Who do you think you are?

Forget that for now; the first question is where are you going to find out?

Medway council is proposing to move the current Medway Archives and Local Studies Centre, to an all new Family History Centre, where visitors can learn about Medway history and trace their family tree.

The council will consult on a number of proposed sites across Medway, including Strood Library at Bryant Road; Chatham Library/Riverside 4 (former RAFA club); Chatham Historic Dockyard; Medway Council’s Gun Wharf headquarters; the Fineline Building on the Medway City Estate and St Mary’s Church, in Dock Road, Chatham.

In advance of consultation, council officers have already recommended Strood Library, at Bryant Road, as the most desirable and cost effective location as it would mean the archives stay in Strood with no need to purchase a new building.

If built at this site, construction would take place after the current Strood Library at Bryant Road, is moved to a brand new Community Hub Site on Strood High Street early next year.

The family history centre is part of Medway council's five-year cultural strategy, which was set out earlier this week and aims to make the area a more attractive place to live, work, study and visit.

Other schemes in the strategy include restoring Eastgate House; establishing a cultural quarter in Rochester; the Command of the Ocean's Scheme at the Historic Dockyard; improving the Guildhall Museum and providing a Huguenot Heritage Centre.

Cllr Howard Doe, Portfolio Holder for Community Services, said: "Family and local history is a subject that fascinates us all.

"We aim to move the Medway archives and local studies centre to new premises that can really be utilised to allow local people to enjoy this great facility.

"We aim for it to be a destination that is truly there for local people. A place where they can learn about their roots, about Medway itself and to even trace their family tree."