A Lichfield author has warned against plans to close the city’s Record Office.

Staffordshire County Council has launched a consultation over the future of the region’s archives.

Under the proposals, the documents at Lichfield Record Office could transfer to an extended site at Stafford.

But Annette Rubery – author of Lichfield Then & Now – has said the Record Office is a vital part of the city.

“I myself have often relied, not just on Lichfield Record Office, but the brilliant local knowledge of its staff,” she wrote on her blog.

“I was working full-time in Coventry when I wrote Lichfield Then & Now, and it was only thanks to extra-early opening hours once a month on Saturdays at Lichfield Record Office that I was able to access the collection at all.

“With the best will in the world, not everything can be made available digitally. If the originals move to Stafford, I’m looking at a three-hour round trip by bus, which pretty much puts an end to any plans to use the archive in the future.

“Unsurprisingly, for an historic place like Lichfield, there are many other keen historians who want to make good use of our records and to publicise Lichfield’s heritage. Moving documents away will kill much of this activity.”

Staffordshire County Council’s consultation runs until January 31 and can be completed online.

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.