History of North Wales risks being 'buried by unprecedented plan'

NORTH Wales is in danger of losing access to its heritage, worried Bangor University staff have warned. Proposed job cuts will decimate the university's archival department, which oversees a "rare and unique collection" of local documents.

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor

Archivists said anyone wanting to discover more about their family heritage, or dig into the history of their local community, will find it much harder if the cuts go ahead.

Bangor University is planning to cut 78 jobs in a bid to making savings worth £5.3m. It follows “unprecedented” challenges facing the UK's higher education sector with nearly one in four universities slashing staff numbers and cutting budgets.

Archivists were horrified to discover their department will be virtually wiped out. Of the four staff, three posts will disappear, leaving just one part-timer to manage the university's entire archival collection, 92 special collections and library of rare books.

They have warned of a “sudden, unprecedented threat to access to heritage” that will see the loss of “decades worth of knowledge”.