost an appeal against the sentence at the Court of Appeal that November and he was ordered to demolish the complex by March 10 2022.
But when Wildin’s defiance 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 interior of the building to make it unusable.
Mr Wilden lost his fifth court battle over the ‘man cave’ extension in March 2023 when three High Court judges declared 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.
Aerial photos taken in July showed the roof ripped off revealing rubble piled high in the rooms inside
Mr Wildin pictured outside his home in July as the demolition work continued on his man cave
Mr Wildin, pictured, had previously been locked up after he refused to remove the complex behind his home
Mr Wildin bowls a smart shot down the ten-pin alley inside his enormous man cave
Boasting a 16-seat cinema, squash court, casino, bar and bowling alley, the grandfather’s 10,000sq ft building also featured a 25ft tall, three-storey doll’s house, a soft play area and indoor tennis and badminton courts.
Mr Wildin claimed he did not think he needed permission when he started construction, and said he built the complex 18ft into the ground to ensure it could not be seen.
In September last year, the millionaire’s neighbours also won a ‘David and Goliath’ court battle after complaining about him parking his 11 classic cars – including a grey Bentley Turbo R and burgundy Austin 1100 – and two vans in the street with a network of CCTV cameras set up to keep watch over them.
Residents on Meendhurst Road complained to Gloucestershire Police that Mr Wildin’s behaviour in monopolising the on-street parking was anti-social and obtained an interim injunction in September limiting the number of vehicles he could park on the road.
Mr Wildin immediately issued an appeal against the injunction, but in December district judge Jonathan Napier imposed a full and final injunction order against the millionaire, meaning he will now only be allowed to park two cars on the road plus provision for two visitors, who can only stay for a maximum of eight hours.
Boasting a 16-seat cinema, squash court, casino, bar and bowling alley, the grandfather’s 10,000sq ft building also featured a 25ft tall, three-storey doll’s house
Piles of bricks and scaffolding fences could be seen behind the home in July where the enormous structure had been built without planning permission
The complaints against the pensioner led to a panel being assembled by ‘Solace’ – a partnership between Gloucestershire police and the county’s district and city councils to prevent, investigate and tackle anti-social behaviour – who were responsible for obtaining the initial injunction.
During the two-day trial, Gloucester County Court heard that Mr Wildin had placed parking fine notices on a number of neighbours’ vehicles which were blocking his driveway.
The court was also told that because of the number of vehicles parked in the road, a Forest of Dean District Council bin lorry was unable to collect the rubbish.
Mr Wildin disputed this and numerous other issues through his legal representative Sasha Wass KC.
During the trial, at which Solace sought a full and final injunction order, Mr Wildin’s lawyer maintained that his neighbours were at fault and claimed that, apart from one occasion, he had not blocked his neighbours’ driveways with any of his vehicles.
It was claimed by the prosecution, led by Victoria Fennell, that Mr Wildin moved his classic car collection on to the street to create parking chaos in a bid to force the authorities to make a U-turn about the man cave.
Mr Wildin was ordered to pay his own legal costs, believed to be in the region of £80,000, plus £5,000 towards Solace’s costs.
Mr Wildin’s man cave also included a casino complete with a roulette wheel and its very own bar
Mr Wildin’s spectacular man cave had room for a table football table alongside a comfortable sitting area
The judge did remove one interim condition over causing a nuisance and annoyance to others, as well as the power of arrest if he failed to comply with the injunction.
After the anti-social behaviour case review, Di Blandford – a retired detective and co-ordinator for Solace – said it was a victory for the neighbours who had collaborated to bring this action.
Ms Blandford added: ‘The residents of Meendhurst Road had become frustrated in that when they came home there was nowhere to park near their homes because Mr Wildin had taken up all the available spaces with his collection of cars.
‘This is the first prosecution under anti-social behaviour legislation, involving car parking disputes. I am pleased that a large contingent of those affected by Mr Wildin’s antics were able to see the process in action and the injunction being supported by the justice system.
‘It felt like a David versus Goliath victory for the neighbours, thanks to the efforts of our prosecutor.’
Ms Fennell said after the trial: ‘I am very pleased with the outcome of the hearing for all of the residents of Meendhurst Road.’
