A BID to secure £4m to build a new history centre to house County Durham’s archives has been unsuccessful.

Durham County Council is trying to get funding to allow it to move its archive from its current home at County Hall, in Aykley Heads, to the grade II listed Mount Oswald Manor, in South Road, Durham.

They hope it would house the archive, as well as historic registration records, environment and archaeology records, local studies collections and the Durham Light Infantry collection.

There are also plans to move the council’s register office to the site, which could also be used for weddings and civil ceremonies.

The council applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund in March, but was unsuccessful due to it being oversubscribed.

They have resubmitted the bid and will find out if has been successful in December.

Councillor Ossie Johnson, cabinet member for tourism, culture, leisure and rural affairs, said: “The proposed history centre would not only enable us to provide the additional space we need to continue collecting, preserving and storing historic documents, it would also give us an opportunity to bring together a number of collections under one roof – creating a flagship facility where we could offer a wide range of services and activities.”

“This would be a new type of archive where we could use our collections in innovative ways to engage with new audiences.”