Doomed grand designs home that ended in £10million spiral and marriage split

A couple who spent thousands of pounds on renovating their dream fantasy home have now put it on the market after it ended up costing their marriage. Edward and Hazel Short put their life

savings into the home in Croyde, Devon, with plans to change their life and offer their two children an amazing childhood. But now, Chesil Cliff House is on the market for £10million, with

Mr Short still paying off some of the money he borrowed for the ambitious project. The property has divided locals, with the all-white glass, four-storey tower offering spectacular views

across the ocean. In 2019, it was featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs, dubbed by viewers the "saddest ever" episode, as it showed the family borrowing £500,000 from a hedge fund,

then another £2.5m from private investors. This was for a smaller house built first, next to the main development, so that he could secure a larger loan. The couple's two daughters

were even holding car boot sales to try and raise some money towards the development project. However, as presenter Kevin McCloud said in the introduction to the episode: "If a

lighthouse has a single message that it shouts out, it is this: 'Stay away – or risk destruction'." The house, which has never been lived in, is on the market for the second

time after the first planned deal fell through. But not only did the house cost the family millions of pounds, it also cost Mr and Mrs Short their 20-year marriage. Amid rising costs and

crippling debts, Mr Short was put under more pressure to come up with the funds that he said ultimately broke down his relationship with his wife. Speaking to The Sun last July, he said he

"regrets" the ambitious project. "There’s a lot of guilt about that. But there was no way out, once we started. If we didn’t finish we’d have been in big trouble. "It was

awful for the family because I pulled the stability rug from under them, without being able to give answers of how we were going to get out of it, other than that I had to carry on."

Mr Short was said to be in £7million of debt at one point, with the project costing more than expected. Any potential buyer would need to fork out an estimated £10m in all for the property –

£7.5m for the main house, and a sum to be negotiated, but thought to be around £2.5m – for the three-bedroom annexe next door. "It’s over the top," said Braunton parish councillor

Derrick Spear of the design. "You could say it’s avant-garde – or, more likely, it doesn’t blend in with its surroundings, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. "Here we are

trying to get affordable homes – which there’s a great need for around here – but this is obviously a home for a very wealthy person," added Mr Spear, who said he was horrified by the

estimated price tag.