After more than a decade of setbacks and personal heartbreak, Chesil Cliff House in North Devon has finally been sold.
Featured in one of Grand Designs’ most emotional episodes, the property captivated viewers with its ambitious design and the toll it took on its owner, Edward Short.
Homebuilding & Renovating first broke the news of the sale, marking the end of a saga that began over ten years ago.
Kevin McCloud’s speaks out
Kevin McCloud, who has followed the project from the beginning, admitted he felt “mixed emotions” upon hearing the news.
He reflected: “I know that Ed will have a lot of mixed emotions about it, he's been wanting to sell the project for so long – he's immensely attached to the building, it was a passion project for him, one that he didn't intend to sell initially.”
McCloud also said: “It's been a huge part of his life, and a huge part of our life – making the programme and revisiting him. I've got to know Ed very well, and I know that he'll have mixed feelings. His relationship with that place is complex.”
He added: “I just pray that it brings all the resolution and all the opportunity to move on that he was hoping, and I know that it will be a relief for him and for Hazel, and that it will refresh a degree of sadness as well, because it's occupied so much of their lives, and changed their lives in so many ways.”
The long road to sale
Chesil Cliff House was originally planned to take 18 months and cost £1.8 million, but the project stretched over 12 years and ballooned to millions in debt.
Kevin described it as “a disaster,” noting: “Ed's marriage falls apart, at one point his daughters are very distraught, and it's all hugely risky. If you try too hard and you just pushed too large, you may just fail and it was the most epic example of that.”
Despite the financial difficulties and multiple failed attempts to sell the property, it was finally sold last month for £4.35 million.
A monument to perseverance
Reflecting on the completed property, Kevin McCloud called Chesil Cliff House “a defiant monument to perseverance.”
He praised Edward’s determination, stating, “It’s been hugely ambitious, hugely risky, and Ed kept going despite everything - that is remarkable.”
For McCloud, the house stands as a reminder of both the rewards and human costs of ambitious self-build projects.
