I have been requested to pass this following email along to as many family history associated mailing lists and web sites as possible.
If you can take a few minutes to fill in the questionnaire on line it will help the consultation at the end of this month.
Please note:
Give some thought to Question 8
Q17 is your chance to have your say
Section with the questions numbered Q18 through to Q26 are a legal requirement and you do not have to fill it in, you can just skip these questions.
Where your post code is requested, please only fill in the first half - for example, I filled in just IP13 not the second half which identifies the street where I live.
We particularly need those of you living away from Suffolk to help us preserve our Record Office in the county. At the moment most of the replies as pinpointed on a map (using the first half of the processed post coding) shows most replies are only from Suffolk.
Many thanks.
Pat ...New Heritage Organisation for Suffolk Public Consultation
Now the Christmas and New Year festivities are over and the school term is well underway I would like to gently remind you that we are seeking views on the county council’s proposal to deliver Suffolk’s heritage services in partnership with Museum of East Anglian Life (MEAL) and would really appreciate your assistance to help us reach those interested in Suffolk’s history, archives, archaeology, culture and heritage. I apologise for contacting you again if you have already responded yourself and kindly circulated this information within your organisations, but I know that many of you will have been extremely busy over recent weeks and may not have got round to looking at the consultation as yet.
We are keen to capture the views of as many people as possible. The returns received to date from those using the online form have been preliminarily analysed by area postcodes. The majority of these responses have come, not unsurprisingly, from the main centres of population. We would therefore like especially to hear from those living in more remote parts of the county.
The Outline Business Case and initial paper went to Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet and MEAL’s Board in early November and approval was given by both organisations to develop a Full Business Case. The Cabinet paper and Outline Business Case (Agenda Item 8 Appendix) can be viewed from the following page
http://committeeminutes.suffolkcc.gov.uk/meeting.aspx?d=08/11/2011&c=The%20Cabinet Under this proposal, Suffolk County Council’s archaeology and archive services will be delivered by a single organisation created jointly between MEAL and the council. The new organisation would bring together archaeology, archives and museum services and help safeguard them for the future. It would also help in accessing new additional sources of funding, provide greater public access and help increase the rate of digitisation of collections.
We value your views and would encourage you all to comment on the county council’s proposal to deliver Suffolk’s heritage services in partnership with MEAL. You can comment by:
filling out the online survey on the county council website available as a link from
http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/CouncilAndDemocracy/Consultations/ANewHeritageOrganisationForSuffolk.htm The consultation period lasts until 31st January 2012. We hope you will be able to engage in the discussion and welcome any further comments you might have. All responses received during the consultation period, will be analysed and the results used to inform the Full Business Case, which will be presented to Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet and MEAL’s board of directors in spring 2012.
It is hoped that the new organisation could be established in April 2012 with services and staff transferring by September 2012.
In addition to the creation of a new organisation, the county council and MEAL will also investigate if funding would be available to create a main heritage centre for Suffolk’s archives, archaeological finds and artefacts. The centre would have state-of-the-art display facilities, and would provide outreach activities at locations across Suffolk, making access easier for customers.
Thank you for your help it’s greatly appreciated.
With best wishes
Kate Chantry
Suffolk Record Office Manager
Suffolk Record Office, Libraries, Archives and Information
Adult and Community Services
Suffolk County Council
Ipswich Record Office, Gatacre Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2LQ
Tel: 01473 584535
E-mail:
kate.chantry@suffolk.gov.uk www.suffolk.gov.uk www.suffolkheritagedirect.org.uk - one-stop gateway to Suffolk's heritage collections, including Record Office catalogues.
