Grand Designs at 25: The best, worst and downright disastrous builds as the show celebrates its anniversary

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. This comes ahead of a special anniversary episode set to air on Wednesday, which Channel 4 said “ the most ambitious builds and touching human dramas, with the biggest budget overspends, and disastrous delays thrown into the mix, this special will celebrate a true Channel 4 gem in its momentous anniversary year.” Weald of Kent, 2009 Few properties to feature on Grand Designs have gone as wrong as the Weald of Kent, which actually collapsed when McCloud was on site. Chesil Cliff House, 2019 In what viewers dubbed the “saddest ever” episode of Grand Designs, an ambitious plan for a lighthouse home in Devon ripped a family apart. Host Kevin McCloud said of the doomed build: “If a lighthouse has a single message that it shouts out, it is this: ‘Stay away – or risk destruction’.” The property, which is set to be revisited in the upcoming 25th anniversary episode, saw owner Edward Short’s marriage breakdown as he got into debt when the project went £7m overbudget due to the build’s complicated costal location. The Shipping Container House, 2014 But while many Grand Designs have gone awry, the show has also documented many successes, including the Shipping Container House – which cost a fraction of most London properties.