Storage is important for many firms.In fact,organisations of all kinds have to keep hold of certain items.For some, shelving and other such provisions are absolutely crucial because they have so many objects to house.

However, there are few premises that require such provisions more than archive facilities.It is therefore good news that a new building of this kind in the north of England features excellent storage capabilities.The Petteril Bank building in Carlisle represents a transformation from an old Georgian home into a modern glass-fronted facility to house Cumbria’s archives in a temperature and humidity-controlled strong room, the News & Star reports.

As well as having novel shelving, the building has a number of features to help protect its contents. For example, in the event of a fire, inert gas is released instead of water.Meanwhile, photographs and modern media are stored in a cooler strong room that has moving shelving.Archive services manager Anne Rowe remarked: “People can come and study the archives now – it’s a very special area of work. The old area at the castle wasn’t very accessible, so we have moved over three miles of archives here.

“Being able to restore the building was exciting and now the archives are available for anyone who has got an interest in history, whether that be personal or academic.”Also remarking on the new facility, Cumbria County Council’s cabinet member for archives and libraries Gary Strong said: “I’ve been here a few times during the construction and every time I come there’s something new. It’s a special new building with extra storage space – it’s wonderful.”

As well as the local authority, funding was provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund and a total of more than £8 million was put into the project, work on which began in January 2009.