Fight to keep archives in the town begins

The Bury Society is leading the campaign to keep our archives in the town. A protest was held on Tuesday January 9th to show the opposition of local people to the closure.

On January 2nd, Suffolk County Council announced it would centralise Suffolk Archives to The Hold in Ipswich and close the Bury and Lowestoft branches. If agreed by Full Council on 15th February, this will mean the closure of the local branch in Raingate Street by the end of 2024.

Known locally as ‘The Records Office’, it is an essential reference point for historians and those tracing past generations of their family. Its future has been a matter of debate for several years.

The Raingate Street building houses important historical archives relating to West Suffolk. The Cullum library, Suffolk Regiment records and those of the West Suffolk Hospital Trust are amongst the key collections kept here. All of these documents, images and books were placed with the Bury St Edmunds Records Office on the understanding that they would remain local and accessible to the residents of West Suffolk.

The Hold, in Ipswich, was formally opened by Suffolk County Council in 2021 as a state-of-the art facility for Suffolk Archives. From that time onwards the Bury Office was in real danger of closure. We were told that the West Suffolk branch of Suffolk Archives’ Grade 2 listed building was going to be an increasingly expensive property to update, maintain and comply with the demands of accessibility and records storage.

In late 2022 hopes were raised regarding the office with a firm assurance by Cllr Bobby Bennett, a Suffolk County Councillor, that the Bury office would not be closed and the only sensible commercial option was to relocate the records into a modern a conditioned complex in phase 1 of the Western Way development project. The idea was sold on the basis of advanced facilities and a more accessible and pleasant experience for the users.

We were told in early 2023 that the fiscal tests for Western Way complied with local authority fiscal guidelines on such projects and therefore the future looked assured. The winds of changing politics have, since then, swept through the local area and, out of the blue, the whole Western Way development was postponed and eventually scrapped. Once again, we faced an uncertain future and despite the best efforts of the Bury Society, we have received no assurances on Bury’s archives.

Of equal concern as this saga drags on, is the continuing restrictions on the use of the Raingate premises. The absence of a lift for disabled access, lack of staff and resources is put forward as the reason why the office still operates a restricted access system. Those currently wanting to use the Records Office have to book a time slot and provide advance notice of the precise records they wish to view. It is not at all easy (even for the most seasoned users) to navigate the records index online, and indeed the digital index is nowhere near complete.

The research area is now much smaller as it has been brought downstairs due to the lack of disabled facilities. The fear of many is that these draconian measures are choking off visitor numbers and eventually the Bury office will close with the self-fulfilling prophecy of lack of use as the reason.

What we must not lose sight of in all of this is the very difficult and uncertain position the loyal, enthusiastic and hard working staff at the Records Office find themselves in.

Cllr Bennett’s most recent response stated “This decision was not taken lightly, however, in the context of the cancellation of the Western Way development by West Suffolk Council’s new administration, the costs associated with remaining in Raingate Street and the wider pressures on the County Council’s budget, we are left with no room for manoeuvre. The wider context is that the need for County Council services that care for Suffolk’s most vulnerable residents…. difficult decisions need to be made…. The proposal around the archives is an example of this.”

West Suffolk Council maintains “There were some preliminary discussions about moving the archive to the Western Way site… it would still be possible for the archive to be part of the redevelopment going forward. Alternatively, there a number of other possibilities which we have flagged up to SCC, including moving it to the current West Suffolk House… West Suffolk Council has done everything it can to work with SCC to find suitable new premises for the archive, and we continue to be willing to do so. Their decision is purely down to a misguided attempt to save a small amount of money in the short term. It is short sighted and damaging to the heritage of our historic town.”

The point the Bury Society and others have been making is that it is not impossible to provide disabled access to allow full and proper use of the existing building. The Guildhall very successfully navigated that obstacle despite being Grade 1 listed.

It is vital that Bury St Edmunds retains its archives. We have recommended that a working party should be established by Suffolk County Council with representatives from interested parties (including the Bury Society and the Bury Town Trust and others) to find the best way to retain the archives in the town.