The Bath Chronicle has launched a new campaign to put the pride back into the city of Bath.

The Chronicle’s Pride in Bath campaign is one of the paper’s first major initiatives under new editor Sam Holliday, and was launched with a souvenir publication celebrating all that is great in the city.

It included a pull-out featuring 101 things that are special about the historic area.

The editor decided to launch the campaign after being overwhelmed by the vibrancy of the region.

Sam said: “Since arriving to as a newcomer to Bath just over a month ago, I have been overwhelmed by both the enthusiasm and energy of the local people, and the sheer pride they have in their community.”

He was responding to research which highlighted that people want to read about good news and not just the bad. The scheme fits in with his own philosophy, that newspapers should reflect “cheers as well as tears”.

He said: “Together we aim to highlight all the positive aspects of life in our city. We will not, of course, pretend that everything in the garden is rosy. Bath, like any other city, has its problems.

“This local newspaper will continue to reflect all of life in Bath – the good, the bad, the happy, the sad.

“However, through our Pride in Bath initiative we will go out of our way to emphasis the positive”.

MP Don Foster set the ball rolling when he came up with his own list of ‘the best of Bath’ during his election campaign. The Chronicle added to this to produce its own definitive list.

The supplement cites the city’s gardens, countryside walks, shopping, restaurants and vibrant nightlife among its reasons why people should take pride in Bath.

Highlights include reason number 41 – that Bath is the “City of Festivals”. The international music festival brings some of the top musicians to be found anywhere in the world to Bath.

The world famous Roman baths and hot springs are numbers 44 and 45 respectively and bring more than a million visitors a year to the area. And the supplement credits The Bath Chronicle itself as reason 100 as it has been telling the people of Bath the good and bad news since 1760.

The Chronicle is encouraging readers to join in its crusade to have pride in Bath.

It is now calling for the people of Bath to add to the list and invites readers to start the list of the next 101 things.

The campaign will also continue with a weekly page of letters, and the campaign logo will be featured alongside news, feature and sports items that reflect the city’s achievements. Pride in Bath T-shirts, mugs and mouse mats are also available

Sam said: “We now want to lead the community into a feel-good celebration of this city’s achievements and potential.”