Opposition is growing against Bangor University’s proposed cuts to its Archives and Special Collections department, which could see staffing cut by 75%, leaving just one part-time employee to manage one of Wales’s most important heritage resources.

46 Gwynedd county councillors have now added their voices to the growing protest, signing a joint letter to the Vice-Chancellor condemning the proposed reduction in staffing as “an assault on Gwynedd’s heritage” and a blow to “a significant part of our nation’s Welsh-language heritage.”

The letter from the councillors states: “We, the Gwynedd county councillors named below, are thoroughly dismayed at Bangor University’s proposed cuts to the Archives and Special Collections service, a move that would result in a 75% reduction in the Archives’ staff.

The proposed cuts are an assault on Gwynedd’s heritage, on a significant part of our nation’s Welsh-language heritage and on an organic Welsh-speaking workplace that has served Gwynedd’s local historians for decades.

By virtue of its history and location, the University has a moral responsibility to respect and value the part of our local heritage entrusted to its care. Therefore, we call on you to reconsider, to realise the extent of your error, and to shield this important service from any impending cuts.”

The university’s plan would reduce the Archives and Special Collections team from four positions to just one part-time role, tasked with overseeing the special collections, the entire institutional archive, and a significant library of rare books and manuscripts. Archivists warn that this move poses a “sudden, unprecedented threat to access to heritage” and would result in the loss of decades of accumulated specialist knowledge.

The department is currently in a month-long consultation process, part of wider cost-saving efforts that may see 78 full-time equivalent roles cut across the university. However, critics argue that targeting the archives for such deep cuts is “completely disproportionate”, given the department’s central role in preserving and enabling access to Welsh and global history.

Bangor’s archives contain a wealth of historically significant material, not only relating to the university itself but including estate papers, literary collections, and rare Welsh-language manuscripts from across Wales. Daniel Huws, former Keeper of Records at the National Library of Wales, has called Bangor’s holdings “among the most distinguished in a university anywhere in Britain.”

“It is difficult to imagine what kind of service the University will be able to offer with just one part-time member of staff,” archivists said in a public statement. “There is no doubt that access to our collections will be affected significantly.”

Campaigners stress that this fight is about more than staffing numbers—it’s about protecting public access to generations of Welsh culture, language, and scholarship.

“This is not just about a few jobs,” said one supporter. “It’s about the future of access to Welsh history, the preservation of unique documents, and the continuation of a vital Welsh-speaking academic environment.”

A Change.org petition launched by research and digitisation assistant Alex Ioannou has already attracted over 2,500 signatures, a clear signal of public objection. The petition, titled “Save Your Archive / Achubwch Eich Archifdy”, urges the university to reconsider the drastic cuts and recognise the irreplaceable cultural and academic value of the archives. Supporters are being urged to sign the petition and share personal stories of how the archives have supported their research, family history, or community heritage.

Supporters can sign the petition here: Save Your Archive / Achubwch Eich Archifdy

Letters of concern can also be sent directly to the university at: communications@bangor.ac.uk