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

Back in February 2023, the real estate listing for what’s called Chesil Cliff House became public, sparking whispers about high-profile individuals such as Harry Styles and Michael Jackson’s ex-bodyguard Matt Fiddes showing potential interest. However, despite all this buzz, the property remains unsold up to now.

In January 2024, Savills, the real estate agency, re-offered the property for sale at a significantly reduced price of £5.5 million. Eventually, the property was successfully purchased in October.

Speaking with The Sun, Short expressed that they’ve grown accustomed to the situation and have since moved forward. There’s no doubt that they feel relieved it has ended, but there were certainly ups and downs, with some truly memorable moments along the way.

Short admitted that the sale price would not even come close to covering the substantial debt he had accrued, which at a certain point soared to an astounding £7 million.

As a self-proclaimed film enthusiast, I must confess that upon seeing the completed property, it strayed significantly from my initial blueprint. In essence, it felt more like a distant remake of my original vision rather than the blockbuster sequel I had envisioned. To put it mildly, I find myself mentally residing in a different house – one that aligns more closely with the movie of my dreams.

In 2019, the Chesil Cliff House gained notoriety following its appearance on Channel 4’s Grand Designs, where viewers referred to it as the “most disheartening episode” due to the family encountering various obstacles throughout the project’s course.

In this installment, the family was depicted taking out a loan of half a million pounds from an investment pool called a hedge fund. Later on, they secured additional funding totaling 2.5 million pounds from individual investors for the venture’s execution.

Edward and Hazel Short’s two daughters confessed that they had been trying to collect funds through yard sales with their cars, aiming to help finance their parents’ dream house.

Unfortunately, the project encountered a series of unfortunate events during that phase, causing it to remain incomplete, and subsequently leaving the family financially burdened with millions of pounds of debt.