'Saddest ever' Grand Designs home finally sells after 11 years of misery and £7m of debt

Daily Mirror

a day ago

Chesil Cliff House was the subject of the 'saddest ever' Grand Designs episode after owner Edward Short's dream home left him in £7m of debt and his marriage in tatters
A home inspired by a lighthouse which featured on what was dubbed the 'saddest ever' episode of Grand Designs has finally been sold after 12 years of renovations. The infamous Chesil Cliff House left its owner, Edward Short, 57, drowning in £7m of debt.
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The construction of this unique property took over a decade and went several million pounds over budget, exacerbated by a recession and ultimately leading to the end of Edward's marriage to his wife Hazel. The house gained notoriety when it featured on Channel 4's Grand Designs, with viewers labelling it the "saddest episode ever" following its broadcast in October 2019.
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The programme chronicled Edward and his family's journey as they faced numerous setbacks, leaving the house in Croyde, Devon, unfinished and the family burdened with millions of pounds in debt. The five-bedroom property was put back on the market in 2024 for a hefty £5.25m and has now found a buyer.
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On August 19, 2025, Edward expressed his relief that the property had been sold, joking that he would still be buying lottery tickets in hopes of one day reclaiming it. Edward said: "It is definitely the closure of a long chapter of my life - there is no doubt about that. I mentally moved on from the property a while ago as the writing was on the wall.
"I am relieved it is sold; it gives me closure. I put everything I could as a person to make it work, but it didn't. It is not the end of the world, but it was a financial failure. I will still be buying a lottery ticket and dreaming that I can buy it back.", reports Devon Live.
The property was initially put up for sale in February 2023, but failed to find a buyer. Then in late 2024, the five-bedroom home returned to the market once more, marketed by Savills on behalf of joint receivers at a slashed price of £5.25m.
Speculation swirled that celebrities including Harry Styles and Michael Jackson's former bodyguard Matt Fiddes had shown interest in the property - but no transaction materialised.
Speaking in November 2024, Matt said: "It is in a very valuable part of Croyde. It is a great corner but absolutely knocking it down and building something more modest would make much better financial sense. It would make the locals happy and give a safer access. That is definitely an option and is what the locals want.
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"If my bid is successful, I will listen to the community and hear them out. All I hear at the moment though, is that it is getting vandalised and the locals just want rid of it."
Edward revealed that he still reflects on his time constructing the property with cherished memories. He said the period he spent building the house was amongst the finest times of his life.
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Edward said: "I do look back at lots of elements of building that house that I enjoyed. There were moments that were amazing. All the time I spent building the house was amazing - that never leaves you."
Expenses ballooned beyond all expectations for owner Edward as he attempted to convert the property into an art deco lighthouse. The residence was initially marketed through Knight Frank for £10 million and features an infinity pool alongside three acres of grounds.
A sale nearly went through before a mysterious purchaser withdrew at the last minute, prompting it to be relisted and divided into two separate lots - the main residence priced at £7.5 million whilst the neighbouring beachside development dubbed 'The Eye' carried a £2.5 million asking price.
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The programme also disclosed how the ambitious project had put enormous pressure on Edward's marriage, ultimately leading to his separation from wife Hazel. Regardless of the setbacks, Edward stayed determined to see the venture through to completion.
Edward previously said: "I'll always be proud to have finished this. I owe it to my family to have a real end result, but the time has come to move on. I will have achieved what I set out to do, never deviating from the plans, and for that I'll always be proud."
The property has been secured into the cliff's bedrock. Edward, a father-of-two, previously explained he had little choice but to put it on the market to cover the substantial sums he'd borrowed, with total expenditure expected to hit £6 million.