Sprawling Cornish clifftop home with ‘Grand Designs potential’ up for auction

It has a breathtaking coastal view

(Clive Emson)

A property tipped to have “Grand Designs potential” is going up for auction this weekend.

Located on a Cornish cliff, Porthscylla is a one-bedroom bungalow with an outstanding view and surroundings that could make it the perfect project for a would-be property developer.

It also comes with the bonus of already having planning permission for demolition.

According to the property listing, the home has been in the same family for 100 years, so this is a truly unique opportunity to potentially create your dream home in one of the UK’s most stunning locations when it goes up for auction on 1 June.

The property also comes with an impressive 0.78 hectares (1.94 acres) of land, so there is potentially room to build more than one house.

But with a guide price of offers over £395,000 plus fees, you will need a big budget to turn Porthscylla into a Grand Designs-worthy home.

Its description reads: “An extremely unique and exciting opportunity to acquire this detached one-bedroom chalet-style bungalow nestled within privately owned rugged cliffs, overlooking the iconic picturesque Porthcurno beach and neighbouring the famous open Minack Theatre and was featured in the popular TV series of Poldark.

“Porthscylla sits on approximately 0.78 hectares (1.94 acres) of predominantly cliff land, with a level area of land located towards the top offering potential for formalisation.”

The house has possibly one of the UK’s best coastal views (Clive Emson)

The property has been in the same family for a century (Clive Emson)

The property description continues: “The property has been in the same family and thoroughly enjoyed for a century and now requires a course of updating throughout, whilst benefiting from permission in principle for demolition and replacement giving potential for Grand Design-style opportunities to be explored, subject to all necessary consents being obtainable.”

It’s been tipped as a potential Grand Design for a new, imaginative owner (Clive Emson)

The auction is taking place this Saturday (1 June) (Clive Emson)

However, as Grand Designs has demonstrated, building a home on a cliff is not without its challenges, something that Edward and Hazel Short learned the hard way when building what was dubbed the popular show’s “saddest home”.

Chesil Cliff House in Croyde, Devon, proved to be a lesson in the dangers of being too ambitious when building on a cliff as it left its owner in a reported £7m worth of debt.

But while the property came with many problems including structural concerns with its driveway – and took 11 years to build – it was ultimately described as “one of the UK’s most spectacular coastal homes” when listed for sale by estate agent Knight Frank.

“I’ll always be proud to have finished this,” Edward, who most recently the home for £5.5m, said. “I owe it to my family to have a real end result, but the time has come to move on. I will have achieved what I set out to do, never deviating from the plans, and for that, I’ll always be proud.”

Clifftop houses can be stunning but you will likely need a big budget to create one without getting into debt (Knight Frank)

So if this Cornish bungalow looks like your dream clifftop home, you should ensure your budget stretches to cover whatever Grand Design you have in mind and be wary of the challenges that a clifftop location can present.

But given Cornwall’s status as one of the UK’s most popular tourist spots where property and land are increasingly being sold for a premium, this could still be a bargain for the right person.