Staff alternative country house (5)
I believe the answer is:
manor
'country house' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'staff alternative' is the wordplay.
'staff' becomes 'man' (as in staffing or manning a particular place).
'alternative' becomes 'or'.
'man'+'or'='MANOR'
(Other definitions for manor that I've seen before include "Landed estate" , "Nobleman's land" , "police area" , "Police district (slang)" , "Lord's estate" .)