Hertfordshire: Plans for £15m visitor centre for council archives

Hertfordshire County Council's archive collection is currently stored in the basement of County Hall in Hertford

A council hopes to open a £15m archive visitor centre with its vast collection of historical documents, maps, plans and photographs.

Hertfordshire County Council's archives are currently stored in the basement of County Hall in Hertford.

But there are concerns the collection could outgrow the space and that it does not meet required standards.

A council meeting heard a possible site for the centre had been identified but it was not disclosed.

Councillors were told the proposed building would meet standards in line with the council's commitment to be net zero carbon in its own operations by 2030, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Discussions with the National Lottery Heritage Funding regarding matched funding were ongoing, the meeting heard.

Councillors questioned whether the funding proposed in the budget - based on estimates from 2018 - would still be enough for the project.

The budget document said in order to retain archive accreditation, it was "essential" that progress on the new building development was made in 2022/23.

The meeting was part of the county council's budget-setting process, which will end with a meeting of the full council on 22 February.