New photos have revealed progress inside Buckinghamshire Archives new building in High Wycombe.

The images, shared by service, offer a glimpse inside the Denmark Street development, which is set to become the new home of the records as well as Buckinghamshire Council’s new offices in the town.

Buckinghamshire Archives said the work was “looking good” despite still being under construction.

The authority currently keeps the county’s treasure trove of maps, photographs, electoral registers and other records in cramped storage space at its Walton Street offices in Aylesbury.

Councillor John Chilver previously stated that the archives needed rehousing because the current arrangements were “inadequate and unsuitable” and the council was “in danger” of losing its National Archives accreditation.

Buckinghamshire Council said the move would provide “significantly” better facilities for the archives, customers and staff.

No closing date had yet been confirmed for the Aylesbury site; however, the council said it will close at some point this year for six months.

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This will allow the team to carry out the “complex preparations” needed to move the archive. Once the move has taken place it will re-open in Wycombe.

The councils archive catalogue contains over 250,000 entries detailing the history of Buckinghamshire, as well as 20,000 historic photographs of the county.  The oldest document in the collection dates from 1155.

As part of the archives move, Buckinghamshire Council’s current offices on Queen Victoria Road will relocate to the Denmark Street site.

It comes as Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust purchased the council’s current office building, in Queen Victoria Road in town centre, from the authority.

The trust said it was aiming to create a neighbourhood hub and wanted to bring more services under one roof.

The decision to sell the offices on Queen Victoria Road sparked controversy in the town, with some councillors and residents arguing that part of High Wycombe’s history was being sold off.

However, the announcement of the sale to the Trust had largely been welcomed.

Robert Carington, the council’s cabinet member for resources, said work at Denmark Street in High Wycombe, the site of the council’s new offices in the town, was “starting to take shape”.

Cllr Carington said visited the site alongside Councillor Brazier last month to assess progress on the project, which is being delivered by Willmott Dixon.

He said the installation of windows had “made a real difference”, adding that the building was now “flooded with light”.

Internal partitions have also now been installed, with Cllr Carington saying the scheme remains on schedule despite the challenges often associated with large construction projects.