First turf cut for Highland Archive and Registration Centre.
A turf cutting ceremony was held today (Monday 17th December) at the Bught, Inverness to mark the award of a construction contract for The Highland Council’s £10.5 million Highland Archive and Registration Centre which will enable the Highlands to showcase archives that are of world significance in a state of the art building.
The new centre is a Highland 2007 legacy project and will open to the public during Scotland’s Year of Homecoming in 2009. The centre will form the ‘hub’ in The Highland Council’s hub and spokes strategy for the provision of its Archive Service. Smaller area archive centres have been developed as the spokes in Caithness and Lochaber with a Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centre planned for 2008.
The Council’s Registration service will relocate nine staff from Moray House to the new centre at the Bught. The new ceremony suite will accommodate large or small numbers for both marriage ceremonies and civil partnerships. Having purpose built office accommodation designed to meet the needs of customers is a fantastic step forward. The new facility will also provide better ancestry research facilities.
At a ceremony held in the Bught, Inverness on a site adjacent to the all-weather pitch, and Floral Hall, The Highland Council’s Convener, Councillor Sandy Park cut the first turfs today for the construction of the Highland Archive and Registration Centre.
The Heritage Lottery Fund provided £4.3 million towards the Centre and the balance of the £10.5 million project has been met from The Highland Council through the Highland 2007 legacy capital funding programme.
The construction contract has been awarded to Morrison Construction with Heery International as the Council’s Project Manager for the development. Design of the new centre is by LDN Architects, based in Forres in partnership with Ove Arup & Partners, AF Cruden Associates, and Torrance Partnership.
Convener of The Highland Council Councillor Sandy Park said: “This new Highland Archive and Registration Centre is crucial to the development of the Council’s archive service throughout the Highlands and will allow for the return of archives to the Highlands currently held in Edinburgh.
“With the co-location of the Registrar of Births, Marriages, Civil Partnership and Deaths and a dedicated Family History Centre in the building available for members of the public this will prove an invaluable resource to genealogy tourism in Scotland’s Year of Homecoming 2009 and beyond.”
Colin McLean, Heritage Lottery Fund’s Manager for Scotland, said: “Today we are seeing an extremely exciting milestone in the cultural development of the Highlands. The Highland Archive and Registration Centre is a very necessary project if we are to save the fascinating material that exists in the region. Through these records we can actually touch the past while learning, in the words of our ancestors, how the Highlands have changed over hundreds of years. It is certain to become a hub for Scots descendants across the world as they search out their roots.
“It is extremely appropriate that the project starts as Highland 2007 draws to a close. It shows that although this special celebratory year may be coming to an end, its legacy continues to showcase to the world, the rich cultural heritage of the Highlands.”
Fiona Hampton, director of Highland 2007, added: “As the Highland 2007 celebrations draw to a close it is great to see work begin on the Highland Archive and Registration Centre. We’re delighted the capital investment that accompanied the many hundreds of events in the Highland 2007 programme will provide positive reminders of this special year and bring benefits to people in the Highlands for years to come.”
Donald McLachlan, regional director of Morrison Construction, said: “We are pleased to have been entrusted with this prestigious contract and extend our successful relationship with the Highland Council.”
Tom Duff, LDN partner and design team leader said: “LDN Architects and the design team were delighted to be entrusted by The Highland Council with the design of this prestigious project, which will provide first class facilities for the Highland Archive and Registration Service, and are looking forward to working with the Council and Morrison Construction to ensure the design is successfully implemented.”
Environmentally controlled repositories in the new Highland Archive and Registration Centre will provide secure accommodation under the correct conditions for the storage of parchment, paper and records in other formats.
Search room facilities for public access to the archives will be provided, including specific provision for schools and community groups which has been enhanced in the design of the Highland Archive by providing a dedicated education and exhibition space. A dedicated Family History Centre within the building will be available for members of the public wishing to trace their ancestry.
An Archive Conservation Unit will be included in the new building, staffed by trained archive conservators, where archives in a fragile condition may be treated and preserved for the benefit of future generations. This will be the first time such a facility has been available in the north of Scotland.
The Council’s Registration Service will be co-located in the new centre, thus bringing together resources for family history research currently provided by the Council’s Archives and Registration services at separate locations within Inverness. This will mirror the development of the Family History Campus being set up in Edinburgh by the National Archives of Scotland, the General Register Office for Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon.
The establishment of the Highland Archive and Registration Centre will enable certain classes of documents such as the Kirk Session records for the Highlands, to be returned to the Highlands from Edinburgh. This has not been possible previously, because the premises occupied by the Highland Archive Service, both for storage and public access, did not meet the standards required by the Keeper of the Records of Scotland.
Notes to editors:
1. The Heritage Lottery Fund enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. From our great museums and historic buildings to local parks and beauty spots or recording and celebrating traditions, customs and history, Heritage Lottery Fund grants open up our nation’s heritage for everyone to enjoy.
2. Highland 2007, the year Scotland celebrates Highland culture, aims to promote the Highlands and Islands as a great place to live and to visit through showcasing the unique and special nature of Highland culture past, present and future. The project is a partnership between three principal funding agencies: The Highland Council, the Scottish Government, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. See http://www.highland2007.com/ for full details.
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