GAZETTE & HERALD: A MULTI-MILLION pound county record office for Wiltshire will be built in Chippenham after plans were passed without a hitch last week.

The long-running saga finally came to an end as North Wiltshire District Council gave the landmark application the green light, surprisingly with no debate.

It will mean the record office moving from its current home in Trowbridge to the cattle market site on Cocklebury Road.

The £11.6 million project will be the first step in a major redevelopment of the livestock market site.

Owner of the site, North Wiltshire District Council, is now drawing up a list of developers interested in buying it for housing.

Five letters were sent to the council objecting about plans for the record office.

They highlighted traffic, poor accessibility and proximity to power lines as concerns.

Campaigner Andy Milroy voiced his worry over the lack of a traffic impact study.

"Cocklebury Road is already unsuitable for traffic to the 1,000 Monkton Park homes, Wiltshire College and the station," he said. "This will just add to the problems."

The new record office building will not only include a state of the art facility for the county's records but also the five other key heritage services - the local studies library, the archaeology service, Wiltshire buildings record, museum service and the conservation service.

The county council is currently tendering for a main contractor and work is due to start later this year.

Wiltshire County Council chief executive, Keith Robinson, said: "This is good news. The new building will protect Wiltshire and Swindon's unique heritage for years to come by ensuring that the records are stored in the best possible conditions and to nationally recognised standards.

"The facility will also offer a much better and easier to use service for the public, schools, colleges, and people researching their family history, by enabling them to gain access to the full range of heritage services on a single site. I am very much looking forward to work starting on the ground."

Chippenham mayor Ross Henning said it was great news for the town's economy.

"It's another strong mark for a vibrant, emerging Chippenham," he said. "It just goes to show that Chippenham really is on the up.

"It's not just good for us, but for the whole of Wiltshire.

"After long discussions it was decided to move it to Chippenham because of it's transport links with the rest of the country. I think that was the main thing that swayed it. Now the record office is easily available to loads of people."

The scheme will be paid for by Wiltshire County Council, which is stumping up £8.85 million, and Swindon Borough Council, which will provide the remaining £2.75 million.

It is thought the current record office on the County Hall site will be included in the Vision for Trowbridge a redevelopment of the centre of the town.