Pictures show current state of new Buckinghamshire Archives site ahead of Aylesbury move

During a visit to the building, the LDRS saw workers fitting out the future archives room, with metal tracks laid across its large open floor beneath exposed ventilation ducts.

In the future mayor’s parlour, the walls were up while work on the ceiling continued. Council leader Steven Broadbent said he believed the project was on track. The council has said the new offices and archives are due to open in spring 2027.

The scheme will bring Buckinghamshire Archives from Aylesbury to High Wycombe and move council offices and the public access point from its Queen Victoria Road offices.

The authority currently keeps the county’s treasure trove of maps, photographs, electoral registers and other records in cramped storage space at its Walton Street offices in Aylesbury.

Councillor John Chilver previously stated that the archives needed rehousing because the current arrangements were “inadequate and unsuitable” and the council was “in danger” of losing its National Archives accreditation.

The council’s archive catalogue contains over 250,000 entries detailing the history of Buckinghamshire, as well as 20,000 historic photographs of the county. The oldest document in the collection dates from 1155.

Cllr Broadbent described bringing the archives to the town as one of the project’s most exciting aspects.

“Wycombe should be proud to have that,” he said. He added that the new premises would provide better conditions for displaying and caring for records, some of which need temperature-controlled storage.

The council says the archives will occupy part of the first floor, with a new public entrance on Denmark Street. The move is linked to the sale of the council’s Queen Victoria Road offices, which it sold to Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust for £5.1 million.

The decision to sell the offices on Queen Victoria Road sparked controversy in the town, with some councillors and residents arguing that part of High Wycombe’s history was being sold off.

However, the announcement of the sale to the trust had largely been welcomed. Cllr Broadbent said discussions with the NHS about the timing were ongoing. The council access point will move to Denmark Street, and the NHS is developing its plans for the Queen Victoria Road site.

The Trust has said it is aiming to create a neighbourhood hub at the former offices and wanted to bring more services under one roof.

Future plans for the site are subject to planning permission, but the trust has said it will keep the 1930s building’s historic façade.