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Ofcom awards seven new community radio licences

Ofcom yesterday announced the award of seven new community radio licences in England and Scotland.

The new stations will serve communities in Blackburn in Lancashire, Caithness in Scotland, Great Driffield in East Riding, Leyland in Lancashire, Liverpool, Southport in Merseyside and Rawtenstall in the Rossendale Valley in East Lancashire.

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:

Blackburn Youth Radio (Blackburn Community Radio Limited)
Contact name: Brendan Ferguson
Phone: 01254 205294
Email: blackburnyouthradio@gmail.com

Blackburn Youth Radio will broadcast to young people (under-25s) in Blackburn, Lancashire

Caithness FM (Caithness FM Limited)
Contact name: Jackie Johnson
Phone: 07889 017987
Email: office@caithnessfm.co.uk
Website: www.Caithnessfm.co.uk

Caithness FM will be a community radio service for Caithness in Scotland.

Great Driffield Radio (Great Driffield Radio Limited)
Contact name: Barry Robinson 
Phone: 07986 127999
Email: info@greatdriffieldradio.co.uk

Great Driffield Radio will be a radio station for the people of Great Driffield and surrounding village communities in East Riding of Yorkshire

Leyland Community Radio (Leyland Community Radio Limited)
Contact name: Brian Ashman 
Phone: 07952 023424 
Email: leylandcommunityradio@gmail.com

Leyland Community Radio will serve Leyland and the surrounding area in Lancashire, with a particular focus on the over-35s and older age groups.

Liverpool Community Radio (KensingtonVision CIC)
Contact name: Stephen James Faragher 
Phone: 07792 854307
Email: sfaragher@hotmail.com
Website: www.L-C-R.CO.UK

Liverpool Community Radio will broadcast to the people of Kensington and Fairfield, and surrounding areas in Liverpool.

Mighty Radio (Mighty Radio Limited)
Contact name: Trevor Ford
Phone: 07768 790857
Email: trevford1@btinternet.com
Website: www.mightysouthport.co.uk

Mighty Radio will serve the people of Southport and surrounding areas.

Rossendale Radio (Rossendale Radio Ltd)
Contact name: Anthony Horne
Phone: 07769 644883
Email: books@tonyhornebooks.com

Rossendale Radio is a community radio service for Rawtenstall in the Rossendale Valley, East Lancashire.

The licences are awarded for a five-year period. See our statement setting out the main determining factors for the award of the licences (PDF, 168.9 KB).

Community radio

Community radio offers thousands of volunteers the chance to get involved in broadcasting across the UK. More than 250 community radio stations broadcast around the UK, each reflecting the local needs and interests of its audience.

In April, Ofcom announced the conclusions of its review of community radio: future licensing and technical policy.

Ofcom has amended its technical policy to remove references to set coverage areas for community radio stations. We have adopted a more flexible approach, and applications are considered for wider areas where applicants can clearly demonstrate the proposed coverage area will better serve its target community, where it is technically possible.

Notes for editors

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

  • Radio Southport (Radio Southport Limited)

 

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

Original article link: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2017/seven-new-community-radio-licences

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