The Tandridge Independent is a free local community newspaper, distributed throughout Tandridge District. It began life as the Caterham and District Independent in 2006 but, after a consultation period at the beginning of 2022, widened its remit to include the whole of Tandridge. It then underwent a name change to reflect this, and the new-look paper has continued to grow ever since.
We provide residents with news and information about events and activities happening near them, as well as helping charities and not-for-profit organisations raise awareness of who they are and what they do. We want to ensure that anybody with something to say can use the paper to make their voice heard, and we would encourage them to get in touch on newsdesk@tandridgeindependent.com.
We’re funded by advertising, so we don’t charge readers for our content. The paper is a great platform for local businesses to promote themselves on, and we also offer a bespoke advertorial writing service, which allows companies to tell the story behind their brand, and engage with our readers on a deeper level.
Meet the team
Louise D’Costa
Editor
Louise took over what was the Caterham & District Independent in 2019, after 18 years at the BBC. One pandemic and a re-brand later, the Tandridge Independent continues to grow and expand every month, due to her enthusiasm, motivation and persistence.
"It has been a steep learning curve, but I love a challenge and work best under pressure! Watching an idea turn into reality has been exciting and rewarding.”
Rosalind Brookman
Chief reporter
Rosalind had been a freelance writer for many years, before she met Louise at a networking event and joined the new newspaper team as an occasional contributor. Now, she oversees all editorial content from external writers, as well as creating plenty of articles herself.
"In my role as a reporter, I get to meet some incredible people and organisations. I love being able to connect them to our readers by telling their stories in the paper."
Peter Herring
Designer
Peter joined the Tandridge Independent in March 2023. He brings many years of design and production experience to the paper and is responsible for its fresh new layout, photo collages and updated font, and the introduction of features such as the wrap and centre spread.
"I'm looking forward to developing the paper even further. I've got plenty of ideas for the future, which will enable it to continue to grow."
Giving back to the community
We’re a small team and we really appreciate the ongoing support we receive from the people of Tandridge and its surrounds. To ensure we give something back, we offer work experience placements to students from local schools, giving them the chance to discover how a newspaper like the Tandridge Independent is put together. They get the opportunity to develop their research, interviewing and article writing skills, as well as getting an insight into how our sales team works. They are able to submit work to the paper during their time with us, allowing them to add a published article with their own byline to their portfolio and giving them a head-start with employers in the industry.
We also run interactive school workshops, tailoring these specifically to suit the ages taking part. It’s a great way to introduce younger children to the idea of journalism, and for them to look at the differences between story writing and writing for a newspaper, and for older pupils to practice researching and writing an article. We look at topics such as ‘what makes a good headline?’, ‘how to write a great opening paragraph’ and ‘how to eliminate unnecessary words from your writing’, and we’ll publish their finished work in the paper and on our website when possible.
We love hearing from our community, so get in touch!
