Newsquest has announced that it will close the Chester edition of The Leader series three months after taking over the daily title.
The regional publisher bought out NWN Media in September last year, assuming control of its 13 local news brands including The Leader which also has editions covering Wrexham and Flintshire.
The closure comes after Newsquest opened a voluntary redundancy scheme to all editorial staff across former NWN media publications this month. The company has said that it could move to a compulsory selection process if there aren’t enough volunteers by the closing date of 19 January.
The Mold-based Leader was first launched as an evening edition in 1973 before transitioning into a morning title. The final edition of the Chester Leader was printed on 29 December.
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Nick Fellows, managing director for Newsquest North west and North Wales, said: “Following a review of the group’s print publishing strategy, the Chester edition of the Leader series has now ceased publishing.
“However, The Leader will continue as a daily edition serving both Wrexham and bordering Flintshire markets.’
The area will be continue to be covered by Newsquest sister publication The Chester Standard as well as Trinity Mirror’s Chester Chronicle.
The Leader series had a combined daily circulation of 13,653 according to ABC figures to December 2013 (the latest available).
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