Last-ditch house rescue bid fails

The doomed fate of this Stafford landmark was today sealed after another last-ditch bid to save it failed.

Stafford councillors had asked for an independent inspection on Baswich House to find out if the 150-year-old building's state is as bad as police bosses say it is.

But Staffordshire Police Authority today said it was too late for any more discussions on the Victorian landmark.

The authority is in the process of demolishing the mansion house which it claims is beyond repair. Windows, floors and fixtures have been ripped out of the Cannock Road building.

The police authority says Baswich House is a lost cause and needs to be knocked down to make way for housing when the force leaves its current HQ later this year. They say the building has been "unsafe" since 2001 and would cost £1 million to repair. However, as revealed by the Express & Star yesterday, new pictures of its interior have appeared on the internet which campaigners claim show the police authority has been "exaggerating" Baswich House's condition in order to justify its demolition.

Local borough councillor John Francis and Stafford Borough Council leader Judith Dalgarno yesterday asked the authority to jointly fund an independent building inspection of the house's disputed condition. Councillor Francis told the Express & Star: "I want to see what its condition really is and see if it can be saved."

However, police authority chairman Mike Poulter today said the authority would not be agreeing to the inspection. He said: "I don't think a survey would be useful – it's a way of putting off the inevitable."