Millionaire loses sentence appeal over leisure complex

A man jailed for refusing to demolish a leisure complex built in his garden without planning permission has lost his appeal against his sentence.

Graham Wildin was jailed for six weeks for contempt of court in 2022 following a long-running planning dispute with Forest of Dean District Council.

He told the Court of Appeal on Wednesday that the judge who jailed him had overlooked a number of factors.

The council said it was pleased the appeal was dismissed.

Council leader and cabinet member for planning, Tim Gwilliam said: "This complex and lengthy case was completely avoidable, and has caused unnecessary difficulties for the council and the residents of Cinderford."

He added that they will continue to pursue enforcement action against Mr Wildin.

The complex, which was dubbed "Britain's biggest man cave", includes a cinema, casino and bowling alley and was built at Mr Wildin's home in Cindeford, Gloucestershire, in 2014.

In July 2017, the council ordered Mr Wildin to demolish the building, taking him to court in September 2018 over his failure to do so.

A judge ordered Mr Wildin to demolish the construction by April 2020.

Mr Wildin received a suspended sentence in June 2021 for contempt of court after failing to comply with the court order.

He appealed that sentence but judges dismissed his claim and ordered him to comply by March 2022.

Again he refused the order and was jailed for six weeks on 13 August 2022.

Mr Wildin told Wednesday's appeal hearing it was impossible to remove the radiators and bowling alley and that he had sold the building to a "Mexican gentleman for £1" so that it was "no longer my problem".

Delivering his verdict, Lord Justice Holroyd said after taking into account all the relevant factors, including "significant culpability" and Mr Wildin's persistent disobedience of court orders, the decision to send him to prison in August 2022 was correct.

He said Mr Wildin "sought to use his own disobedience of orders as a means to deter further enforcement against him" and that he could have no complaint about the decision to send him to prison.

The latest deadline for Mr Wildin to soft strip and decommission the leisure building expired in early January.

Forest of Dean District Council was awarded £9,662 in costs for defending the appeal, which has to be paid within 14 days.

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