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Wanted: Local news stories for local news media

ended 10. August 2025

Newspage is now working closely with all three major regional news publishers - Newsquest, National World and Reach. They're keen for us to provide them with a steady flow of stories with a local flavour for every town and city in the UK, so please send across anything you think your local newspaper or news website needs to cover — something that will resonate with the local community. It could range from a rant about a poor Council decision, a fundraising initiative and new office/shop opening, to a trend you're seeing in your area, a special deal you're running for local customers/clients or some timely professional advice to locals. You and your business or charity will clearly be namechecked in return. Sample topics below. 

  • Are you fed up with, or has your business or charity been impacted by, a poor council or Local Authority decision?
  • What SHOULD your MP be doing but isn't?
  • Are you currently fundraising for a local charity or good cause?
  • Are you running or sponsoring an event that the community should know about?
  • Has your business or charity (and perhaps others in your area) been impacted by Labour’s economic and fiscal policies? If so, how?
  • Seeing a trend in your area? For example, you might be an accountant and are seeing more local businesses struggle with cash flow? Or perhaps you're an estate agent/broker and are seeing more demand for property?
  • Have you opened a new shop, office or branch - and are perhaps looking to hire?
  • Or perhaps you’ve shut one because the high street is a ghost town (due to council or government decisions)?
  • Are you offering a summer special deal for clients or customers? Anything that might positively impact the community?
  • Is there someone in your community that you think needs to be publicly praised for what they do?
  • Has quality of life in your local community improved or got worse since the year 2000? The stronger the views, the better.
  • Spend a crazy amount of money in a local cafe or restaurant because it’s so good? If so, name it and tell us all about it.

We’ll leave this alert open until next Sunday then rinse and repeat.

6 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Tony Redondo
Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange
Council Tax Hikes Spark Outrage: Cornwall Branded a "Rip-Off Nightmare"
Cornwall Council’s likely council tax hikes have drawn sharp criticism from residents and businesses, with the council leader admitting, “We can’t continue to do this forever.” Local businesses, already grappling with high operational costs, argue that these increases are making Cornwall unaffordable, impacting both residents and tourism-driven enterprises. Cornwall’s council tax rose 4.99% for 2025/26. A 100% second homes premium started in April 2025. Nationally, 91% of councils raised taxes by 4.99% with Birmingham raising by 9.99%. Cornwall’s hike is typical, but high parish precepts (up to 115%!) and a tourism-driven, low-wage economy amplify the impact. Rural challenges and second-home policies set it apart from urban areas. Cornwall’s council tax hikes are driven by financial pressures, including post-COVID recovery, global economic challenges, and rising demand for social care.
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Kundan Bhaduri
Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at The Kushman Group
From my office in Canterbury, I can see the slow motion collapse of our high streets with the grim fascination of a property developer who remembers when retail meant more than charity shops and vape outlets.

The real-world numbers tell a story Canterbury City Council seems determined to ignore. Footfall in Canterbury city centre has dropped 42% since 2019. Twenty three independent retailers have shuttered their doors since January 2025. Meanwhile, our illustrious local authority has increased parking charges by 40% and implemented a Byzantine system of traffic restrictions that would confuse a quantum physicist. Safe to say, a once vibrant cathedral city is becoming a museum piece, preserved in aspic for weekend tourists, while locals shop online.

Funny you should ask Canterbury City Council's response to this retail exodus. They want to convert those closed down shops into "community spaces" funded by yet higher business rates on surviving retailers. No I am not kidding.
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Gaynor Lockwood Edwards
Crochet teacher and maker of hats at Quirky Cactus
For the last 10 years or so I have been making crochet items to sell at craft fairs About a year and a half ago I decided to stop because people weren’t spending as they used to do pre ‘the cost of living’ crisis. Instead I started to do crochet lessons .
At first I did one class a week in a friend’s pub, just for adults. They got so popular that I had to find a little studio space of my own.
Today I have 44 kids attending my after school crochet classes at The Quirky Workshop, Dronfield, Derbyshire.
The kids love it. They are really enjoying learning a craft. Every week they make something different whether it’s a little crochet octopus or frog in a granny square pouch. More and more boys are joining too.

Some of the kids have started their own little crochet clubs at school.

It has been one of the best decisions I’ve made.
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Salla Västilä
CEO, Founder at ainoa.agency
Ainoa, a Newcastle-based creative agency, is one of the few in the UK specialising in empathetic, psychology-driven marketing.

We’ve recently launched two initiatives to support social and environmental impact.

First, we’re offering pro bono brand support to trans women entrepreneurs and trans women-led initiatives across the UK. Second, we provide significant discounts (up to 25%) to brands investing in sustainability—making climate-conscious branding and campaigns more accessible.

We’re actively looking for local allies, charities, and purpose-driven businesses to collaborate with. Let’s use business as a force for good and make ethical marketing the norm, not the exception.

More info:
1) ainoa.agency/trans-entrepreneurs
2) ainoa.agency/sustainable-branding-agency
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Jonathan Moser
CEO at Mo'Living
Camden-based property manager Jonathan Moser is using his spare time to tackle a silent crisis: loneliness among the elderly. Drawing on years of caring for his own mother, Jonathan launched Pray for Dorothy, a heartfelt social media campaign inspired by an elderly widow who lost her fiancé in 1965 and never moved on. The video has reached over 40,000 viewers, helping raise awareness of the deep isolation many older people face. Through his property management work, Jonathan meets many elderly residents and now makes regular visits to check in on widows and widowers who have no family nearby. “It’s not about money,” he says. “It’s about showing someone they’re not forgotten.”
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNd9CQUm7/
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Jill Poet
CEO at Organisation for Responsible Businesses
Southend-based businesswoman Jill Poet is 75 this month, yet she is still a full-time CEO.
Jill and her husband Mike Wilson launched the Organisation for Responsible Businesses in 2010 as a movement a way of operating that is good for business, good for people, good for the environment. ORB offers Membership and Certification options for values-led small businesses from a sole proprietor upwards.
Jill said:“We were ahead of the curve when we launched. Business owners didn’t understand what ‘caring about people and environment’ had got to do with them We are delighted to see that is changing but we have a lot more work to do.”
Three years ago, Jill and Mike changed the company to not-for-profit status and gifted it to the membership to protect the legacy and the purpose of the company.

Jill remains CEO, supported by a Board of Directors. She has no intention of retiring yet. As she explains:
“We still need to change hearts and minds. I am not ready to slow down the march just yet!”