A regional publisher is set to launch a new news website in a county already covered by three rival dailies.

Reach plc is recruiting five journalists to work on a new project called Lancashire Live – which will cover  the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley and Preston as well as other parts of the county

Blackpool and Preston are currently covered by JPI Media-owned dailies The Gazette and the Lancashire Post respectively, while Blackburn is the home of Newsquest’s Lancashire Telegraph.

Burnley is also covered by the Telegraph and by Newsquest weekly the Burnley Star, as well as by JPI weekly the Burnley Express.

The launch of Lancashire Live continues a trend set by Reach and its forerunner Trinity Mirror of starting up digital-only operations in areas traditionally served by rival print publishers.

Cities where Reach/TM has previously launched such websites under its ‘Live’ branding in recent years include Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Leeds.

The company is hoping to recruit a publisher, advance content writer, two live news reporters and a football writer for Lancashire Live.

The company declined to comment on the plans when approached by HTFP, and it is not yet known where exactly the team will be based.

A job advertisement for the publisher role states: “We are looking for an experienced digital journalist to spearhead our coverage of one of the UK’s proudest and most dynamic counties.

“Lancashire Live will be a site and social media offering that aims to showcase life in Lancashire and tell the stories that need telling.

“We need an ambassador for our brand to lead a team covering the latest news across Lancashire, the ups and downs of some of England’s most historic football teams and building our reputation so people know where to turn when they want that trusted recommendation on going out or spending the day in Lancashire.”

The description for the football writer role adds that the successful candidate will be covering Preston North End, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley FC and Blackpool FC.