Proposals to progress plans for a £12.8m archive visitor centre, including a bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, have been mooted by Herts County Council.

According to the proposals the facility would include public facilities and archive quality storage and working space – at a cost estimated to be £12.858million over the next three years.

"During the next few years, it will be necessary to plan for and take steps to secure the long-term storage and accommodation needs of Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies," says the county's budget document.

"The service is currently accruing physical archives at a rate of an average of 13 cubic metres per year.

"Current estimates project that there is sufficient space for archive collections for approximately four or five years.

"There are also challenges in maintaining the quality of the current accommodation at County Hall, to ensure it is fit for the purpose of storing of archive materials to required standards and delivering modern archive services.

"In 2018, a feasibility study took place to specify the requirement of a new building, including investigating recently developed archive storage buildings nationally.

"This year, work has progressed on identifying a suitable site for a new visitor centre and storage facility to enable cost estimates and early discussions with the National Lottery Heritage Fund on potential match funding.

"Identifying a site has proved challenging due to availability and cost of sites that are also publicly accessible, but a potential site has now been identified for further investigation."

The budget setting process at the county council will continue for the next five weeks – with a meeting of the full council set to consider the proposals on February 23.