SIR – I write with great concern about the effects of the Worcestershire County Council’s intended cut of £250,000 in the funding of the Hive Archive and Archaeological Services.
Before I retired I was director of postgraduate research at what was then University College Worcester and I established the doctoral degree programme at what is now the University of Worcester.
This programme has flourished and there are now a large number of people who gained their doctorates at the university.
Unfortunately if the county council proceeds to cut the budget for these Hive services a substantial number of research projects undertaken by students at the university will be impossible.
This would be singularly unfortunate because this would reduce the quality of courses that the university can offer, making it less attractive to students in the future.
The university matters to the life and economy of Worcestershire. It has provided a unique and incredible joint University Library – the Hive – the only library of its type in the world.
It is surely incumbent on the council to be wary of damaging an institution that they jointly funded with the university; an institution that is now of huge importance to the well-being of the city and county.
DR FRANK CROMPTON Rushwick
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