Archives closure puts locals at 'major disadvantage'

Suffolk's archives will be centralised at The Hold in Ipswich

The closure of an archives office due to council budget pressures has been described as "very serious" by a charity trustee.

Earlier this year, Suffolk County Council announced plans to save £140,000 by closing archives offices in Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds.

The records would be centralised and housed at The Hold in Ipswich instead.

John Popham, trustee of the Bury St Edmunds Town Trust, said the decision would put people in his area at a "major disadvantage".

He said it would be very difficult for some people to travel by public transport from west Suffolk to the county town.

"It is very serious for the people of Bury St Edmunds who study history for various reasons and for the education of children," he explained.

"The principle of this is particularly important.

"If you live in York - a very important town with early foundations - and you work in their archives, they wouldn't dare tell you to go to Hull to look at the documents.

"Here we have Bury St Edmunds, one of England's outstanding Norman towns, and the residents are being told they have to go through Ipswich to look at their archives."

'Best-in-class'

When the county council voted through its 2024-25 budget in February, it said it needed to save £64.7m over the next two years.

The council previously planned to relocate the West Suffolk Archives branch, in Bury St Edmunds, to the Western Way development - but the whole project was scrapped.

A county council spokesperson said there was a "need for significant investment to protect the historic records and meet modern archive standards".

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

The Hold will temporarily close for three months from October to allow for the archives to be transferred.