Ofcom
Printable version

Ofcom awards six new community radio licences

The new stations will serve communities in Portsmouth, Southampton, Alton and Winchester.

Community radio services are provided on a not-for-profit basis, focusing on the delivery of specific social benefits to a particular geographical community or a community of interest.

Licences have been awarded to:

  • Angel Radio (Angel Radio Limited)
    Contact name: Tony Smith
    Phone: 02392 481988 
    Email: tony@angelradio.co.uk

Website: www.angelradio.co.uk 
Angel Radio will be a community service for people aged 60+ in Portsmouth and Havant. It currently broadcasts a service to Havant, but as a result of this licence award the station will be able to expand its service to include Portsmouth (and will return the Havant licence).

BFBS Portsmouth is for the military community of the Naval Base and Royal Navy ships in Portsmouth.

  • Awaaz FM (Awaaz FM Community Radio CIC)
    Contact name: Ali Beg
    Phone: 07765 145046 
    Email: info@awaazfm.co.uk

Website: www.awaazfm.co.uk 
Awaaz FM is for ethnic minority groups in Southampton. It will broadcast in a range of languages including Urdu, Punjabi, Pashtun, and Hindi.

Fiesta FM is a station for the Hispanic population in Southampton. It will broadcast in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

  • Wey Valley Radio (Wey Valley Radio (Alton) Limited)
    Contact name: David Way
    Phone: 07751 575130
    Email: info@weyvalleyradio.uk

Website: www.weyvalleyradio.uk 
Wey Valley Radio is a radio station for the general population in Alton.

Website: www.winchesterradio.uk
Winchester Radio is a community service for the population aged over 50 in the city of Winchester.

statement setting out the main determining factors for the award of the community radio licences referred to above can be found on the Ofcom website. Community radio licences are awarded for a five-year period.

Ten years of community radio

Community radio, which offers thousands of volunteers the chance to get involved in broadcasting across the UK, is ten years old.

The last decade has seen the number of community radio stations increase from just a handful to more than 240 stations, each reflecting the local needs and interests of its audience.

In March, Ofcom announced its intention to simplify the way community radio stations record their Key Commitments. This revised approach reduces the administrative burden for licensees, and provides these stations greater flexibility to serve their target communities and deliver valuable social benefits.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. In addition to the licence awards detailed above, Ofcom considered one further application, but decided not to award a licence to the following group:

  • Waterside Radio (Waterside Radio Ltd), Totton and Eling, Hampshire.

2. Applications for community radio licences are being invited on a region-by-region basis. Further details can be found on the Ofcom website.

Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. We have responsibilities across television, radio, video on demand, telecoms, wireless communications and postal services. News releases and other resources for journalists can be found at 

 

Channel website: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/

Share this article

Latest News from
Ofcom

Spotlight on women at Serco – Anita’s story