Did you know?
What does LymeLiving actually cost - and who does it reach?
Since LymeLiving launched in May 2025, there has been plenty of discussion about what the magazine costs the town council.
But headline figures don’t always tell the whole story, so here are the facts.
The council agreed in April 2025 to replace its existing newsletter, published every three months, with a magazine-style publication as part of its commitment to improve communication with residents and provide a platform for local organisations to share their own updates.
An initial budget of £40,000 covered far more than printing. It included distribution, set-up costs, additional journalistic support and the secondment required to establish the new communications role.
Importantly, the communications officer does not work solely on LymeLiving. The role also covers the council’s wider communications, social media, business and community engagement, the Gateway Card, events and other council projects.
When the first full-year costs were reviewed, around 60% of the officer’s time was attributed to the magazine.
There were also almost £4,000 of one-off launch and set-up costs in the first year, including magazine dispensers and initial distribution arrangements.
For 2026/27, LymeLiving has a dedicated production budget. Spending to date stands at £23,402.47, covering printing, postage, digital page-turning software and professional photography and event coverage.
Costs have increased during the busy summer period, when more copies are printed and the magazine covers many of the major events taking place across Lyme Regis.
And what do we get for it?
Between 1,000 and 1,500 printed copies of each edition are produced, depending on the time of the year.
Copies are delivered directly to 155 Lyme Regis households, 51 copies are hand-delivered to local care homes and a further 299 households receive a hand-delivered copy by councillors and staff. A further 77 copies are posted to readers outside of Lyme, with hundreds more available free from collection points around the town.
The digital edition has also grown to 636 subscribers, with the magazine attracting additional readers through the council website.
The true number of readers is unknown, as we are unable to count those who read a copy in a local café or holiday let and leave it for the next person to read, or the number of people in one household who might share one copy.
Increasing the print run during the summer also means LymeLiving can reach visitors. Supporting and promoting tourism is an important part of the council’s work, and the magazine provides an opportunity to showcase local businesses, organisations, events and attractions alongside council news.
Therefore, LymeLiving is more than a printed council newsletter. It is now a multi-channel publication documenting life in the town, supporting local organisations and businesses, covering Lyme’s major events and making council information accessible to residents.
And every edition remains completely free to read.
More than council news
Since its launch, LymeLiving has grown into much more than a way of reporting council decisions.
Each edition provides free space for local charities, voluntary groups, schools, sports clubs, community organisations and events to tell their stories and promote what they do.
Local businesses also benefit from coverage of initiatives such as The Gateway Scheme, while regular features celebrate Lyme’s history, people and community.
The magazine provides professional coverage of events which might otherwise receive little or no lasting record, from major events and festivals to civic occasions and the work of smaller community groups. Those photographs and stories also become part of the council’s archive of life in Lyme Regis today.
For residents who do not use social media or regularly visit the council website, the printed magazine provides another important way of keeping up with what is happening in the town and the copies delivered to local care homes help extend the reach even further, including those in our community who are not freely able to experience life in the town as they once did.
The magazine also gives the council space to properly explain its work, from projects, services and grants to the maintenance of the town’s gardens and public spaces.
Increasingly, it has become a two-way community publication, with residents and local organisations contributing stories, photographs, memories and historical material. Original features explore aspects of the town that might otherwise go unrecorded.
Professional photography plays an important part in this. Coverage is concentrated around Lyme’s busiest periods, allowing several events to be captured over the same weekend. The photographs are used not only in LymeLiving but across the council’s wider communications, while creating a growing visual archive of Lyme Regis, documenting events such as the Fossil Festival, Regatta and Carnival Week, Lifeboat Week, fireworks’ nights and civic occasions, alongside smaller community events.
What people tell us
Feedback since the magazine launched has been overwhelmingly positive, with residents praising its photography, design, range of stories and community focus.
“Just a note to congratulate you and all the staff on your work and on the publication of LymeLiving – well done it’s very well produced and informative.”
“The magazine does a great job of capturing what’s going on locally and feels very much in tune with Lyme Regis. It is clearly put together by people who care about the town.”
“LymeLiving has become the best local, if not regional publication, of which you and your team should be very proud.”
“I am delighted to see that through the always-excellent LymeLiving, you are re-establishing Lyme’s rightful place as the premier place to be in West Dorset, your magazine is a fabulous promotion for my home town. You have upped Lyme, indeed, you have polished the Pearl.”
“I love LymeLiving magazine. It is such a treat to get a copy. It is so informative and the layout is very attractive. Thank you for producing such a high quality publication.”
These are just a handful of compliments we have received since launching the publication last year.
Local organisations have also welcomed the opportunity to reach a wider audience through a publication delivered and distributed across the town.
Most importantly, LymeLiving gives Lyme Regis its own platform, one which can tell the stories that matter locally, celebrate the people doing good things in the community and explain the work of the town council in an accessible way.