The BBC's proposals to launch a 68m network of local news websites with video content have been rejected by the BBC Trust following vociferous opposition from newspaper publishers. This is despite the inclusion of proposals aimed at collaboration with the regional press.

The BBC's plan would have seen the launch of 65 local video services across 60 areas of the UK with five Welsh-language services covering news, sport and weather with 400 staff and a total budget of 68m up to 2013. Each of the local websites would have had the equivalent of around 350,000 a year in funding enabling sourcing of local news video from external providers and making their own content available for embedding on other sites.

Sir Michael Lyons, the BBC Trust chairman said the decision to refuse permission for the video network would mean that "local newspapers and other commercial media can invest in their online services in the knowledge that the BBC does not intend to make this new intervention in the market".

These local newspapers groups are, by and large simply not providing the kinds of services which the BBC intended to create - although, strangely enough, as soon as the BBC announced its plans, many decided they were "planning to" do much the same.

So we have a situation where the "negative impact" is based not on actual, existing revenue for the newspaper groups - but on *potential* revenue, on services which don't actually exist.

If this is now the benchmark, it's hard to see how the BBC could launch any service in the future - because anything could be a potential competitor to commercial equivalents which someone "plans" to start up.

In Wrexham there was a very basic 'local video' trial more than five years ago, way before the BBC in the Midlands had a go with a local TV pilot, and way before local newspapers started experimenting.

Therefore when the BBC formally tabled its idea this summer for a more considered pan BBC Local video proposal to add-on to its local many people thought about time too.

But then last week came the Trust's response of :'No!' What a kick in the teeth for the audience (who started making short films on bbc.co.uk/northeastwales when the site launched the site in early 2002) - three years before youtube got started.

We believe that the BBC has a right to be in the public arena and we want the rich network of local sites - interlinking with other local sites - that only the BBC can provide.

Please don't allow the press to bully you into acting to protect their businesses and instead use the public's money to give the public what they want - improved local BBC websites and video.