LEADING members of the House of Lords have called for changes to the way councils publish public notices.

Public notices are the “adverts” you see at the back of printed newspapers in relation to planning applications, alcohol licences for a variety of establishments, and operators licences (garages) to name just a few.

On the one hand they are a vital lifeline to large newspaper groups who reap over £60 million a year through public notices.

However, others have questioned the cost to the taxpayer, with small cafes being quoted as much as £800 for an alcohol licence advert.

The Labour government’s proposal is to let individual councils decide for themselves.

It is all part of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. which is making its way through parliament.

At Tuesday nights meeting of the Grand Committee, a number of Peers, spoke on the matter.

The Conservative peers had proposed an amendment.

Amongst the many points made was one by Lord Lucas. He said: ‘We need to get rid of the 19th century definition of a newspaper”.

This refers to the anomaly, that if there was one printed newspaper left in the United Kingdom and it was in the Highlands of Scotland, then a planning application in Harlow would have to go there and not in Your Harlow, despite the on-line newspaper having a huge audience in the town.

One of the points made by Baroness Scott, was that as opposed to notices being placed only on council websites, that their visibility could be expanded to “reputable independent local news websites.”

Your Harlow publisher Michael Casey welcomed the proposals made by the members of the House of Lords.

Mr Casey said: “We have been saying for close to two decades that the definition of a newspaper needs to be expanded and so we welcome Lord Lucas’s support.

“We also welcome the proposal made by Baroness Scott.

Whatever the outcome of the bill and should councils such as Harlow (or its future form) is given power to decide where they place their applications, then we hope they support “reputable independent local news websites.” such as Your Harlow and the hundreds of others across the country.

“As a member of the Independent Community News Network (ICNN) as well as the Society of Editors, there is surely a way for us all to work together in order to promote democracy, save jobs indeed create jobs and find a cost effective way to help local businesses.”

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