A weekly launched in a newspaper war sparked by a regional daily’s closure has marked its first anniversary with a revamp.

The Oldham Times has celebrated its anniversary weeks after rival publication the Manchester Evening News closed its Oldham edition.

Both titles were launched along with the independent-owned Oldham Reporter in the wake of the Oldham Chronicle ceasing publication in the summer of 2017.

The Times marked its anniversary today with a special edition ahead of the official date tomorrow, featuring a 24-page supplement looking back on the past 12 months, as well as the announcement of a new campaign called ‘Oldham Community Champions’.

Karl Holbrook, who took over the Times last month along with its Newsquest sister daily the Bolton News, has also introduced new features to the paper to coincide with the anniversary.

It now features a two-page special report, new-look justice page, two new lifestyle platforms, an eight-page puzzles section and more focus on the title’s website.

Said Karl: “The Oldham Times is a fantastic paper, and its success in such a short period of time goes to show just how important having a local paper fighting for its community still is.

“We are delighted to be celebrating this landmark anniversary both by looking back at some of our highlights but also by looking to the future with the launch of our new campaign and some fab new platforms designed to give the print and online products a fresh perspective.”

Content editor David Rigby, who has been at the Times from the start, added: “It has been a massive first year for the Oldham Times, 52 editions which have seen us cover every aspect of everyday life in the borough.

“This anniversary edition will see us introduce new features and a revamped format, while retaining our core objective of bringing you the news, good, bad, funny or sad, from your area. I must personally give a huge thanks to our readers, contributors and advertisers for their unwavering support for our new paper.

“We had big shoes to fill with the demise of the Oldham Evening Chronicle, and look forward to an even more successful year as we strive to uphold the traditions of good, honest, and unbiased reporting.”