Stephen Fry's Sherlock Holmes campaign sees demolition work paused

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the first Sherlock Holmes stories near to the Edwardian building

Plans to demolish a records office in Portsmouth have been put on hold following a campaign backed by actor Stephen Fry.

Portsmouth City Council had put forward proposals to knock down the building in Museum Road to build homes.

A group of residents, backed by the actor, wants to save and transform the building into a Sherlock Holmes museum.

The council said a full condition survey would now be carried out to consider the options for the building.

The authority said the work would include full costings on what it would take to bring the building - which has major structural issues - back to a usable condition.

Fry, who has narrated Sherlock Holmes audio books and starred in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, urged Portsmouth City Council to "seize the moment" to transform the building into a Sherlock Holmes museum.

Stephen Fry urged the council to "seize the moment" and transform the building into a Sherlock Holmes museum

He said the building was an "ideal location" for the museum adding "it would be wonderful for the city" and would attract "legions of fans around the globe".

"Portsmouth is where his creator Arthur Conan Doyle lived and conceived and introduced to the world the greatest detective and his loyal friend Dr Watson," he said.

Campaigners behind a petition which attracted more than 1,000 signatures opposing the plans to knock it down said they were "over the moon with the result", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

They want to put the Lancelyn Green collection, which contains about 14,000 pieces related to Conan Doyle and is mostly in storage, on display in the Edwardian building.

About 1,000 residents signed a petition opposing plans to replace the building with council homes

Councillor Steve Pitt, cabinet member for culture, said "This city needs a Sherlock-Doyle experience.

"However, it is absolutely essential that the right location is found and what is created is of excellent quality to do justice to the city's claim on the great detective."

He said the findings of a feasibility study would be reported at a public meeting "as soon as possible".