A council had cut off all communication with a local title in a row over the placement of public notices.

The Melksham Independent News, a free fortnightly newspaper, had criticised Wiltshire Council over is policy of only using paid-for newspapers to advertise public notices.

But the authority hit back by halting all communications with the newspaper, declining to send press releases or respond to any enquiries.

Melksham Independent News – part of Wiltshire Publications – says it has now received written confirmation from the council stating that it does not feel able to engage with the title.

 

Editor Ian Drew said, “Wiltshire Council’s actions are unprecedented. In this newspaper’s 40+ years of providing news for the local community, we are not aware of any other council anywhere in the country that has done something like this.

“As a family-owned newspaper, we have always been committed to providing the community with reliable and balanced news. For over 40 years, we have a proud record as a trusted source of information, giving a voice to local people and holding local authorities to account. Despite Wiltshire Council’s decision, we will continue to strive to carry out this work.”

Operations manager Joe McCann added: “Wiltshire Council’s decision to stop engaging with the Melksham News is deeply troubling.

“Local newspapers like ours are essential for holding public bodies to account and ensuring transparency in local government. By cutting off communication, the council is evading scrutiny and potentially controlling the flow of information, which is not just a concern for us as journalists but for the public as well.

“This sets a dangerous precedent, where councils can silence critical voices instead of addressing legitimate concerns, ultimately undermining local democracy.

“This is an unprecedented move for a local council.”

The Independent Community News network, which represents the independent press community, has backed the paper’s stance.

Its director Emma Meese said: “The role of a journalist has always been to scrutinise and provide news that is in the public interest. It is concerning when a local authority decides it will not engage with the largest news provider in the area, for calling it out on its actions.

“We have to question the motive behind this decision by Wiltshire Council to try and control the narrative.”

After being approached by HTFP for comment, Wiltshire Council provided a lengthy response, accusing the newspaper of seeking to “put pressure”on the authority to advertise with it.

Council leader Richard Clewer said: “Wiltshire Council welcomes being held to account by the press and responds to over 1,400 media enquiries annually. We expect both positive and negative coverage from the media and we welcome robust challenge.

“However, we also believe that it is important to provide a balanced picture in any coverage so both sides of any story can be covered fairly. In this case we are not being held to account fairly or reasonably.

“Wiltshire Publications has undertaken an ongoing campaign for over two years to put pressure on the council to advertise statutory notices with them.

“We have consistently provided the same answer to their queries and yet despite our clear communication that we will re-evaluate our approach following the Government’s review of relevant legislation, they continue to present a negative narrative – because we have chosen not to advertise with them.

“While it might cost less to place an advert in their publications, it would not save the council money and would be more expensive overall.

“We would still be required to advertise statutory notices in other publications to ensure we reach a wider audience and meet our legal obligations. This does not represent value for money for residents and would not lead to any cost savings for us.

“Their reporting has not been impartial, as it has failed to include balanced quotes from council representatives, which would have demonstrated that the picture they present does not tell the full story.

“Two of our councillors provided comments on their recent story and these comments were not included in the article because it did not fit with the narrative of the story; these comments would have given a more balanced view.

“Wiltshire Publications’ approach culminated in the council submitting a complaint to the editor urging them to adopt a more balanced reporting style.

“We advised we would not engage with Wiltshire Publications until we felt an effort was made to adopt a balanced position and requested they address these points with us. It is disappointing that rather than work with us they have chosen to publish a further article which again misrepresents our position.

“While we are not responding directly to them, they are still able to access our press releases which are published on our website and through our social media channels.

“However, we respect their right to take the approach they feel is most effective for them. At this time, we do not feel it would be appropriate to review our position.”