THE Welsh Government has dropped a plan to stop councils advertising changes to the road network in newspapers like the Argus following protests from the public, politicians and the media.

Proposals were under consultation to end the legal obligation on councils to place traffic regulation orders in local newspapers.

It had been suggested that savings could fund free blue badges for disabled drivers.

But fears were expressed during a consultation period earlier this year that such a move would reduce public access to the information, increase the democratic deficit, and put Welsh newspaper industry jobs at risk.

Now ministers have decided to retain the legal obligation on councils and other organisations to advertise, at least for the time being.

A Welsh Government document on the consultation said counter arguments had been accepted, but that other forms of publicity such as the internet should also be encouraged to maximise coverage.

There was substantial opposition to the proposal from MPs, AMs, members of the public and media organisations. Local councillors were generally in favour of the move. Opponents claimed the move would lead to job losses and fewer reporters serving local communities in Wales.

Some said there were still many people with little or no internet access who would find it difficult to access notices online.

Argus editor Kevin Ward, who helped co-ordinate Welsh media lobbying against the proposal, said: “This is a good decision by the Welsh Government. It means people will still be able to find out about roadworks or road closures in their local newspapers, which are still the bestread sources of news in Wales.

“Of course, it is also helpful to the Welsh newspaper industry during a time of economic difficulty but our main opposition to these proposals was the significant negative impact they would have had on the principles of open government.”