Grand Designs host speaks out on ‘saddest house ever’ years after tragic ordeal
Kevin McCloud has spoken out about Chesil Cliff House, which is sometimes referred to as the 'saddest house ever' to appear on Grand Designs.
Just to get you up to speed, Chesil Cliff House was the project of Edward Short, who started out with a budget of £1.8 million and a timetable of 18 months to build his dream home on the coast.
His appearances on Grand Designs showed problem after problem besetting Ed's life and project, with him admitting that he felt 'cursed' as he was left millions in debt and separated from his wife.
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While Ed has since found love again, his dream home has been put up for sale for £5.25 million by receivers in an attempt to pay off some of the debts he's racked up building it.
The house has become one of the most memorable Grand Design builds of all time, so it's no surprise that Kevin McCloud was asked about it at Grand Designs Live in London.
The show's exhibition is currently going on at London ExCel, and McCloud was asked whether he had any concerns about Chesil Cliff House when he first met Ed.
Speaking at Grand Designs Live, Kevin said: "I had more concerns about Ed’s wellbeing and his family's wellbeing. But yes, I did have concerns about the house halfway through.
"It was unfinished, and because he couldn’t proceed with works the water was getting in and it cost him tens of thousands of pounds to remediate the steel work and glazing because it was damaged.
"The building wasn’t fully watertight and that’s a great shame.
"You go forwards to go backwards to go forwards again, but goodness me, he got there in the end didn’t he, so that’s great."
Ahead of Grand Designs Live, McCloud had told LADbible that 'huge errors' had been made in constructing Chesil Cliff House, but that Edward Short's story was ultimately 'one of redemption'.
He said he liked Ed 'a lot' and praised the man's 'honesty' and 'absolute integrity' as it made his build such a compelling watch.
"In the original film at the end of it we say this is a story of hubris, it's a story of overreaching, it's a story of somebody's life falling apart, their relationships falling apart," Kevin said of Grand Designs covering the unfortunate project.
“And he got all that, he was the first to say that. So it didn’t make it hard for me to say that in the closing moments of the film, I didn't feel I was betraying his trust, because he was so open and transparent."
McCloud praised Ed as a 'great human being' who was perhaps 'guilty of overreaching' but 'maintained his integrity' throughout the process.
Grand Designs Live runs until 12 May.
Topics: Channel 4, Grand Designs, Home, UK News, TV
Joe Harker