Thanks to @adders for pointing to this. Ex Birmingham Post editor Marc Reeves has set up a community blog for Harborne - I lived near there once - in Birmingham.
Marc says he has been thinking of setting up such a blog for a while and it is something I have thought about lots. Having three young children and working away from home is too much of an obstacle at the moment but it is great to see Marc's project get off the ground.
Such blogs should surely be on the radar for journalists on local papers/websites. As Marc says, all you need is a netbook, web connection and a little technical knowledge (which cab be learned).
Good luck with it, Marc.