IT HAS been another successful 12 months for the Bromsgrove and Droitwich Standard newspapers where we have brought you almost 3,000 news stories across the two towns – even more when you take into account sports, entertainment and special features.
We have covered some notable events and brought you numerous exclusives, led and backed campaigns, helped charities, including the Primrose Hospice, the Royal British Legion, the Stroke Association and the Blue Cross, covered school and nursery events and printed hundreds of your letters.
We have helped raise a multitude of issues – among them the controversial plans to build an Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) plant in Wildmoor, the plans for houses on Whitford Road, the proposed demolition of the Greyhound pub and the application to build on North Worcestershire Golf Course.
There have also been some memorable events and news for us to cover, including the official opening of Bromsgrove’s new railway station and the tapping of Droitwich’s brine for the first time in almost a century.
In Bromsgrove, we reported on the proposals for the new Waitrose and Aldi stores, while in Droitwich there was the proposed return of the Brine Baths, the long-awaited plans to revamp the High Street, the news the under-threat police station would be staying in the town and the Lido having its most successful season ever, thanks to the mercury soaring.
Also in the summer was the two towns’ Paralympic success with Bromsgrove’s Lauren Rowles and Droitwich’s Rebecca Redfern both claiming medals in Rio.
And we have covered all the important public events in the Bromsgrove, Rubery and Droitwich, including the Remembrance Sunday commemorations, the Christmas lights switch-ons, Bromsgrove Carnival, Salt Day, the Chateau Impney Hill Climb, the St Richard’s Festival and Friar Fest.
We have also supported several events in the last year, including the Droitwich Food Festival, which was opened by Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain, along with MP Sajid Javid’s Jobs Fair and Bromsgrove’s first ever Pensioner Fair. That was such a success, it will be back in 2017 as well as the Jobs Fair.
Online we have also been bringing you the news on a daily basis and for the first time in one calendar year (January 1 to December 31) the Bromsgrove Standard has had more than 1million hits. The Droitwich Standard site has also enjoyed a quarter of a million web views.
Among our best-read stories of the year were the Hairy Bikers coming to Bromsgrove to film their TV programme at the Wildmoor Oak with Lorenzo Richards, the closure of Imagination Street back in April and the owners of the Dodford Inn talking about the pub’s long-term future.
The best-read stories in Droitwich included the three pub landlords speaking out about their fears for the future of their pubs, our piece on Droitwich Oscar winner Sara Bennett and her hopes of inspiring others to follow in her footsteps and our story on Ombersley being one of the five most beautiful places to live in the UK.
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2016 has been a great year news-wise and we are looking forward to more of the same in 2017.
We hope you will join us for whatever the next year brings.
Happy new year from everyone at the Bromsgrove and Droitwich Standards.
