ACCESS to public archives in East Lothian has been further reduced.

A key driver in the creation of the John Gray Centre in Haddington was the creation of an archives and local history department, but that department will now only be open three days a week to the public.

The library and museum at the Centre will continue to be open seven days a week between April and September.

The local authority told the Courier the decision to cut the opening hours was down to “footfall”; however, it has come under fire for not doing enough to promote the service.

Councillor Stuart Currie, SNP opposition leader on East Lothian Council, accused the council of failing to support the centre.

He said: “This is a public facility which was publicly funded. You cannot always blame the public for not using services. You have to promote them.

“Every time there is a change to library services or archives it is cutting hours. They cut the hours, then say fewer people are using the service, so they cut further until they say no one is using it and close it.

“But the reality is the fewer hours a service is available, the fewer people use it. The John Gray Centre has fantastic archives which we fought to have transferred there; it is a disgrace that the only solution the council can offer to its lack of use is reducing hours.

“It needs to be supported better.”

The John Gray Centre opened in 2012 and was jointly funded by East Lothian Council, Historic Scotland and a £1.4 million Heritage Lottery grant.

It was stated that the centre, which brings together Haddington Library, its museum and the archives and local history department, was created “with the main aim of inspiring the people of East Lothian to explore and engage with the history of their communities, environment and families”.

Work was undertaken to negotiate with the National Archives of Scotland to have material relating to East Lothian returned to the local archives facility to bring it closer to the people.

When the centre opened, the archives were open to the public for more than 34 hours a week, including Saturday mornings.

Now the archives are closed at the weekend and on Wednesdays and Thursdays, taking the section’s opening hours down to 9.30am to 5pm on Mondays and Fridays, and 9.30am to 7pm on Tuesdays.

A spokesperson for East Lothian Council said reduced visitor numbers to the archives was a factor.

She added: “In common with other council services, the Archive and Local History section within the John Gray Centre is subject to review, taking into account available resources and customer requirements.

“The section was only open to the public for a few hours on Thursdays as staff provide targeted programmes for schools and other activities on that day, so Thursday closure was identified as being the least disruptive for visitors.

“The service is still available for 24.5 hours a week for visitors and, increasingly, we are helping to support more active remote research via online resources.”

The Archives aim to “to inform, delight and engage” and it is the responsibility of the John Gray Centre to “collect, care for and make accessible the historical records of the county”, some which date back 700 years.

The Local History Centre also has an extensive collection of books, documents and maps and can assist with genealogy and local history enquiries.