Altrincham Today is a new chapter in local Altrincham journalism.
Our town is at perhaps the most critical time in its 724-year history. Regeneration is all around, from the market and railway station to Altair and the Hale Barns precinct redevelopment.
But there’s so much more to Altrincham than building projects, and Altrincham Today will look to give the 75,000 people within Altrincham and its neighbouring villages and suburbs – Hale, Hale Barns, Bowdon, Timperley and Broadheath – the dedicated platform and outlet it deserves.
So what to expect from Atrincham Today?
For one thing, we’ll focus exclusively on Altrincham. This won’t be the place for news about Sale or Stretford and certainly no national news – there are plenty of other places for that.
Secondly, we’ll focus on the issues that matter. We know that Altrincham faces real issues in terms of education, health, business, regeneration and so much more. We’ll cover lighter issues too, but the most important criteria for us is that they are issues faced by Altrincham people. More news categories will appear within the news section as content is added to the site.
Thirdly, we’ll bring together local experts and personalities to give their take on local issues. Ian Macklin will focus on the local property market, LIFT-Financial’s Joel Adams will take a regular look at personal finance issues, and Steph Smith from Mums in the Know will bring her expertise to family activities and entertainment in and around the town. We’ll also bring you a weekly column straight from Altrincham FC manager Lee Sinnott, and next week Slater Heelis will start a regular column about local legal matters.
There’s more to come, too. Once we’ve established the site for its news content, we’ll be introducing a reviews section and a jobs board – with more exciting plans in development.
Finally, we’ll look to develop a form of modern local journalism that is viable and sustainable. The once booming local print newspaper industry is dying, but our interest in news is at an all-time high. What’s more, we now have the technology and a greater willingness to contribute to its creation.
That’s why we’re hoping to build a team of community journalists and writers who are passionate about Altrincham and have a particular interest or expertise in an aspect of Altrincham life. You can find out more about how to get involved here.
For the next few weeks, we’ll be in “beta” phase as we iron out any issues with the site and get Altrincham Today off the ground. Please bear with us during this phase. We would though be delighted to hear any suggestions you may have – please get in touch here.
”About
Altrincham Today is published and edited by David Prior. Altrincham-born, he’s spent most of his life in the town and is now settled in Timperley with his wife and four children. He had his first byline in the Sale and Altrincham Messenger in 1995 and passed his NCTJ exams in 2000. He’s worked for a number of other print and online titles and currently edits the business news website, Prolific North.
