Will Grand Designs’ saddest-ever house finally be sold? Mystery buyer ‘enters sales talks’

Grand Designs’ ‘saddest ever’ house may finally have a happy ending after being taken off the market so a mystery buyer can enter ‘sale talks’ with the owner. 

Father-of-two Edward Short, 52, put Chesil Cliff House in Croyde, Devon, up for sale at a staggering £10million in July last year – and even Harry Styles was rumoured to have been interested. 

Edward spent a decade building the extraordinary property, with the ambitious project seeing him transform his family’s 1950s home into an art-deco white lighthouse.

It featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs in October 2019, and was described as the ‘saddest episode ever’ by many viewers after the music industry executive revealed that the arrival of the recession, building issues and the end of his marriage to wife Hazel had left him on the edge of bankruptcy and his dream in tatters.  

Edward remained adamant he would finish the design – yet his dream of an idyllic existence in the stunning cliff-top home in one of Devon’s most picturesque coastal locations was dashed and he admitted earlier last year he would be forced to sell it in the hopes of a £4million profit once it was completed at the end of 2021.

READ MORE: Owner of £7million Grand Designs ‘lighthouse’ home that cost him his marriage is ENGAGED to a nurse who he met online – and the pair plan to wed next year

While interest from popstar Styles turned out to be nothing more than a rumour, there may finally be good news in the offing after real estate agents Knight Frank confirmed they now have a ‘serious buyer’ who is discussing the ‘terms of sale’. 

A Knight Frank spokesperson told the Daily Star: ‘We are currently discussing terms of a sale with one interested party and, as such, have agreed to remove the property from the open market until further notice.’

A source added: ‘When we have a potential buyer it is often the case that a property is removed from the website providing the client is happy to do so while further negotiations take place.

‘This does not mean that a property is ”under offer”. However, once an offer has been accepted the property will then be put back on the website and listed as ”sold”.’ 

Viewers were last year left disappointed when Kevin McCloud revisited Grand Designs’ infamous lighthouse which cost £7million to build in a special episode, with many branding it an ‘eyesore’ and a ‘waste of money’ – as even the owner’s daughters confessed they were ‘over’ the project.

Speaking candidly on the show, Kevin admitted to Edward he didn’t think he would see the end of the project.  

‘I feel slightly embarrassed that I didn’t think you’d do it,’ he said, adding: ‘I thought venture capitalist would come in, put in their own project manager, you wouldn’t retain title and effectively, you’d be edged out. That was my fear.’

Reflecting on the project, Edward said: ‘It’s worth it because it’s finished. It wouldn’t have been worth if it hadn’t been finished, it would have been painful.’ 

From MILLIONS of pounds of debt to a wrecked marriage: Timeline of how Chesil Cliff House went from home of dreams to a nightmare 

2010:  Edward and his wife Hazel appear on Grand Designs to reveal their plan to turn their 1950s home into an art-deco white lighthouse in 18 months. Plans for the development were submitted and approved but several delays ensued. 

2012: Spiralling costs and the financial crisis puts the project on hold. 

2014: Building work finally gets underway, but is hit by delays due to the weather and financial woes.

2016: Edward secures a loan for more than £2million from private investors 

2017: Project is halted again after the pair run out of money.  

2018: Couple apologise to local residends who complain the unfinished building is an eyesore

2019:  Edward appears on Grand Designs again, admitting that only a few rooms have been finished and that his marriage to Hazel has collapsed under the strain

2021: Building work started again at the property and Edward said he hopes it will be finished by the end of the year

2022: Property is listed for sale for £10 million. Edward said his family are ‘proud’ of what he has achieved 

2022:  Edward announces he is engaged to a nurse who met online

2023:  Knight Frank takes the lighthouse home off the market after finding a ‘serious buyer’