Local World promotes Brentwood Gazette news editor to take charge of title

Brentwood Gazette news editor Alan Woods has been promoted to edit the Local World newspaper.

Woods joined the Gazette in November 2013 after working his way up from reporter to deputy news editor on the News Shopper titles in South London.

The move comes after editor Neville Wilson moved in May to become editor of special projects on Local World’s corporate development team.

Woods, who officially starts his new role on 1 August, said: “I’m really excited to lead the Gazette team at such an important time for Brentwood.

“With so many big developments underway in the town, including the arrival of Crossrail, I’m looking forward to building on the excellent work of my predecessor Neville Wilson, inspiring our newspaper readers whilst encouraging more people to use our website and finding innovative ways to make our business more successful.

“We’ve recruited two new reporters recently and I can’t wait to get out and about to continue building on the trusted relationships that the Gazette has with its communities.”

Paul Dent-Jones, senior editor of the Essex Chronicle Media Group, a role which includes having a “supervisory responsibility” for the Gazette, said: “Since Nev’s departure in May, Alan has produced some fantastic newspapers and demonstrated a real passion for the business.

“He has some great ideas that really match Local World’s vision for transformation in regional publishing and I look forward to working with him to make them a reality.”