L1Local is an independent digital publication covering Liverpool news, practical guides, neighbourhoods, independent businesses and the city's history. Everyone on our team is based in Liverpool.
L1Local was born out of frustration with the way local news was increasingly being presented online. Too many clickbait-style headlines, too many pages designed around getting another click rather than answering the question, paywalls appearing around useful local information, and sponsored commercial content presented in formats that can feel uncomfortably close to ordinary editorial coverage.
Like plenty of people in Liverpool, we had also become frustrated with the experience of trying to get straightforward local information from large regional news websites, including the Liverpool Echo. So we decided to build something different.
A Liverpool publication for people who live here
L1Local is an independent Liverpool publication covering things we think are genuinely useful, interesting or worth knowing about. That includes:
- Local news and changes affecting the city
- Council services and civic explainers
- Practical local information and transport updates
- Independent businesses and new openings
- Neighbourhood guides across Merseyside
- Planning, architecture and urban development
- Events and cultural listings
- Unusual local stories and forgotten landmarks
- Liverpool history, crime and mysteries
We are interested in Liverpool as it is today, but also how it became the city it is. That means you might find a bin collection guide sitting alongside the story of a long-demolished Liverpool building, a transport explainer next to an unsolved murder from the 1930s, or a new independent business alongside the history of the street it has opened on.
Based in Liverpool
Everyone on the L1Local team is based in Liverpool. We live here, use the transport, walk the streets, visit the businesses and deal with many of the same local services we write about.
That does not automatically make us right. It does mean we approach Liverpool as somewhere we live rather than simply a location to generate content about.
How we approach articles
L1Local tries to answer the useful question first. We prioritise clarity, practical detail and proper local context over word count or sensationalism:
- For service changes: We explain what changed, when, who is affected and what you need to do.
- For planning and development: We separate confirmed facts and approvals from proposals, estimates, dates and long-term ambitions.
- For history and crime: We separate documented history, contemporary reports and primary records from later retellings, myths, legends and unsupported claims.
Where possible, articles are checked against primary sources including Liverpool City Council, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, GOV.UK, NHS organisations, transport operators, planning applications, historical archives and information supplied directly by the organisations involved.
Independent businesses and directory
Liverpool independent businesses are an essential part of the city and a core pillar of L1Local. We maintain a free independent business directory to help readers discover local places across Merseyside.
Businesses cannot simply pay us to appear in our independent directory. We research listings ourselves and decide what gets published.
Where an article contains sponsored content, paid partnerships or affiliate booking links (such as ticketing partnerships), that relationship is clearly identified at the point it appears. Advertising should look like advertising. Editorial should look like editorial.
Who publishes L1Local?
Publisher: L1Local
Type: Independent Liverpool-based digital publication
Coverage: Liverpool and the wider Liverpool City Region
Editorial contributors:
- Brian K: Local reporting, practical guides, transport, development and Liverpool history.
- Amy L: Liverpool life, local culture, neighbourhood changes and independent businesses.
- Jon S: Research, public services, transport and practical city guides.
- Jess R: Local guides, culture, community stories and independent businesses.
- L1Local Editorial Team: Collaborative guides, ongoing investigations and multi-contributor updates.
Meet our full team on the L1Local Authors & Editorial Team page.
Corrections and updates
Liverpool changes quickly. Opening hours change, bus routes move, council policies update, businesses close, developments get redesigned, and new historical evidence can change what we know about an old story.
We update articles when important information changes. If we have something factually wrong, we want to correct it as quickly as possible.
For more details, please read our Editorial Policy and our Corrections Policy. To report a correction or get in touch with our team, visit our Contact Page.