Grand Designs' 'saddest house ever' finally sells for reduced price after a decade

The property – known as Chesil Cliff House – was originally listed for sale in February 2023, with rumours circulating that famous faces including Harry Styles and Michael Jackson's former bodyguard Matt Fiddes had expressed interest, but remained unsold.

In January 2024, the property was relisted on the market with estate agent Savills at a knockdown price of £5.5m, and it finally sold in October.

"I’ve had time to get used to it and I’ve moved on," Short told The Sun of the saga. "I’m relieved it’s all over without a doubt. But there were lots of highs and lows in there, there were some amazing moments."

Short told the publication the sale price won’t begin to cover the significant debt he accumulated, which at one point reached £7m.

He added that the property had finished "way off" his original vision, saying: "I would never live in my dream house so I have mentally moved on."

Chesil Cliff House became infamous after appearing on Channel 4’s Grand Designs in 2019, with viewers dubbing it the "saddest episode ever", as the programme followed the family facing numerous setbacks on their journey.

The episode showed the family borrowing £500,000 from a hedge fund, followed by another £2.5m from private investors to finance the project.

Edward and Hazel Short’s two daughters even revealed they were attempting to raise money through car boot sales to contribute to the dream home.

But the project was ultimately blighted by misfortune in the episode and left unfinished, and the family were plunged into millions of pounds worth of debt.

Grand Designs airs on Channel 4.

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