Three new writers will be appearing on Blog Preston as our coverage expands on city issues, the rural and northern part of Preston, and the food and drink scene.

Jamie Lopez, Louise Gooch and Ben Briggs are starting to pen stories for Blog Preston in a freelance capacity.

Ben, who has more than 20 years experience as a journalist and editor, graduated from UCLan’s journalism course and has worked for the Lancashire Telegraph and Lancashire Business View, and edited the Farmers Guardian.

He’ll be focusing on issues affecting the northern and north eastern parts of the city – as well as up into the parts of Wyre and Ribble Valley that border Preston. You can see Ben’s stories here.

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Louise Gooch, a proud Prestonian through and through, is a foodie and will be focusing on the city’s food and drinks scene. She returns to writing for Blog Preston after a five year hiatus.

Her reviewing will complement the cult-following of Karen Gormley and with Louise having a little person in tow she’ll often be looking at dining and heading out from a family-friendly perspective too. You can see Louise’s writing here.

Jamie is a freelance reporter with more than a decade of experience. Editor of The Lancashire Lead, Jamie has previously written for LancsLive, Southport Visitor, Liverpool Echo and the Ormskirk & Skelmersdale Advertiser.

He’ll be focusing on agenda-setting stories, politics and what’s happening across both Preston and South Ribble. You can see Jamie’s stories here.

Blog Preston co-editor, Luke Beardsworth, welcomed all three new writers to the site.

He said: “I’ve worked with Jamie for the best part of a decade in different roles – he was the UK’s first ever dedicated cost of living reporter – and I’m really excited to see what he can do focusing on Preston.

“Ben brings with him years of reporting experience in rural areas and will let us report on things we’ve not been able to do before.

“And I’ve always been a huge advocate for regular, fair, entertaining food reviews for news sites. The hospitality industry is struggling and so are lots of people – so I’m excited that Louise can help direct our readers to Preston’s best.”

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Blog Preston also welcomes one-off written contributions, which in recent weeks has seen a look at the history of the Jalgos club by Stephen Poleon and a reaction to the proposed evening cutbacks by Preston Bus by Ingol resident Arthur Chappell. If you’re interested in writing a guest post on a specific topic then drop us a line on contactus@blogpreston.co.uk

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