The local news media sector’s Public Notice Portal will undergo a second major phase of development with new funding from the Google News Initiative to deepen public engagement with public notices. Work has already begun on the new services which will see a fully searchable archive added to the portal and the creation of consultation functions to help public bodies and commercial entities engage with the public more effectively.

The development, which will take place over the next 18 months, will be funded by a new six figure grant from the Google News Initiative and continuing support from publishers. The public can continue to access the service free of charge.

News Media Association chairman Danny Cammiade said: “We are delighted to be able to partner once again with Google to further improve the local news media sector’s public notices offering. “The new PNP functionalities will strengthen local democracy by deepening public engagement with the notices while saving local authorities time and money, helping to drive the new government’s growth agenda.

“The PNP complements and enhances local news media’s role in promoting public notices which is underpinned by the vital statutory requirement for local authorities to advertise public notices in printed local newspapers.”

Public polling from March shows that local news media in print and digital (41 per cent) is the number one platform used by the UK public to view public notices, ahead of local authority websites (29 per cent), social media (28 per cent) and printed mailouts (26 per cent).

The PNP is an online database for all public notices which appear in printed local newspapers. It harnesses local news media’s massive online audiences – 42 million people every month in print and digital – to increase engagement with public notices.

The PNP has attracted more than five million views since launch and currently has nearly 23,000 registered users signed up for alerts about particular types of planning notices, notices relating to a specific geographic area, or to search the site directly.

The new archive – for which Reach plc has been appointed as the development partner - will make available all the public notices uploaded to the database rather than just live notices. The new consultation functions will help the public engage with and provide feedback on public notices, as well as providing a service to support the statutory consultation obligations of all organisations requiring this service, both commercial and local authority.

Hayley Cochrane, Director of News Partnerships for Google UK and Northern Europe, said: “Google is proud to support the Public Notice Portal’s expansion - a vital tool that both strengthens community engagement and sustains essential revenue for local journalism.

“PNP is a fantastic example of how local news publishers are embracing digital tools to better serve their communities and continue their vital role in informing them. Building on Google’s 20 years of work partnering with the news industry, we will continue to play our part connecting readers to the news, enabling a sustainable future for local journalism.” I

n addition to creating the PNP, the local news media sector has also boosted public notices by adopting new guidelines to better publicise public notices, including regular editorial coverage in print and digital, and clear signposting in paper