May’s HCP is sadly our last print edition as we move to bringing you Haringey news online only

Dear readers,

Sadly, this month’s print newspaper will be our final print newspaper for the foreseeable future.

After 51 issues of Tottenham Community Press between 2016 and 2021, and 31 issues of Haringey Community Press between 2021 and now, we have taken the difficult decision to become an online-only publication.

We are proud of what we have achieved over the last eight years in print. Since beginning as Tottenham Community Press in late 2016, we’ve published 82 editions, distributing over nearly one and a quarter million copies to people in Tottenham and Haringey as a whole. We’ve published thousands of pieces of journalism in print and online.

We will continue publishing the important local journalism Haringey deserves via this website, but the prohibitive costs of producing a monthly issue and the unreliable local advertising market means that continuing in print is no longer a financially viable option for us. From May onwards, Haringey Community Press will be your local news website only. By doing this we can continue our mission to bring Haringey news.

We have done everything we can to sustain HCP as a print publication and we would like to thank everyone who has ever read the paper, written an article or submitted a photo, a poem, a letter or a listing.

We love print newspapers. We know you love print newspapers, too. We believe print newspapers can do things and reach people that online news websites cannot. But we also believe it’s our duty to bring Haringey news.

We’re a very small not-for-profit social enterprise. No big funder, no local council, no rich investor gave us money to start the paper and none have given us money to continue publishing it. The reality is that Haringey Community Press has never made enough money to cover its costs.

Our company, Social Spider, has always supported HCP through our other newspaper activities across Waltham Forest, Enfield, Barnet and Newham and the surplus from other projects, but we can’t do that anymore. Unfortunately, not enough advertisers picked us to advertise with.

We are also tremendously grateful to all of our former editors; Adjoa Wiredu, Ellie Rae Ward, Luchia Robinson, Alice Kemp-Habib and Miriam Balanescu, as well as our former Tottenham community reporter Olivia Opara.

And of course we must thank all of our supporters who donate money to help sustain our journalism. All donations from supporters and patrons will be spent on continuing with our daily online news service – increased support will enable us to commission more original local journalism.

Please do continue to read us online, and if circumstances improve in the future, we hope to find a way to relaunch in print.

Sign up to Haringey Weekly Press here, our weekly round-up of the most important stories of the week from Haringey Community Press.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading your monthly printed Community Press and stay with us online.

James Cracknell Editor-in-chief, Social Spider Community News

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, or one-off donation.