The Newspaper Society has today slammed fresh plans by the BBC to spend £68m of licence-payers’ money to enable 60 local websites to produce video on demand.

Last year, the corporation withdrew controversial proposals for a network of ultra-local broadband TV services which regional press publishers believed would lead to unfair competition with newspaper sites.

Today, it has revealed fresh plans for an on demand local video service for online and mobile spanning 60 sites across the UK, as well as five new local area websites in Northern Ireland, Cheshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey.

NS director David Newell says the proposals to strengthen the BBC’s local online news services are simply ultra local TV in a different guise.

“The BBC should not spend public money duplicating local news services already provided by existing local media companies. This was acknowledged by the BBC when it withdrew its plans for ultra-local television last year.

“The BBC’s 60 local websites already compete head-to-head with regional newspaper websites and its expansion plans, combined with its cross-promotional power, threaten to steal away audiences and undermine the ability of publishers to pursue their own digital development strategies, which are so important to the future of local media in the UK.

“The regional press has evolved into a successful multimedia industry in recent years, employing many thousands of journalists and news gatherers dedicated to providing local news and information to readers and viewers across a multitude of platforms – paid, free, print, online and broadcast.

“As well as 1,300 core regional and local newspapers, the industry has over 1,100 websites, many with video streaming and online audiovisual services, plus a variety of online service and mobile telephone services, 750 magazines, 36 local radio stations and even two traditional television channels. The local market is well-served and there is simply no gap which the BBC needs to fill.

“We know from the review of bbc.co.uk that the BBC’s local news online services offer nothing distinctive and are among the least valued parts of the service. Its links to external sites are also considered poor. The BBC has been told by the Trust that it must ensure ‘it does not stifle enterprise from others who seek to offer excellent online services to the public.’

“The risks to plurality of local news should not be underestimated. The BBC is a highly-valued institution but it should not be given free rein to trample over commercial rivals and become the sole provider of local news in the UK,” he added.

The BBC’s proposed local video content would be ‘focused chiefly on news and sport’ with weather, user-generated content and educational footage also covered.

It will provide up to 10 new stories a day in each area, accounting for up to 20 minutes of footage per day in total.

BBC trustee Diana Coyle said: “BBC management’s proposal for a local video broadband offer to complement existing BBC Local websites supersedes previous plans for a local television service.

“BBC management believes the proposition will help the BBC meet its public purposes and close the gap between the importance that audiences attach to the BBC’s local role and their view of current performance.”