This week is Local Newspaper Week — when the vital role the Bury Times plays in our communities is celebrated.

The Bury Times has been at the heart of the community since the first copy rolled off the presses in 1855, highlighting the important issues of the week, sparking debate and meaningful action.

While there have been significant changes and progress in technology and production, together with the additional platform of the internet and websites, the paper’s purpose and ethos remains unchanged.

That is to continually serve its readers by publishing the latest news and sport to reflect what is happening within the town.

Ian Savage, editor of the Bury Times group, said: “Everyone at the Bury Times is tremendously proud of the newspaper’s heritage and tradition and firmly believe that we can make a difference to our communities, by getting local people involved and giving them a voice — a voice that people in authority listen to.”

Groups and members of the Bury community and services have acknowledged the importance of having a local newspaper to document events and help shape the town’s future.

Claire Warner, director of fundraising at Bury Hospice, said: “The Bury Times has supported Bury Hospice since before Bury Hospice existed! In the 1980s, when the first supporters were starting to make plans to build a hospice for the people of Bury, the Bury Times was right there lending its support. During the intervening years, the Bury Times has remained steadfast in its support of the hospice.

“It was indeed the Bury Times who approached us last year, as we started sharing our plans for the building of a new bigger hospice, and suggested that it would like to make the Capital Appeal for the new hospice a major public campaign. The support and coverage we’ve received since has been unprecedented.

“In a world of uncertainty and frugality, the Bury Times has helped Bury Hospice to remain at the forefront of people’s minds and has given us a fantastic vehicle by which to thank those who have supported us.”

Steve Wilcock, watch commander at Bury Fire Station, said: “Without question the local news in my opinion is hugely important for local people. I believe it gives people a real sense of community. From my perspective as a fire officer at Bury I believe people are interested in things that are local to them, events and news alike. The Bury Times has provided an important communication conduit for us when people read about incidents that we have attended that have happened within our own community. It provides an opportunity to highlight initiatives such as our Free Home Fire Safety Check and Smoke Alarm service.”

Martin Henfield, former BBC TV news presenter and Ramsbottom resident, said: “I began my journalistic career on local papers and I know they are not only important to the community they serve, but vital. Radio and TV, however local, cannot give the extent of coverage newspapers can. Many national news stories were revealed first in the local paper.”

Brian Hunt, press officer for theatre group The Summerseat Players, said: “Local newspapers provide in print the very things that Lord Reith had in mind when he was the first Director-General of the BBC — information, education and entertainment. The best of these is information, which allows the reader in search of local knowledge to learn what is going on in his community, involve himself to his chosen extent and change things for the better.”

Neil Martin, manager at Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary in Edenfield, said: “Bleakholt could not do the work we do without the support of the local people. One of the best ways for us to keep our supporters informed is via the local papers such as the Bury Times who regularly run stories about our work. If local papers were to be forced out of existence very many of our supporters, particularly our older supporters would lose touch with us.”