Stratford, the town that hopes to host the Olympics in 2012, has a wealth of new local news coverage.

The East London and West Essex Guardian – run by Newsquest and one of the UK’s top twenty selling weekly papers – launched a new edition into the town on November 4.

Rivals Archant brought in a new slip edition dedicated to the same patch the week before.

The Guardian series already serves the neighbouring London boroughs of Waltham Forest and Redbridge.

Publisher Richard Byham said: “Stratford faces enormous growth over the next few years as part of the Thames Gateway and as the place where the major international rail terminal is to be situated along with a mighty development of shops, businesses and homes.”

The Stratford Guardian’s first issue led with a fire which killed a disabled pensioner.

It also featured an interview with the family of a man beaten to death.

But this was not necessarily the sort of news that editor Pat Stannard was hoping for.

She said: “Stratford is an inner-city area with all its attendant problems but it is a community with an enormous heart and we will be reporting on that.

“We will look for the positive among any bad news and plan to give the Stratford Guardian a strong community feel.”

Archant London’s Newham Recorder series’s slip edition dedicated to the Stratford area was launched on October 27.

Publishing director Paul Gregory said: “The new Stratford Recorder will focus on community news from in and around the Stratford area, with a keen interest on reporting the changing commercial environment within the regeneration area of Stratford.

“The significant regeneration funding from central government and Europe will help the Recorder to maximise the new opportunity including the channel link to France, scheduled to open in 2007 and backing the bid to bring the Olympics to London in 2012.”

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