Wiltshire Council has confirmed it will no longer advertise Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) in the Warminster Journal, cutting off a key funding source for the newly relaunched newspaper because it has moved from a paid-for to a free publication.
TROs are legal notices that inform the public about upcoming changes to road usage, including road closures, parking restrictions, speed limits, and other traffic-related measures. Councils are legally required to publish these notices in local newspapers.
Despite using the Warminster Journal under its previous ownership – when the paper was a paid-for title with a much smaller circulation – Wiltshire Council says it will now advertise Warminster TROs in the Wiltshire Times, a paid-for newspaper based outside the town.
The council stated it is following a practice of advertising TROs in paid-for newspapers only, despite there being no legal requirement to do so. It claims this policy was based on legal advice received more than 15 years ago, although it has admitted it is unable to locate a copy of that advice.
Editor of the Warminster Journal, Ian Drew, said, “Wiltshire Council’s current practice is preventing local people from accessing vital information that affects them. We now offer the Journal for free, with a far higher circulation than before, yet the council is effectively making people pay to access this information.
“The council should be supporting local businesses, yet they have chosen to advertise in the Wiltshire Times, part of a newspaper group that is American-owned and sells just 2,518 copies each issue across the whole county, whereas the Warminster Journal distributes more than three times that amount each edition in Warminster alone. Advertisements affecting Warminster should be placed where they will be seen by the most residents in that town. Our advertising rates for TROs are significantly lower than those of the Wiltshire Times, so using us for TROs in Warminster would also save taxpayers’ money.”
Parvis Khansari, Wiltshire Council’s Corporate Director for Place, said, “We have contacted the Warminster Journal to request more information about their new business model and their predicted circulation and sales figures. We will then be able to consider this internally.
“The Department for Transport has recently consulted on a move to digital Traffic Regulation Orders. The consultation has now closed, and we await the outcome from the DfT. Any new guidance will inform our future policy.”
Editor Ian Drew added, “We have been in discussions with the council for over 18 months regarding their practices with our other two newspapers in Wiltshire, so they have had ample opportunity to review their approach.
“It is our understanding that the consultation on digital TROs will not change the legal requirement for councils to publish these notices in a printed newspaper. So, it is unclear why this has been brought up in the council’s statement, as it does not affect their obligation to ensure public access to important local information through the most effective and widely-read channels.”
Pictured: County Hall
