A local democracy reporter has left his role to launch his own news title in competition with his old employers.

Nathan Briant has said farewell to his role with Reach plc covering Northamptonshire under the BBC-funded scheme to set up the Oxfordshire Independent.

Nathan, pictured, lives in Oxfordshire and previously worked as a local government reporter for the Oxford Mail, as well as covering the county in spells with the BBC.

He is aiming to start writing news for the digital-based Independent on a regular basis later this month or early September.

It will initally be free to read, although Nathan is planning to start charging for some content in October.

Speaking to HTFP, Nathan said: “It’ll focus on local and national politics and their impact on people in Oxfordshire.

“The whole point of the site is that the content will be original and that it is more than just a run-of-the-mill site reliant on press releases.

“I hope to be able to produce varied types of articles, from shorter news stories to longer features.”

Nathan began his career on the South Wales Argus in 2013 and he moved to Wolverhampton’s Express & Star three years later.

He was a local government reporter and then local democracy reporter at the Mail from July 2017 until October 2019, when he moved to the BBC before joining Reach’s Northants Live website as an LDR in December last year.

He added: From my time as a local democracy reporter in Northamptonshire for Reach, I got a lot of help from Sarah Ward, who runs the independent NN Journal and is a former LDR herself.

“It made me think about how running my own site might actually be a possibility and I’m really excited about what I might be able to share on it.”