RULING councillors were urged to make history by developing York's city archives into a first-class resource.

Andrea Dudding, Unison representative for the archives staff, said such a decision would be similar to the Victorians' move to protect the city's Bar Walls.

She told a meeting of City of York Council's executive: "This is a chance to make history on a par with the decision of Victorian councillors to restore and maintain the city's walls."

But council leader Steve Galloway said financial restraints limited what the council could do.

He said: "I cannot speak from personal experience as to what councillors in Victorian times faced in terms of restrictions, but I think it's unlikely that they had to face the restrictions from central Government that we face these days."

As reported in The Press last week, all three viable bids to look after the archives were too costly for the council to pursue.

Officers have now been asked to re-examine the specification for the archives service and report back with options for continuing to provide a quality and affordable archives service.

They will also reappraise any opportunities to continue providing the service in-house or with alternative York partners.

Keith Orrell, executive member for leisure, said it was "disappointing" the council had not been able to reach a partnership for the archives.

He said: "The material in the city archives is extremely important and it's part of an important collection across the city, including the Minster and the National Rail Museum as well."

He said the fact the Minster and University of York had got lottery funding meant it was harder to envisage the city also getting such money.

Charlie Croft, the council's assistant director of lifelong learning and culture, said: "I think we can certainly examine options in a more wide- ranging way, before bringing back to you a way forward."

He said that would take several months.

Ms Dudding said the archives had proved hugely popular during the recent Residents First weekend. She said the current service offered fantastic value for money, but required further investment.

She praised the council for handling the tendering and consultation process openly and transparently. She said staff had responded by looking at the whole service they offer.