HARC and the museum sites have been closed in line with regulations enforcing the national lockdown in England.

Under the government’s proposed roadmap for moving out of Covid-19 restrictions, guidance for Step 2 activity for Reopening businesses and venues states that at this stage,

‘Public buildings, such as community halls and centres, and libraries, can reopen’.

The government has confirmed that proposed changes for step 2 can take place from 12 April and a link to the current guidance is below

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reopening-businesses-and-venues-in-england/reopening-businesses-and-venues#step-2---no-earlier-than-12-april

Confirmation has been received from the Department For Culture, Media and Sport that Archive search rooms can reopen from 12 April for public access with some initial restrictions. All sessions must be pre-booked, numbers on site should be managed, all items handled by the public should be quarantined for 72 hours after use and appropriate risk assessments should be in place.

Covid-19 secure certification for the delivery of the service in this manner is in place as is an appropriate system for test & trace.

Initially, from 12 April, HARC will operate on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 10.00 and 15.30. These hours will be reviewed with a view to extending them as the national relaxation of restrictions develops.