A VEIL of secrecy has been drawn over the financial implications of controversial changes to York's archive service.

City of York Council's executive is being urged next week to press on with plans to rehouse the treasured city archives, currently based next to York Art Gallery in Exhibition Square, and to enter into a partnership with other organisations.

But a report to the executive, outlining the financial implications, is being kept confidential "due to the financial details of sensitive negotiations which it contains".

The decision to keep such details secret has been blasted by archive users.

"It's quite outrageous," said one, Philip Crowe. "It's a matter for public debate how public funding is being used. I am interested to know how hundreds of thousands of pounds are going to be spent in the long-term."

Local historian Eileen White, a member of the Friends of York City Archives, who regularly uses the service and opposes the changes, said there would be a cost to the city, but these costs were being kept secret.

The decision comes as the council's confidentiality and transparency scrutiny panel said in a report today that the use of confidentiality in council reports has been significantly reduced - although "vigilance is required to ensure that information continues to be publicly available".

Panel chairman Coun David Wilde said today he would look into the reasons for the archives report being kept confidential, saying he always had concerns when this happened. He said: "There's a tradition for officers to keep things under their hats until matters are sorted out, and the public can be told afterwards."

But Charlie Croft, the council's assistant director for Lifelong Learning and Leisure, said it was "standard practice" to keep financial information confidential, prior to a tendering process or financial discussions taking place with another organisation.

"This is to protect the council's negotiating position," he said.

"The report is simply asking members' approval for a vision for the archives.

"Further reports will be brought to the council if the executive agrees to proposals to pursue a partnership approach and financial information will be made public once any tendering process is complete and before any final decision is taken."

The report says the archives, which chronicle the life and times of the city from the mediaeval period to present day, hold one of the most important collections in the country, known internationally because of the richness of its medieval material.

An investigation had found that the current accommodation provided poor storage conditions and space, low staffing levels, inadequate documentation and a lack of virtual access, and a purpose-built facility should be created.

The Friends of York City Archives have been fighting a long battle against proposals to move the archives to the University of York, saying the documents should stay in the city centre where they feel they are more accessible to the public.

Updated: 09:32 Thursday, January 12, 2006