ONE of two newspapers serving the Isle of Arran yesterday announced it is to cease publication, “for the foreseeable future”.
The Arran Voice was only set up two years ago – by well-known children’s author and one of the creators of the children’s TV series, Trumpton: Alison Prince – in competition to the established Arran Banner.
In a statement posted on the paper’s website yesterday, Prince said: “Since its inception two years ago, the paper has struggled to meet overheads in spite of our vigorous and successful efforts to reduce expenditure.
“Ironically, in the last three months, our advertising revenue has increased markedly, even though this period is the least active time of the year; but we have run out of time.
“Within the next few days we will be contacting all our advertisers and those who have contributed so generously to keep the paper running for two interesting and lively years.
“When crisis threatened us at Christmas, our readers rescued the paper and started it on a much-improved new life, but the upward trend we have established has been overwhelmed by running costs.
“We will be doing everything in our power to establish a different and more cost-effective way to provide a means of free exchange of information and opinion, but for now, we have no alternative but to cease publication.”
