East Sussex Record Office Report of the County Archivist April 2008 to March 2009 Introduction
eastsussex.gov.uk East Sussex Record Office Report of the County Archivist April 2008 to March 2009 Introduction The year was again dominated by efforts towards achieving The Keep, the new Historical Resource Centre, but the core work of the Record Office continued more busily than ever and there was much of which to be proud. In July 2008 we took in our ten-thousandth accession, something of a milestone in the office’s own history of almost 60 years. An application to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for £4.9million towards the costs of The Keep was submitted by the Record Office on behalf of the capital partners, East Sussex County Council, Brighton & Hove City Council and the University of Sussex, in September. This represented around 20% of the anticipated costs of the building, since the partners remain committed to find the remainder. In December we learned our fate: that we had been unsuccessful. Feedback from the HLF indicated that ours had been an exemplary application, and one which they would have liked to have supported but, in a year when the effect of diverting HLF money to the Olympics was being felt, it was thought necessary to give precedence to some very high-profile projects. We were, of course, disappointed, but determined not to be deterred, and the partners agreed to pursue ways forward within the existing funding. Because it would further hold up the project, adding to inflation costs, but give no guarantee of success, we decided not to re-apply to the HLF, and by the end of the financial year were beginning to look at options for a less expensive building.
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