A group of hyperlocal sites has been brought under regional press publisher Northcliffe Media in a company restructure.

The Local People network of websites has now grown to more than 100, with plans to double that figure over the next year already in the pipeline.

It was previously part of parent company DMGT’s consumer digital arm, Associated Northcliffe Digital.

However AND has now been disbanded and its chief executive Richard Titus has left the company, although he wiill continue to work on a consultancy basis.

As a result Local People has now been absorbed into Northcliffe Media while other parts of AND such as Jobsite and the The Digital Property Group will become standalone businesses.

Local People managing director Roland Bryan will now report directly to Michael Pelosi, managing director of Northcliffe Media.

Half of the existing Local People sites are based in the South West, with the rest based around London and the Home Counties.

The group’s plans over the next year will see the network continuing to expand into areas currently outside Northcliffe’s newspaper footprint.