From Print to Digital: Reforming Public Notices to Work for Everyone

Communities deserve access to the decisions shaping their lives. PINF’s Campaign Manager, Beckie Shuker, explains why updating the system of public notices is an urgent step towards empowering people and sustaining local journalism. 

Last month, we announced our plan to lead a Local News Campaign to drive positive change and help local news thrive in the UK. We want to regenerate local media so that communities in every local authority district in the UK benefit from journalism that speaks to them, for them and with them.  

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing each of the three pillars of the new campaign, ensuring that: the BBC works in partnership with local news, big tech treat local news providers fairly and local authorities support local news providers.  

The first focus of the Local News Campaign is on local authorities – starting with an updated system of public notices. We’ve created a new briefing calling on decision-makers to reform public notices, increasing public access to local information and supporting local news providers.  

Public Notices Briefing Paper

Public notices inform local communities about planning applications, road closures, licensing changes and other issues. They serve two purposes: ensuring that people are aware of important information about their community and providing a reliable source of revenue for local news providers. 

Local news has seen a dramatic shift in recent years, with circulations falling year on year. In 2024, more than half of printed local papers had a circulation of less than 5,000. The contrast is stark when compared to 2014, as the Manchester Evening News circulation has fallen from 66,521 to 6,173 and the Liverpool Echo circulation has fallen from 61,902 to 10,295. 

The fact is that the vast majority of people in the UK are not getting their news from the printed press anymore. On the flip side, there has been an explosion over the last ten years of digital-only or digital-first local news publications.  

PINF’s most recent Index found that the average local, independent news provider attracted 489,268 unique users in 2024 - an increase of 40% from 2023. Across the UK, digital outlets established in the last decade or so are connecting with growing audiences, including The Bristol Cable, the Waltham Forest Echo, the Manchester Mill, Greater Govanhill, VIEWDigital and many others.  

In an age of media abundance, these titles are providing British communities with shared understandings, inoculating local people against misinformation and disinformation, creating pride in place and promoting civic participation across the country.  

So then local online news outlets seem like the perfect home to bring together local people with public notices, increasing citizens’ engagement with civic decision-making – right? 

Well, as things stand, the definition of ‘newspaper’ that is used to determine the placing of public notices comes from the Newspaper and Libel Registration Act 1881, which states:  

‘The word “newspaper” shall mean any paper containing public news, intelligence, or occurrences, or any remarks or observations therein printed for sale, and published in England or Ireland periodically, or in parts or numbers at intervals not exceeding twenty-six days between the publication of any two such papers, parts, or numbers.’ 

This means that online outlets are locked out of publishing these notices, limiting their reach and cutting them off from a reliable source of revenue. 

Clearly, change is needed for public notices to reach their intended audience and fulfil their function in the local news ecosystem. 

It’s not a question of robbing Peter to pay Paul - printed notices should absolutely remain for those without access to the internet - but given the huge amount of change in news habits and ecosystems in the 144 years since the Newspaper Act of 1881, a much wider audience would be reached by placing notices online, too. 

This would also be of huge benefit to councils. A formalised tendering process for contracts should result in savings, as outlets can competitively price their bids, resulting in a cheaper and fairer system for all parties. 

So, what are we doing about it? 

One potential stepping stone towards righting this wrong is a set of amendments that Lord Lucas has proposed to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, currently making its way through the House of Lords.  

In a move that we hope will be the beginning of a shift in the relationship between local news and local authorities, these amendments would update the legal definition of newspaper, allowing local councils to place public notices relating to planning and infrastructure with eligible online news outlets. 

If you want to get involved in the Local News Campaign or find out more about our work, please get in touch.

Sign up to our newsletter for more updates from PINF.