PLANS to create a family history and discovery centre can proceed after councillors agreed to the transfer of a piece of public land.

North Yorkshire County Council is behind the plans for the centre, at Harrogate Library, on Victoria Avenue.

It would house research material including census, births, marriages and deaths records and parish registers.

Help will be available to people carrying out research. There will also be access to online databases, training and exhibitions.

The centre will be aimed particularly at helping people trace their North Yorkshire ancestors, but many of the resources will have national and international coverage.

Members of Harrogate Borough Council's cabinet have agreed the transfer of a small piece of public land next to the Rose Gardens to the county council to help with the expansion plan. The land houses an air quality monitoring station, an electricity sub-station and public toilets.

Replacement toilets will be built inside the centre and the other facilities will be moved elsewhere.

Council leader Councillor Mike Gardner said: "This is a very exciting development for the county and for Harrogate.

"There is ever increasing interest in our family history, but it is under-exploited in the area.

"The county council holds a huge archive and local studies material and for it to be housed in Harrogate in this prestigious new building is a coup for the town and the district and, indeed, the whole region.

"It adds a new dimension to what we have to offer local people and also to tourists."

Plans for the development are on display at Harrogate Library.