Penrith Town Council has agreed to spend a further £6,182.46 on the annual renewal of its email newsletter subscription—despite the system currently reaching just 3,050 subscribers, less than 10 per cent of the town’s population.
The decision to renew the £6,182 annual subscription with Granicus, a cloud-based technology provider, headquartered in Denver, Colorado was made by members of the Town Council’s Communities Committee on Monday evening with members of the committee approving the council’s renewal of the service subscription, used to send branded monthly email updates on Council business to subscribers.
The town council first introduced the system in 2023, spending £7,560 on the initial set-up and first year of use. This was followed by a £4,814 renewal in 2024 and £6,182 in 2025. The latest £6,182 approval brings the total amount spent on the email platform over the last four years to more than £24,000.
The subscriber numbers for the town council newsletter have remained low since its launch, The current mailing list of according to recent town council figures stands at just 2,424 subscribers, represents a small fraction of the town’s population.
Questions regarding value for money were raised as early as 2023 by former town councillor Jeff Thomson, who challenged the justification for the costs involved given the limited reach.
The Council defended the continued use of the service, stating:
“The performance of the account demonstrates a desire from the Penrith public to continue to be kept informed through this direct means of email communication.”
“It is therefore proposed to continue using an email distribution platform for Council communication to enhance and build upon its other existing communication channels.”
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