25/07/2011

Issued by City of York Council

City of York Council's plans to revitalise York's world-class city archives have received initial support and development funding totalling £107,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The ‘Gateway to History' project will revamp the first floor of York Explore Library Learning Centre into a purpose-designed home for the city's archives and local history collection - with an entire new floor on the east wing to house the archives themselves.

The timing of the decision is also a boost to York's plans to mark its 800th anniversary as a self-governing city in 2012.

Cllr Sonja Crisp, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Social Inclusion, said: "York has the most important city archive outside London. It's a living archive that tells the story of how local democracy has developed over 800 years and so this grant is particularly welcome as we approach the year when we will be celebrating receiving the Charter that made the city archive possible. This project will safeguard it for the future so that it continues to represent all our citizens for all time."

Fiona Spiers, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund for Yorkshire and the Humber, said:
"These special archives tell the story of York and the people who have lived and worked in the city, shaping it into what it is today. We are pleased to give this project initial support and look forward to working with City of York Council as plans progress."

Kersten England, Chief Executive of City of York Council, said: "The HLF support is a big step towards realising our vision that the archives should be accessible to everyone, and it's a vote of confidence in our ability to deliver this project. There's still a lot of work to do, but this is a really good start."

"You can't underestimate the historical importance of York's city archive" said Richard Taylor, City of York Council's Archives Manager. "It belongs to all York's citizens, but relatively few people know it exists or how to use it to answer their questions. It's a national treasure that we should be showing off to all our visitors."

The lottery grant will pay for the detailed planning work required by the HLF so that they can make a final decision in March 2012 whether to award the project the £1.2m needed to make it a reality. The planning work will include a series of workshops for York residents to tell the project team how they would like the new archive to work for them.

The project has an email address for comments, suggestions and feedback - gatewaytohistory@york.gov.uk
(ENDS)