The BBC has been accused of launching an “unprecedented assault” on the regional press by the News Media Association’s new chief executive.

Owen Meredith has attacked the corporation’s plans to recruit more than 100 local reporters, claiming it will put local publishers out of business.

The BBC announced in March that it is creating a new network of more than 100 digital community reporters to cover some of the UK’s “most under-served communities” as part of a major investment in local journalism.

It prompted accusations from the NMA that it was “forgetting” the existing Local News Partnership with the regional press industry, which includes the BBC-funded Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Now Owen, who took up his role with the regional and national trade body this summer, has renewed the NMA’s criticism in an opinion piece for The Times.

He wrote: “The corporation has shifted from being our national broadcaster to being its largest online publisher, ploughing huge resources into its websites and digital services.

“It now publishes daily a vast number of articles, human interest stories, celebrity gossip, recipes and more, all cross-promoted by its broadcast channels, drawing away audiences and revenues from commercial news providers in the process.

“Now, in its BBC Across the UK plans, the Beeb reveals ambitions to use its privileged position to encroach further into local news in an unprecedented assault on the space already well-served by commercial news media.”

Owen, pictured, added: “Despite challenges, 900 local media titles bring quality journalism to 40.6 million people every month via print and digital channels.

“It’s the local newspaper journalists who spend time scrutinising councils, courts and businesses on behalf of their readers, not the BBC, which is often accused of taking stories from the local press without proper attribution.

“It’s difficult to see how the BBC’s planned assault on the local press squares with its charter requirements to avoid adverse impacts on competition and plurality. The argument that it needs to step into local news to fill a democratic deficit simply doesn’t hold water.

“By increasing its local news footprint, the BBC would create a democratic deficit by putting local publishers out of business. That does nothing to enhance the voice of the overlooked, hold the powerful to account, or sustain media plurality and access to high-quality journalism.”

As part of the scheme, the BBC also revealed plans to create up to six new peak-time BBC local radio services – following recent trials in Bradford, Sunderland and Wolverhampton.

Rhodri Talfan Davies, director of BBC Nations, said: “The argument that the BBC is negatively impacting on the local press is often made but never supported by evidence.

“All the key studies show the real challenge for local news providers, in Britain and around the world, has been the growth in digital advertising, and the flow of ad revenues away from local operators to the likes of Google and Facebook.

“The BBC spends millions of pounds each year supporting the local news sector through funding local democracy reporters, sharing content and training. We fund 165 journalists, employed by commercial news partners, who cover the work of councils across the UK.

“The journalism these reporters produce is published by the local and regional press every day. It is a brilliant example of a public intervention that directly supports the wider commercial ecology.

“A healthy democracy needs local journalism, and a plurality of choice. It will always be an important part of what the BBC does, whether that’s on our own platforms or in partnership with others. And as we develop our services for audiences, we will of course continue to consult closely with the NMA and others.”