A COMMUNITY group has lost its fight to get a historic police station listed.

The Wanstead Society were hopeful Wanstead Police Station would be made a Grade II-listed building by English Heritage.

But the body announced last night that the application had been rejected.

Police are currently considering the future of the station as it prepares for a dramatic cut in its budget.

The building in Spratt Hall Road is valued at between £3m and £5m and there are fears it could be sold off.

The Wanstead Society's Geoff Horsnell said: “My fear is that they now see it as a way forward to sell the station, whereas if it were protected then anyone buying it at the going rate wouldn’t be able to knock it down to build flats.”

The Met previously said it plans to base a 25-strong anti-burglary team at the station, but has not ruled out selling.

Mr Horsnell had hoped its age and excellent condition would allow the locally-listed building to gain national status.

But English Heritage experts decided that the building lacked “special interest” required for a national listing.

Its report states: “Despite surviving in good condition and being a representative example of 1880s police station design, the Wanstead Police Station lacks special character and cannot be regarded as a building of national interest.

“Wanstead Police Station is neither a particularly early example of a London police station, nor does it have the clear architectural quality of the stations designed by John Dixon Butler. It is therefore not recommended that the station be added to the Heritage List.”

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