Council chiefs have halted plans to demolish a historic 18th century building in Bethnal Green to allow a review into whether it should be listed.
TV historian Dan Cruikshank is spearheading a campaign to save the Huguenot silkworker's house from the bulldozer to make way for new homes.
Following confirmation from the Department for Culture's Historic England that it was considering listing the house Tower Hamlets Council announced today it has issued a six-month long Building Preservation Notice while the review is taking place.
Dan, a veteran East End celebrity preservation campaigner, is behind a move by the Huguenots of Spitalfields heritage group to save the three-storey property in Club Row near Shoreditch.
He said: "Houses like this are now rare."
Developers have applied to the council to demolish the 260-year-old property and replace it with modern flats.
A council spokesman added: "The final decision on whether the building should be listed will be taken by the Secretary of State for Media Culture and Sport.
"This means that that for the duration of the notice the building must be considered as if it was listed with any proposed alterations, or demolitions needing full listed building consent.
"The council will not make any decision on the current planning application until the outcome of the listing review is known."
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