WRITE in response to the seemingly endless negative letters concerning the proposed moving of the city archive. A touch of mature reflection and a bit of common sense is called for.

Let's look at a few of the advantages of moving it to Heslington...

- Access for residents will be free.

- There will be full access for the council, its partners and customers.

- Ownership of the collections stays with the depositors, and there will be a joint board to ensure customers have a say in how things operate.

- Access to the city's collections will be greatly improved, with longer opening hours, and even greater IT provision for "virtual" access.

Think also of the serious problems at the City Archive and the Borthwick right now. We could solve them in one go, and make the Borthwick material available for exhibitions.

It would also be cheaper overall.

I do not agree that moving it to Heslington is taking it "out of York" - residents of Heslington belong to the York community. There are regular bus services to and from Heslington. In fact, if you are disabled, it will be more accessible, disabled facilities at the moment are terrible.

The move makes sense. Please support the idea.

Paul Blanchard,

Norman Court, Grape Lane, York.

Updated: 10:59 Wednesday, May 08, 2002