Lottery hopes as site found for historic archive

Archive officials were warned to improve facilities after a building in Wakefield where crucial historical documents from across West Yorkshire are stored was condemned as being “not fit for purpose.”

Councillors in Wakefield will hear the latest details of a possible bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to secure funding to replace the city’s Registry of Deeds building.

The state of the building on Newstead Road was criticised by the National Archives Service, which warned it could strip the facility of its status as a “place of deposit” if urgent action was not taken.

An alternative home for the collections, which includes volumes of deeds relating to West Riding property transactions between 1704 and 1970, needed to be found to stave off the possibility.

A report prepared for members of Wakefield Council’s Lifelong learning overview and scrutiny committee says: “The Registry of Deeds building in Wakefield houses both Wakefield District’s own archives, and the former County archives which, along with the deeds volumes themselves, are the joint responsibility of the five West Yorkshire Authorities.

“The 1930s building is in very poor condition and poses both threats to the continued preservation of the collections and obstacles to public access.

“The National Archives have condemned the building as being ‘not fit for purpose’ and have said they may be forced to remove its ‘place of deposit’ status if progress is not made towards replacing the building with a more appropriate facility.”

Members of the scrutiny committee, which meets on April 16, will be told that a project board set up to look at the issue has identified a site at Crown House, in Kirkgate, Wakefield, as a potential site.

Council chiefs say developing the site will help to regenerate the Kirkgate area and help link up The Hepworth museum with Wakefield city centre.

But the cost of constructing a new building to replace the 1930s building could cost around £4m. Council bosses hope to attract around £3m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

A proposal is still in the process of being put together but at this stage it is envisaged the new facility should include a wider range of resources, including not only archives but also archaeological and ecological records for West Yorkshire, making it a useful resource for members of the public to access.

The report prepared for councillors says The National Archives has also extended the Registry of Deeds’ place of deposit status until July 2012 in light of progress being made.

Graham Hebblethwaite, the chief officer of West Yorkshire Joint Services which is overseeing the development of the proposals, said last year: “The National Archives has made it clear that unless we can find new facilities which offer far better storage conditions and much improved public access, our Wakefield facilities will lose their ‘place of deposit’ status.

“If that happens, we could be required to send some of our collections to other stores outside West Yorkshire.”

The report adds: “Public consultation over the proposals, in particular the opportunities they offer for service improvement and better engagement with relevant interest groups, is a major part of the work being undertaken.

“Failure to achieve a solution that keeps all these important collections in Wakefield will risk reputational damage to the council.”

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