If you need planning advice don’t ask an accountant

Graham Wildin, a millionaire accountant from the Forest of Dean has excavated 18ft into his back garden and removed 9,000 tonnes of soil to build a 10,000 square feet entertainment complex including a 16 seat cinema, squash court, casino, bar and bowling alley supposedly for his five grandchildren to enjoy. The ages of Mr Wildin’s grandchildren have not been reported.

Mr Wildin claims the project  did not need planning permission as it is “permitted development”. Forest of Dean District Council, unsurprisingly, disagree and advised him to stop work and apply for planning permission, which the Council says would have been refused. Mr Wildin however continued and has now been served with an enforcement notice requiring him to restore the land.

Unperturbed, and apparently sure of his ground (LOL), Mr Wildin has appealed the enforcement notice.

It is unclear whether Mr Wildin has taken any professional advice, but presumably not. Or if he has he seems to have chosen to ignore it