Ofcom today announced the award of the new FM local commercial radio licence for Durham.
By the closing date of 6 January 2005, Ofcom received three applications for the Durham licence. After giving careful consideration to each of the applications submitted, the Ofcom Radio Licensing Committee has decided to award the licence to:
Durham FM Ltd ? contact: Brian Lister , 37-39 West End , Sedgefield, County Durham TS21 2BW. Telephone (daytime): 07979 853 990. E-mail: mail@durhamfm.net
Durham FM is wholly-owned by The Local Radio Company. It will provide ?a friendly, locally involved radio station aimed particularly at 25 to 54 year-olds, focussing on local news, information and issues relevant to life today in and around Durham and featuring the best music from the past four decades and today.?
The licence is for a service to cover the city of Durham and the surrounding area which has an adult population (aged 15+) of around 160,000. However, the exact coverage will be determined by the location of the transmission site and other technical characteristics. The proposed frequencies are subject to international agreement on radio spectrum usage.
Ofcom expects Durham FM to begin broadcasting at the earliest opportunity and no later than two years from this award date.
Ofcom will publish a statement setting out the key determining factors for the award of this licence shortly.
The licence will be issued for a twelve year period.