Taking the 2011 CIPFA statistics, and dividing total revenue spend by holdings (RM and archives), the average UK cost appears to be about £8.20/box, assuming a 'standard archive box' to have a capacity of around 15 litres.
As Aidan says, treat that figure with extreme caution: in addition to the 'real' variables he quotes, costs can often vary due to things like the way in which a council accounts for central recharges, or income from other councils for joint services etc.
Above all, note that 'storage' is only a small proportion of this cost. I would guess that for most services, staff will be the biggest single area of cost, and that over half of staff time will be spent on various public-facing (and internal administration) activities only tenuously linked to size of holdings. If you were, for example, looking at renting out space for storage with limited servicing only, the above figure would be far too high.
Kevin Mulley
Research & Strategy Manager
Archives Sector Development
The National Archives
Kew
Richmond
Surrey TW9 4DU
Tel +44 (0)20 8392 5330 x2635
Fax +44 (0)20 8392 1970
Websites: <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk>
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