The attractions to the West Yorkshire Archive Service of centralising the archives from five West Yorkshire districts, including Bradford, at a new headquarters in Leeds are fairly obvious. The present five individual premises are said to be in poor condition and in need of upgrading to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. There are also bound to be cost savings in having a single HQ with all the documents under the one roof.

However, what might well suit the Archive Service from financial and administrative points of view is certainly not in the best interests of Bradford - or, indeed, of any of the other districts apart from Leeds.

The idea of having thousands of key documents relating to this city's history, including the charter which in 1847 granted it the right to a mayor and town council, moved out of Bradford is an appalling one.

Councillor Margaret Eaton is right when she says that the whole point of archives is that they should be accessible. And the place where they are easiest to get at is surely at the heart of the city to which they relate, not a car or bus ride away in a neighbouring city.

The idea is apparently to lodge a £20 million bid with the Lottery Heritage Fund to finance the new centre. Why not, instead, apply for the money to restore and improve the existing individual centres and bring them up to the standards demanded by the Disability Discrimination Act?

This is Bradford's documentary heritage, after all. Any suggestion that it should be moved out of this city must be strongly resisted.