With just days to go before the owner of the doomed Grand Designs UK “lighthouse” build says his house will be sold, speculation mounts as to whether it might be sold to a New Zealander – it is currently listed for £10 million (NZ$19.3m).
Grand Designs UK presenter Kevin McCloud revisited the near-complete project in a show that screened at the end of last month, prompting a follow-up interview by MailOnline with owner Edward Short, who said he was 100% certain the property would be sold by the end of November.
Short told MailOnline he already had “two firm offers from wealthy, would-be purchasers as far afield as New Zealand and Canada”, and a “mystery cash buyer” from Australia was also interested in buying the property.
“I set a period of marketing to complete at the end of November, with best final offers at that point. I had to keep a sensible period of time after yesterday’s Grand Designs to enable international buyers and others to travel, view or send a representative.”
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Frequently cited as the saddest Grand Designs UK build ever, Short’s 10-year project came to a grinding halt more than three years ago when costs exploded and the family ran out of money. The music executive cited tough times caused by a recession, and innumerable problems with the build as reasons why plans to transform the family’s 1950s house into an Art Deco lighthouse ended up wrecking his marriage, and left a half-completed eyesore on the clifftop.
UK viewers who watched the recent Grand Designs return to the house were divided about the completed house on social media, with some calling it an eyesore on a beautiful landscape, and others saying it was “fantastic”.
Many were stunned when Short’s answer to McCloud’s question, “was it all worth it?” was “yes”.
Short, who told MailOnline he has been left £7 million in debt, said on Grand Designs: “It’s worth it because it’s finished. It wouldn’t have been worth if it hadn’t been finished; it would have been painful.”
Short is now engaged to his new partner Jalia Nambasa. They plan to marry next year.
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Is a Kiwi buying the house from 'disastrous' Grand Designs UK lighthouse build? – Stuff
