City archive to reopen in September

Urgent work had to be carried out last year after it emerged that systems which were in place at the archive, in Shoreham Street, Sheffield, were not up to standard, putting documents at risk of damage.

The entire collection, which holds records from all four South Yorkshire districts, had to be placed in secure storage but councillors were told yesterday the archive would reopen in September.

In a report to South Yorkshire Joint Committee on Archives, Martin Dutch, the head of service said new boilers and air conditioning would ensure the archives now met European standards.

He added: “The service closedown and removal of 40,000 boxes was successfully completed. Public access to the collections was maintained at all times.

“The timescale for reopening is now well underway, with a reopening date of Monday, September 5.”