Trinity to close three more newspapers

Trinity Mirror plans to close three more weekly newspapers in the north-west of England and Wales.

The Wrexham Chronicle and the Mid-Cheshire Chronicle, which are both freesheets, and the paid-for Whitchurch Herald will all cease printing next week, putting 11 jobs under threat.

Trinity expects that around eight editorial staff and three commercial roles will be axed as a result of the closures.

Since July, the publishing group has also closed nine local newspapers and made around 120 workers redundant in the Midlands and last month announced more changes and job cuts to its Birmingham titles.

At the time, Georgina Harvey, the managing director of Trinity Mirror Regionals, said: “The economic situation facing these businesses is extraordinary in both its severity and impact.”

The Wrexham Chronicle, which was only created 15 months ago by the merger of the Wrexham Mail and the Wrexham BuySell, distributes 21,576 free copies each week, while the Mid-Cheshire Chronicle has a free distribution of 15,000 and The Whitchurch Herald has a paid-for circulation of around 3,883.

Sara Wilde, managing director of Trinity Mirror Regional North West and Wales, said: “This decision reflects the challenging economic conditions affecting our local advertising markets and, as such, the current revenue and circulation of these titles does not provide us with a strong enough base for sustainable and profitable publication of these titles either now or in the longer term.”