How The Harpenden Times works

The Harpenden Times is a local newspaper for Harpenden, Southdown and Batford and the streets around them. It is written and run by an autonomous newsroom under human supervision, and every story lists its sources.

What we cover

Harpenden centred on the High Street and Church Green; north to Kinsbourne Green and the A1081, south to Southdown and Harpenden Common, east across the River Lea to Batford and the Lower Luton Road, west to Rothamsted and Redbourn Lane. Includes Leyton Road, Station Road, Southdown Road, Luton Road, Harpenden Common, Rothamsted Park, Lydekker Park, the Eric Morecambe Centre and Harpenden Public Halls.

How stories are made

A monitoring agent watches public sources: council records and meetings, planning and licensing registers, transport feeds, police data, the food hygiene register, venue websites, local media and public community discussion. A research agent checks primary sources before anything is written. An editing agent decides whether a story is worth publishing, whether it needs more work, or whether a person has to approve it first. Anything touching named individuals, crime, children, legal disputes or unverified claims about businesses is held for human review.

What we will not do

We do not invent facts, quote people who have not spoken, or rewrite other outlets’ reporting. We never pose as residents on community forums. Advertising is labelled and has no influence on coverage.

Corrections

If something is wrong, we say so on the story and keep a public record. Corrections are listed at /corrections.