Bury St Edmunds Town Trust complaint over record office plan

Bury St Edmunds Town Trust has written a letter of complaint to the authority's monitoring officer outlining its concerns over the plan to close the town's archive in Raingate Street, which appeared in the proposal for the 2024/25 budget. 

The council's plans for the archives to be moved to The Hold in Ipswich have been slammed by several community groups, including The Bury Society, BSE Southgate Residents Association and the Bury St Edmunds Registered Tour Guides Association. 

Protest group outside the Raingate Street record office (Image: Bury Society CIO)

Now, Bury Town Trust has lodged an official complaint with the council after a request for the closure to be put on hold to allow a working party of interested parties to examine and resolve the issue was refused. 

In the letter to the council, dated February 10, they raised serious concerns over 'the lack of a report which examines all relevant aspects of this matter and justifies this proposed closure' as well as 'the failure to consult' and the fact that the proposal was 'buried' in the 2024/25 budget.

They continued: "We consider the proposed actions by your council to be detrimental to good administration and to be clear breaches of Wednesbury standards.

"In the circumstances any decision of this nature may leave the authority open to legal action on a number of grounds. If not properly remedied they could generate an application against the council for judicial review." 

John Popham, of Bury Town Trust (Image: John Popham)

John Popham, of Bury Town Trust, said they are looking for a 'measured solution' to the issue.

"What we are objecting to is the fact that they have done this without consultation. That is why we've made the official complaint," he said.

"They have decided to close the archives and they have used the budget to do it in. That isn't right, it should've been a separate consultation exercise."

The Hold in Ipswich, where the archives could be moved (Image: Archant)

Mr Popham said after a meeting on January 26 the trust was told a working party might be set up of officers and stakeholders after a decision had been made on the record office.

He said this failed to address the main concern of the closure of the archive without considering alternatives.

"There is a very great deal of public feeling about this," he said.

"This is one of England's most important historic towns. It's like having your birth or marriage certificate taken from you and having them stored somewhere different." 

The plans will be discussed in a county council meeting on Thursday, February 15 at 2pm. 

Martyn Taylor, chair of the Bury Society, said he took a petition to the council on Monday with 2,500 signatures, some of which were filled out online. 

He said he has since been informed that, due to the online petition not including the name, address or location of each supporter, some of the signatures were discounted, meaning the total reduced to 1,647 signs. 

"Suffolk County Council have ignored the views of a goodly number of people on a technicality – yet another attempt to frustrate local democracy," he said.

"As for John’s sterling work on behalf of the Bury Town Trust and the Bury Society in putting together this maladministration claim (also helping was barrister Alan Murdie) we can only hope that Suffolk County Council will agree to a working Party to try and sort things out. If not then they face the consequences."

On Wednesday, a Suffolk County Council spokesperson said: "We are not able to comment on ongoing complaints."

Previously, councillor Bobby Bennett, former cabinet member for equality and communities, said: "The current West Suffolk Archives branch in Bury St Edmunds requires significant investment in order to protect its historic records and meet modern archive standards.

Cllr Bobby Bennett (Image: Suffolk County Council)

"The building is constrained by its listed status, poor layout, lack of parking space and poor disabled access. Remaining at its current location would require investment of more than £5 million.

"The purpose-built strongrooms at The Hold offer the best protection and care for Suffolk’s collections of national and international significance, spanning more than 900 years of Suffolk’s history," she added.