‘Saddest ever’ Grand Designs hell not over as owner fears nightmare this Christmas
The owner of the “saddest ever” Grand Designs house has revealed he could be left penniless by Christmas unless he finds a buyer for his home.
Edward Short put the £10m Chesil Cliff House up for sale more than three months ago after investors demanded their cash back, but as his string of bad luck continues, he has been unable to shift the property.
“The fact is, I still don’t know if I’ll end up with £1 or do alright until we get those final bids in,” Short told the Sun.
READ MORE: ‘Saddest Grand Designs’ owner said £10m house ordeal made him think he ‘should be dead’
“There are two possible end games here. Either a happy one or a very sad Christmas tree job coming up at the end of the year.”
(Image: Channel 4)
The property, which took nearly eleven years to complete and saw Short’s marriage crumble, has also left locals fuming and caused rows over how the house would impact nearby areas of natural beauty.
Even after the show featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs, one neighbour said he would buy the house just to knock it down “for the village’s sake” if he won the EuroMillions.
And despite the brochure for the house being downloaded more than 200,000 times by potential buyers and Grand Designs fanatics, Short is still worried he’ll be stuck with the property for months to come.
(Image: Channel 4)
Singer and actor Harry Styles has reportedly expressed interest in the home but hasn’t made an official bid yet.
Michael Jackson’s ex-bodyguard Matt Fiddes also hinted he might purchase the luxury property to turn into 12 luxury flats, but after he failed to make an offer, Short branded him a “time-waster”.
Work on Chesil Cliff House on the breath-taking cliffs of North Devon began in 2011, with the project initially expected to take 18 months.
(Image: Tom Wren SWNS)
However, when Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud paid a visit to the site in 2019, he described it as looking like a “carcass” and a wreckage on a seashore.
Short featured on the show again earlier this week (October 19) to give an update on the property, and viewers were amazed to see building work had finally been completed – but Short revealed he had to sell up now as the project had left him skint.
(Image: Tom Wren SWNS)
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Music producer Short added that he had lost more than money on the property too, as his previously-happy marriage to wife Hazel had broken down thanks to the stress he was under during the eleven-year build.
He later said that he, Hazel, and her new boyfriend, Steve, had watched the “Revisited” episode together to make sure they could check in on his two daughters, Lauren, now 21, and Nicole, 22, who first appeared on the show as teens.
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