Derek Kennedy, County Councillor for Hexham West (Independent), has been in contact with Steven Mason, the Chief Executive of Northumberland County Council, to express his alarm at public notices not featuring in the Hexham Courant.
Derek said “The Council has a legal duty to advertise public notices. The Courant is the newspaper that covers Tynedale. I purchased a copy of the Northumberland Gazette this week to see what its coverage is and found stories about Alnwick, Amble etc but nothing about Hexham and Tynedale. The only reference to Tynedale is the public notices on page 59.”
“Its a disgrace that the Council is operating in this manner and excluding the public from knowing about major public interest items like housing and road closures. I call on the Council to immediately reinstate the public notices in the Courant. I have signed the Courant’s petition and would like to invite you to do the same. You have a right to know what is happening in your county.”
Residents can sign an electronic petition which the Courant has organised by clicking this link
Courant petition —> http://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/Sign-our-petition-358ab568-133c-451f-93e5-322b5b5b8fe9-ds#/