Ofcom has advertised a new local commercial radio licence to cover the city of Preston and surrounding towns such as Chorley and Leyland. The area is already home to Emap stations Rock FM and Magic 999 which broadcast to the entire county. The new licence, expected to use two frequencies of 106.5 and 96.3 FM, is estimated to cover an adult population of around 270,000.
Confirmed applicants include CLR, who recently broadcast an RSL to the Chorley and Leyland area, and The Radio Business who operated an RSL in Preston called Ribble FM in January 2002. UTV Radio have also confirmed to RadioToday.co.uk that they will also apply for the licence to compliment neighbouring stations in Bolton, Blackpool, Wigan and Warrington.
The closing date for the receipt of applications is 3.00pm on 7 September 2006. Keep an eye on RadioToday.co.uk for the very latest.