There are only three weeks to go until The Stray Ferret becomes a subscription publication. This article explains what will happen when we introduce a paywall.

When we introduce subscription, all readers will be able to see the homepage and scroll down through the different sections, such as news and lifestyle.

The majority of stories will be behind the paywall – meaning that when you click on them, you will be unable to read them unless you subscribe.

Subscription to the Stray Ferret won’t just give you access to all our stories – it will also give you the ability to comment on stories and engage in local debate.

It will give you access to dozens of exclusive local discounts to shops, hairdressers, restaurants and places to go. We’ll be giving you more details of those offers next week.

If you come into our office on Cambridge Crescent in July, as a subscription member you’ll also get a free Stray Ferret mug.

Subscription will cost £4.99 a month. If you pay annually, it’s £49.99, which works out at less than £1 a week. You can cancel at any time.

You will be asked for your name and email address to create an account with us. There will be various payment options.

A few selected stories will be made free to read – for example, the General Election is happening a few days after we are scheduled to introduce subscription and we’ve decided that coverage of the election will be free until after polling day.

The What’s On section, selected competitions and voucher offers, and all commercial content will also be free to read.

Why is there a subscription model in place?

Like many newspapers across the UK, advertising revenue hasn’t been enough to cover our costs and keep the quality of journalism and stories that we produce.

We did not want to cut down on the service we provide. We’ve made the cost of subscription as low as we can – there will still be advertising on the website to keep the cost of subscription low.

We hope you understand and support us to continue to cover the Harrogate area as much as we can.

To find out more, here’s the Stray Ferret’s founder, Tamsin O’Brien, who explains why we are doing this.