A seaside hyperlocal newspaper has celebrated its 25th anniversary and the publication of its 300th issue.

Grange Now has covered Grange over Sands, on the southern tip of the Cartmel peninsula, since 1991 – with more than 10,000 stories published by the monthly paper.

Since Chris Plumb took over as editor/publisher in 2013 two sister titles have also been developed, Windermere Now in 2014 and Ulverston Now earlier this year – with the a total of 27,000 copies of the trio printed each month.

The front cover of Grange Now’s 300th edition, pictured below, was chosen after a competition among readers.

Said Chris: “There has been drama, good news, bad news, some big stories and many smaller ones, but all with three things in common – they were hyperlocal and related to this area, they were delivered to the readers for free, and they were supported by local businesses through their paid adverts.

“The pages of Grange Now have been used to celebrate volunteers, to promote events, applaud local heroes, celebrate artists of all ages, congratulate high achievers and tackle a huge range of issues.

“We are proving that print is not dead. Readers want hyper-local news and we are delivering that to them in a very successful format.”

The paper was founded in 1991 by Mary Ann Best and Robin Williamson. When Plumb took over as editor he had just two part-time staff.

Now more than a dozen people are involved across the three papers.

Chris added: “Now is the moment to say thank you to all our readers for their involvement, comments, letters, society, school and church reports; to everyone who has worked on the paper and helped to deliver it, and a huge thank you to all the local businesses who have given loyal support. Indeed there are eight advertisers who have been in almost every issue of Grange Now dating back to 1991.

“As we celebrate 25 years of Grange Now in this 300th edition, it is interesting to think about what makes it such a great paper to work on. The answer for me is the people who do little things in the community, often unnoticed, but which make such a difference. Small acts of kindness, keeping an eye out, helping with the look of the area or volunteering in some way or other.

“When you come across those types of stories in the office it makes all the staff smile and spurs us all on.”