Crowds flock to save Red House

It calls for a community use to be found for the house, but says the council is being secretive about its plans and narrow-minded about possible uses.

Group chair Sarah Carter said the building - which has been the residence of two MPs, as well as a children's hospital and army base - would make an ideal library, cafe and conference centre.

"The council are saying that there's nothing they can do with it and that they can't afford the £1 million it will cost to refurbish," she said.

"But we know that £3million is available to relocate Scott Arms Library, and we've been told that the council spends around £375,000 a year on conferencing venues because it doesn't have the right facilities of its own.

The house's last use was as a training base for the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, which still has about 16 years on its lease for the building.

However, vandalism and funding changes forced the trust to find a smaller base.

Four-year-old Ben Cliff, a regular visitor with his brother and parents Helen and Richard drew his plea to save the house in crayon.

Councillor Bob Badham, Sandwell's regeneration boss, said: "There are difficulties because old buildings are notoriously expensive to restore and there would also be the question of running costs to consider afterwards," he said.

"A final decision will be taken on Red House in consultation with my cabinet colleagues as soon as we have progress to report."

By Jim Dunton