General Record Office Northern Ireland to move premises

At the PRONI stakeholder forum meeting yesterday, Alison McQueen from the General Register Office of Northern Ireland (http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/general-register-office-for-northern-ireland) informed us that GRONI will be relocating from its current premises at Chichester Street, Belfast, to Colby House on the Stranmillis Road later this year. There will be a search room at the new facility which will have a similar capacity to the current set up available. There will apparently be visitor parking, although it was emphasised that this is not for GRONI alone, but for all agencies at Colby House.

Amongst other developments, the organisation currently does not have a registrar general, with Dr. Tracy Power handling the role in a temporary capacity at present. Interviews are currently being held for a permanent replacement.

A new fees order is also due to be discussed on April 5th. The cost of birth, marriage and death certificates are not going to go up in price, and it looks like a search fee in the main search room may be dispensed with, although other costs may be revised if the debate goes ahead at the Northern Irish Assembly as planned.

Finally, GRONI (along with PRONI) will not be attending Who Do You Think You Are? Live this year in Birmingham.

(With thanks to Alison McQueen)

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.