Putney · Roehampton · SW15
Local news, held to a national standard.
A working newsroom for Putney: council scrutiny, freedom-of-information investigations, and the civic tools to act on what we find. Run to a standard learned in national newsrooms.
A note from the editor
Before Putney.news I reported for national newspapers and technology titles. I started this because Putney, a place of 100,000 people, had no one reading the council papers, filing the freedom-of-information requests, or asking the awkward questions. So now I do. Every morning, in your inbox by seven, to the standard I have always worked to.
What we cover
It is not just what happened. It is what it means, and what you can do about it.
Like what you are reading? Become a member and get the depth behind every story →
The tools
We do not just tell you what happened. We help you act.
Email your councillors
Put in your postcode, we find the right councillors, and you send a pre-written message in two clicks.
LiveThe FOI tracker
Every freedom-of-information request we have filed, where it is, and what came back.
Members onlyMaps of your streets
The planning sites, the incidents, the changes, plotted exactly where they are.
ComingWhat is on
A proper local events calendar, and you can add your own.
LiveThe work
The work speaks for itself.
Accountability
We read every council paper, so you do not have to.
The scrutiny that used to be a local paper’s whole job, and that no one else here still does.
Read the work →Freedom of Information
The requests we have filed, and what they revealed.
A public record of what we have asked the council for, and what it did not want to say.
Read the work →Planning
What is being built near you, and who objected.
Every significant application, tracked, mapped, and explained in plain English.
Read the work →The proof
Putney reads it. And acts on it.
“The writing is excellent and provides an unprecedented calibre of journalism to our community.”Putney.news reader — 2026 reader survey
Real, verified survey quote, anonymised. Name the reader only with their consent.
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Where this goes
This is just the start, much more is to come.
Right now it is a small team. But we have proven the model works: national-standard accountability journalism, at the cost of running a neighbourhood newsroom, that people actually read and act on. Membership funds the next step.
- 01More reporters, more of Southwest LondonPutney is the proof of concept. The model is built to grow, borough by borough.
- 02Personalised newsYour ward, your interests, your street, brought to the top of what you read.
- 03Greater depth of coverageDeeper investigations, greater coverage, more FOIs, interviews and events, more of the slow work larger outlets have abandoned.
- 04A newsroom that does not pauseWhen one person stops, the news stops. Growing the team means year-round coverage.
If you are wondering whether the plan is real: we promised three original stories in your inbox every morning. We’ve delivered that every day for over a year. The next step will be even more exciting.
Putney deserves a newsroom. Help build it.
Membership funds the depth behind the journalism, and keeps the civic essentials free for everyone.
- Every story, plus the evidence, documents and analysis behind them
- A monthly briefing from the newsroom
- Invitations to members’ events
- Founding Member status, and your name in our transparency report
- Your £70 price held for life, while your membership renews unbroken
- Everything members get, month to month
- Cancel any time
- Founding status and the lifetime price-lock are annual only
Our accountability findings, safety information, and every councillor’s contact details stay free to read, always. Members pay for the depth; the civic essentials stay open to all of Putney. That is the point of doing it this way.