THE historic French Convalescent Home in Brighton is to be saved from demolition.

Months of campaigning to save the 101-year-old seafront building will pay off this afternoon when the

Government announces the building will be listed.

The decision by Culture Minister Alan Howarth will block plans by developers Bovis Retirement Homes to tear down the home and replace it with flats.

Bovis intended to buy the building from its French trustees and replace it with the modern block.Jubilant campaigners today spoke of their delight at the news, which comes after thousands of people signed petitions demanding the building should be saved from the bulldozers.

Mr Howarth met Kemp Town MP Dr Des Turner and home manager Catherine Gennaro last week and was due to announce his

decision to list the building this afternoon

Delighted Mrs Gennaro said: "This is wonderful news. I just can't believe it. I'm euphoric.

Struggle

"I was beginning to get to the stage where I wondered whether it was worth going on.

"This has given us the strength to keep on. This is such important news and just 48 hours ago it looked so bleak - it's been a very long struggle all the way."

The imposing mock chateau is home to 40 elderly residents. The Argus launched a campaign to

save the home when plans to

knock it down were revealed in November.

Staff and residents only found out about the proposals when they discovered a notice attached to a lamp-post outside the home.

English Heritage had originally decided not to recommend listing the home. But an inspector visited again this month after doubts were raised as to whether anybody from the organisation had ever been inside the home.

MP Dr Turner said: "This is fantastic news - credit is due to the home's staff, the Argus and the local community.

"This is an important first hurdle

that we have now cleared."

Geoffrey Theobald, opposition leader on Brighton and Hove Council, has also campaigned to save the home.

He said: "This is fantastic news. I'm absolutely delighted and I'd like to pay tribute to The Argus and Catherine Gennaro and all her staff who have kept this battle going.

"It just shows what a newspaper can do. Everyone's efforts have been rewarded.

"It's a magnificent building and Brighton seafront wouldn't be the same without it."

Any decision to list the home can be appealed against in the courts but it is unusual for such a

challenge to succeed.

Mrs Gennaro said the next step was to discover who now owned the home and find out their intentions.

She said: "We now have to look at how we can go forward. We'll be discussing this with either Bovis or the trustees, depending on who owns it.

"Contracts had been exchanged but completion wasn't due until vacant possession."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.