QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT HISTORY CENTRE MOVE
The Keep has not attracted lottery funding, so the building will be smaller than originally planned and the important public areas will be reduced. The Keep is not as accessible as the History Centre in Brighton Museum.
Plans for the Keep have been drawn up, a planning application will be submitted in the summer, but is Woollards Field near Falmer the right site? It is at least 20 minutes walk from Falmer station.
Woollards Field is owned by Brighton & Hove Council and has presumably been donated as its contribution to the cost of the Keep. The building is due to start in 2011, but will probably not be completed, fitted out and dried out until 2015 or even later.
The Council’s own website describes the History Centre as “the place to come to research any aspect of the City’s heritage.” It houses reference materials such as newspapers, electoral roles, a complete set of street directories, public health reports, photographs, unpublished works including university theses, census returns etc.
It is invaluable as a resource for people researching both local and family history.
Many people joined the campaign to save the History Centre by writing to Councillor Smith cabinet member for culture, their local councillor, the Argus, and signing–along with almost 1,200 people– the e-petition. It was a concerted effort on the part of many organisations, and individuals.
Should we now run a campaign to keep the History Centre at Brighton Museum?
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