Bid to save home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A HIGH Court challenge is to be launched against plans to redevelop the former home of Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The Scots-born author wrote some of his most famous works at Undershaw in Hindhead, Surrey, including The Hound Of The Baskervilles.

But the Grade II-listed property is at the centre of its own drama involving the local council, a developer and campaigners keen to see it preserved.

In June, Waverley Borough Council granted planning permission and listed building consent on the neglected building.

The plans include turning the main house into eight homes. But campaigners are opposed to any plan that restricts the public's access to the house and that risks destroying the interior.