Bury St Edmunds records office set to close this month as eleventh hour talks launched over archives

Campaigners are still hopeful that rare archives can be retained in Bury St Edmunds as a deadline looms over the closure of the town’s records office.

The West Suffolk Archives branch in Raingate Street is set to close on August 29.

The majority of records, including historic manuscripts, maps, photographs, parish and borough records, as well as artefacts from major collections, will be moved to the new purpose-built Suffolk Archives facility based in The Hold, Ipswich.

The Bury branch closure is part of sweeping budget cuts by Suffolk County Council.

But John Popham, speaking on behalf of Bury Town Trust and The Bury Society, which campaigned against the closure, along with Suffolk News, said this week:
“Alternatives are being examined and, in due course, further information will be made available.”

Suffolk County Council confirmed its plan to close the branch in February during its annual budget meeting, under wider plans to generate savings of £64.7 million.

It means the majority of West Suffolk’s archives, which also includes Newmarket and Haverhill, will move to the Suffolk Archives facility by the end of the year.

County council bosses claim centralising the archives will save around £140,000 a year.

Town historian Dr Pat Murrell, meanwhile, has raised concerns directly with the National Heritage Lottery Fund, which helped enable the construction of The Hold through a £10 million grant.

She said: “When the county council applied and was granted funding, we were assured the Bury branch was not at risk.

“By closing it, the council has now gone against the ethos and principles of the Heritage Lottery Fund, which seeks to increase people’s access to their heritage.

“There are no direct buses from Bury to Ipswich, let alone its surrounding villages. Rail connections are poor or non-existent, parking expensive or limited. General access will be drastically reduced.

“Closing the west Suffolk branch is an arbitrary, political and financial short-term measure that will have enormous long-term consequences for the west Suffolk community.”

The county council has said the transfer of archives ‘will be a substantial undertaking’.

Discussions are still under way however, over which archives must stay in the town at the behest of those who donated them.

A council spokesperson said: “We are still engaging in discussions with local depositors who wish to keep their collections based in their respective areas of origin”

The Hold will close to the public for three months from October, before reopening in January.

The exhibition gallery, café and associated events programme will remain open, however.

The council states: “Centralising the three branches into one brings Suffolk in line with the majority of archive services across the country and will enable the council to deliver a service that is better value for taxpayers’ money.

“The council remains committed to developing a best-in-class archive service, which includes state-of-the-art preservation and research facilities and an innovative exhibition, event and community outreach programme.

“We are reviewing opening hours, transport links and parking to find opportunities for improvement.”

A spokesman for The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “We provided a grant of £10 million to help create a new state-of-the-art home for Suffolk Archives.

“The Hold is a flagship heritage building, preserving and protecting more than nine centuries of diverse history.

“Decisions surrounding individual branches of Suffolk Archives rest with Suffolk County Council. As such, we are unable to comment on their ongoing plans.”

Ian Shipp, cabinet member for leisure at West Suffolk Council, said: “We were very disappointed that Suffolk County Council felt it necessary to close the archive, and have always made it clear we are happy to explore any options that will retain local collections for people to view in West Suffolk.

“We are therefore actively involved in discussions within the working party set up by the county council to explore proposals from local collection owners.”

“As we are only supporting this process, we would expect the county council and the collection owners to provide any updates when they reached any decisions."