FEARS have been voiced over plans to cut the county’s budget for history and heritage services by 45 per cent.

Historians claim people will find it more difficult to dig into their past when the Oxfordshire Studies Centre and the Oxfordshire Records Office are merged next year as part of plans to halve spending from £769,000 to £418,000 over the next five years.

About 24,000 people currently visit Oxfordshire Studies every year to delve into their family history or research newspapers dating back to 1643. A further 5,000 using the records office to look at council minutes or census records.

The county council plans to shed eight jobs as part of the merger which will see the studies centre at Oxford Central Library in the Westgate Centre closed in mid-February and reopened at the records office in St Luke’s Church, Cowley in May.

Chris Hall, chairman of Oxfordshire’s Local History Association which represents about 4,300 historians, criticised the move to put services away the city centre and its rail and bus connections.

He said: “It’s going to make it very much more difficult to research our history.

“This county council does not give a damn about the history of Oxfordshire. They are interested in rolling back public services.”

The records office in Temple Road is currently closed for 15 weeks so building work can take place at St Luke’s to expand the site. It will reopen in March.

Council spokesman Marcus Mabberley said the merged centre would allow the services to be open for 40 hours a week compared to 32 at present.

He said: “Combining Oxfordshire Studies and the Oxfordshire Records Office at St Luke’s allows for efficiencies to be made while retaining the services.

“Consultation with local and family history societies has shown very strong support for the merger.

“Public access will be managed in one public search room.”