Archive cuts 'disgraceful'

4.52.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 6th Aug 2008

Liberal Democrats on Gloucestershire County Council have slammed the Tories' cuts to the County archives.

It has now been revealed that the ruling Tories on GCC are cutting opening hours for the county's historic archives, which will see them opening for shorter hours on Thursdays and Saturdays, and closed altogether on Mondays.

This is despite research by the Liberal Democrats, which has shown that the archives are well used on Mondays, and provide a vital service to the county's residents all week long.

When Councillor Jeremy Hilton (LD-Westgate) investigated the archives on a normal Monday lunchtime early 2008, he found dozens of people using the facilities to research a thousand years of the history of their city, their county, and their local area.

Councillor Jeremy Hilton, leader of Gloucestershire County Council Liberal Democrats said: "The only good thing about this is opening on every Saturday. But when we've investigated the archives on Mondays, we've found people busy researching the history of Gloucestershire and their families. Closing the archives earlier on Saturdays and Thursdays, and closing them altogether on Mondays means the archives are now open for several hours less every week. This is disgraceful penny pinching. We will open the archives for 6 days a week if we win the 2009 elections, so people can use this vital resource."