Bury St Edmunds archive office community asset bid

The Bury St Edmunds archive office in Raingate Street closed in August after Suffolk County Council announced records would be transferred to purpose-built stronghold rooms at The Hold, Ipswich.

On August 29, a working committee was launched to investigate the possibility of retaining an archive office in the market town, with West Suffolk Council offering space at West Suffolk House, subject to consent from the county council.

Protestors outside the Bury St Edmunds record office (Image: Bury St Edmunds Society CIO) But on October 30 the committee met again and decided to put this plan on hold due to the annual running costs and requirement of hiring three archivists.

Instead, they voted unanimously in favour of backing Bury St Edmunds resident and Bury Society patron Martin Lightfoot MBE in seeking the registration of the former office as a community asset.

Community assets can be nominated by parish councils or groups connected to a community and, if accepted, it means local people have the chance to bid for the asset before anyone else if it is sold.

Mr Lightfoot said he is in the process of setting up a charity, the West Suffolk Community Archive Charity, to campaign for the status and the application is currently with the Charity Commission. 

"The aim is that we have the records in west Suffolk again so they are accessible to people in west Suffolk," he continued.

"West Suffolk children and people with disabilities or those who can't afford to travel are currently at a disadvantage with the archives in The Hold.

"It is our local history and it should be that local people can access them.

"The idea would be that the charity would work in partnership with Suffolk County Council and West Suffolk Council on the topic of archives," added Mr Lightfoot.

Martyn Taylor, chair of the Bury Society and an avid campaigner against the closure of the archive office, said: "The important thing with the community asset is once we've got the building we can use it for not only archives but maybe for the benefit of the community.

"Schools could come along and that part in lectures and look at the actual archives.

Martyn Taylor, chair of the Bury Society (Image: Bury St Edmunds Society CIO) "With The Hold taking over this aspect children from educational establishments across the county now do not have ready access because if you want to take a classroom of pupils to The Hold you would need to hire a coach or bus which would come at a cost." 

He explained that while the West Suffolk House plan is "not completely off the cards", it has been "parked" for the time being.

"West Suffolk Council were put in an unenviable position that they would like to have helped by allowing the records to go there but again it is down to costs," he said.

"A person with any gumption will realise closing the office is not a good idea because people from Lowestoft, Sudbury, Mildenhall, Lakenheath - they are being penalised with the move."