Young money
When 22-year-old British couple Cassey Carrington and Matthew Topham won a stunning $61 million in the Euro Lottery in 2012, they were generous and humble with their winning, initially.
They went on holidays and helped out friends, mainly. They even bought a house for one of their friends. They also, as a lottery winner would, bought a mansion to live in themselves — but five years later, in stands as serious trouble for the neighborhood it’s in and for the couple.
Modest Beginnings
The couple’s huge lottery win happened in 2012. Their first expenses were on their quite modest wedding.
They moved out of their home and bought an average sized home in the same neighborhood they were living in, and initially, perhaps to the surprise of some examining eyes, spent modestly — considering the amount of money they had won. They went on holidays and lavished themselves and friends with gifts — and that was mostly it for a while.
Generous giving
One unusual thing was that the Tophams seemed much more concerned in sharing their wealth with their close circle of friends and family than to blow the money on huge expenses.
In a notable step, they gave their best friend, Eddie, and his mother, nearly $5 million, “to get out of some rough times,” they had said. When they did, they reached headlines again, and source told English publication The Sun that their move is “a fantastic gesture and proves that don’t intend on leaving their friends behind.’
Family Feud
It’s true: Matthew’s mother, Julie, never received a house, car, or any gift from the couple. Since one of Matt and Cassey’s first actions was to give their best friend upwards of $5 million to help him “overcome some tough times”, it obviously wasn’t a case where the couple wanted to keep the sum for themselves.
Indeed, it later turned out that Julie Gamble has been estranged from her son for 7 years. She issued a modest statement in which she wishes the couple good luck and is happy for them.
A cry for her son
Julie actually went on television following the Tophams’ win to beg for her son to speak to her again. Appearing on ITV’s morning talk show Daybreak, Gamble wished to send out a message to her son.
“I love you, and I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.” Gamble insists she only used the platform to ask her son to speak to her again – “I don’t want any of the money. I don’t want anything.” Matthew kept his silence, though, and there was no reconciliation.
‘Now I can find out’
Still, after about two years of what was considered modest spending — in comparison to the sum of the winnings — the couple, perhaps more settled in their newfound status and yearning for more.
Matthew, a decorator by trade, said in 2014 to the daily mail that he had always painted huge mansions and wondered so much what it would be like to live in one. And the couple, now parents to baby boy Alfie, bought a mansion. And so they could now finally find out.
Teletubbies House
The couple set their mind on not only buying and residing in a mansion, but on creating their very own unique eco-home, which they nicknamed ‘The Teletubbies House’.
Some ambitious plans were made by the couple, who had intention to create a 4-wing futuristic property, an eco-home complete with an underground swimming pool and waterfall, that operated solely on solar panels. Planning documents noted that the idea was “to build a house within a house.”
Not very colorful
Where – and what – is the Rainbow House, you ask? Good question. The 7-bedroom mansion is a part of a series of estates that sits on a land accessed by Adams Hill, and is nicknamed “Millionaire’s Row”, partly because of the land’s worth – which keeps increasing, in complete opposite to the general worth of lands in England.
The mansion had already been abandoned for years when the couple purchased it. It was built in the 1930s.
All the red tape
But there was more to it. The Tophams’ idea was to ruin the art-deco heritage house, which they bought for a $5.5 million price tag, completely, and to then perform extensive renovation.
The house was in derelict condition, and the Tophams needed it demolished to they could construct their new dream eco-future home on the land. The couple, however, was not ready to deal with the mass of bureaucracy needed in order to execute such a plan.
Drug Den
Since the couple never moved into the house, and left it unguarded, its size and location made it extremely attractive to squatters, and individuals began residing in it illegally.
Drug users began to use the location as dealing grounds, and soon enough, as a drug den, where users would stay. As time past by, the house became damaged and vandalized. The police visits the location often, and has put up a 12-foot fence, but not the fence nor the police seem to deter the intruders.
Gangs and addicts
The vast and lush yard that was a huge selling point for The Rainbow House now “looks like a jungle”, a neighbor said. Though it belongs to the Tophams, the house does have new inhabitants – homeless drug users, who brought along with them violent gang activity.
Shots have been fired in the location. “We’ve stopped trying to call the police,” one neighbor said, “they were out here over a dozen times, but there is nothing they can do. It’s the Tophams’ responsibility.”
End this farce
Unsurprisingly, the angered neighbors hold the Tophams accountable for a situation that both puts their lives at risk and significantly lowers the value of their living area.
“The Tophams have shedloads of money, and they should be spending some to put an end to this farce,” area residents have said, “or at least pay for its security.” Indeed, other than the 12-foot fence attempt, no permanent security exists in the area, and it remains in its forsaken state.
Public hazard
Eventually, The Rainbow House was declared a public hazard, and by county laws, it should have been demolished. Unfortunately, the planning approval has been granted already — to the Tophams, of course.
But at this point in times, the expenses of building their dream Teletubby home are far, far too high. And so the house stands between its owners and the resident, falling deeper into disrepair, with no action to be taken.
New action
And, given the state the house is in currently, when most intruders have been blocked out of the residence, a new application is likely to be considered to remove control from the Tophams and demolish the house immediately.
Which would have been fine — except the Tophams have retorted by submitting another file to demolish the house on their terms. And if they haven’t the funds to build their teletubby home on the land — no one knows what a newly constructed home on the location would look like.
RAF Newton Air Base
Then again, it may well be better off that the air base, located at RAF Newton, remains standing untouched. It’s well known that parts of the site are contaminated with radium; in the 40s and 50s, before the extent of the material’s damage was known it was used to coat aircraft dials, so they could glow in the dark.
And there are other examples of derelict homes in the area. It does seem, however, with the close aid of the local council, that things are starting to pick up.
Rural living, close to the city
A new site using part of the air base, called Innes England, is being developed, and the local council is hoping for its construction in 2018.
Director of Development at the site, has said, “This is a vital new housing scheme for the area, a particularly popular location with young families looking for a rural lifestyle within close proximity to the city. Strategically, this is a hugely important site.”
Standstill
The situation now is at a complete standstill. The Tophams won’t move into the house, nor will they accept responsibility for its state, or make it any easier for the council to demolish it.
For whatever reason – maybe because they were so young when they received the sum of money, and ill-equipped to make such important decisions – the Tophams won’t speak to the media, nor to their displeased to-be neighbors, who are just waiting for an approval to demolish the estate and remove it from the Topham’s “inept” hands.