Labour’s County Councillor for Gunton, Keith Patience has helped secure a reprieve for the Records Office in Lowestoft after Suffolk County Council had threatened to close the offices and replace them with an unmanned access point.
Cllr Patience and his Waveney District Council colleague, Cllr Peter Byatt, worked with the Save Our Records Office (SORO) campaign group to put pressure on the County Council to think again about their decision to close the office.
The council had taken the decision without consultation to close the office which was announced in a press release without any warning to the people of Lowestoft.
Cllr Patience said; “We welcome the council’s U-turn. They have listened to the campaigners and have reversed their decision to close the Records Office for now, but we will need to keep an eye out for what the council proposes for the future. We want to keep a fully staffed office with access to all of Suffolk’s heritage here in Lowestoft. We need an appropriate facility for that and Cllr Byatt and I will work for that.”