A warehouse has been bought by North Herts Council to replace its "failing" museum store in Hitchin.

Buying and kitting out the warehouse is expected to cost £2.5m, but should help safeguard the future of North Herts Museum's collections and allow more access to visitors.

Since the 1990s, most of the museum's vast collection has been held at a store in Hitchin's Burymead Road, which was initially seen as a temporary solution. Cllr Daniel Allen, the leader of the council, has said that the site is now "failing".

Back in March, the council said it was set to purchase Unit 1 at City Business Park in Letchworth to provide a new home for more than one million artefacts – and that purchase has now gone through.

Items held by the museum include the world's oldest football collection, records of the area's chalk streams, and Roman bones which have contributed to medical science and population studies.

The council's executive member for enterprise, Cllr Tamsin Thomas, said the existing storage is "not suitable" and leaves the museum's collection "at risk".

She said the new facility would mean that the council could keep its accreditation – allowing it to apply for grants – and store items at "a stable temperature and in a suitable environment all year round".

Cllr Thomas added that the new facility would be able to host visitors, including schoolchildren, to help "unlock the district's treasures".

Ros Allwood, head of the museum service, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that she is "thrilled beyond belief" that the new facility is going ahead.

She said current storage issues mean she has had to "turn people and groups away" when they wanted to visit, but that the new unit will mean "at last" they can welcome visits from people who want to see items not on display in public galleries.

"I can't tell you how exciting it is. We just feel so fortunate – it is just brilliant that North Herts is doing this.

"We have fantastic collections and they deserve to be better housed."

Artefacts found at the store include archaeological finds from excavations in North Herts, as well as more recent archives of local newspapers and photography negatives.

The council's project to find a new home for the museum's artefacts has come in well under the £4m budget originally identified.

Cllr Ian Albert, executive member for resources, said the new facility would improve "accessibility" to the benefit of residents, staff and researchers. 

He said: "We are the custodian of the things that many people have given us.

"Having them in an appropriate place, with proper temperatures, is going to be such an advantage, and I'm really looking forward to being able to deliver this project that has been on our radar for a long time now."