Presenter Kevin McCloud has spoken out about the property labelled the "saddest" Grand Designs home ever after it returned to the market earlier this year.

Chesil Cliff House, located in Saunton (near Braunton) in Devon, first appeared on Channel 4's Grand Designs back in 2019.

Husband and wife Edward and Hazel Short appeared on the Channel 4 show with "wildly optimistic" plans for a "shining white art deco lighthouse on a rugged beautiful clifftop".

After setting an original budget of £1.8 million and a time frame of 18 months, the property ended up costing Mr Short his marriage and leaving him with a £7 million debt, according to The Mirror.

Fans of Grand Designs have described the property as the "saddest ever" to appear on Grand Designs due to what has happened. 

One person on X (formerly Twitter) said: "Chesil Cliff House has to be the saddest one ever, purely for the debt they ended up in, marriage breakdown etc."

"Saddest ever" Grand Designs home back on the market

The property was on the market in 2023 with Knight Frank and matchproperty.co.uk for a reported £10 million, The Mirror said.

A "serious buyer" was found but allegedly pulled out of the sale in the "eleventh hour".

The five-bedroom property labelled a "once in a lifetime opportunity" returned to the market earlier this year for £5.25 million. 

Savills are the agents that have been instructed to sell The Crest & Crest View, Down End, Saunton, Braunton, Devon, EX33 1JH (as it is now listed), with the sale coming under instruction from receivers.

In a statement, Savills said: "Savills has been instructed to sell The Crest & Crest View on behalf of Joint Receivers: Hinesh Varsani BA (Hons) PGDip MScSurv MRICS FNARA RPR MABRP & Michael Yianni BSc (Hons) MRICS  (Belleveue Mortlakes Chartered Surveyors & LPA Receivers)."

Kevin McCloud gives insight into "saddest ever" Grand Designs home

Following its return to the market, Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud has spoken out about the Devon-based property.

Speaking at Grand Designs Live at London ExCel - according to The Mirror - McCloud gave listeners and fans of the show insight into the project and the wellbeing of the Short family involved.

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He 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 steelwork and glazing because it was damaged. The building wasn’t fully watertight and that’s a great shame."

McCloud added: "You go forwards to go backwards to go forwards again, but goodness me he (Ed) got there in the end didn’t he, so that’s great”.

You can watch the Grand Designs episode featuring Chesil Cliff House on the Channel 4 website and read more about the property on the Savills listing.