The UK?s most unique radio station, Angel Radio, which broadcasts to the Borough of Havant has been granted one of the country?s first official Community Radio Licenses.
The station has been running on a special project licence, which was set up to test the feasibility and viability of long-term community radio in the UK. This brand new licence runs for 5 years. Angel?s Station Manager, Tony Smith, made the announcement on air at midday today. He said “This is wonderful news and a great opportunity for older people in the area to take part in a project which enables them to take over the airwaves and have a radio service entirely dedicated to them.”
When considering Angel Radio?s application for a community radio licence, which was one of 192 applications in total, Ofcom?s Radio Licensing Committee said that they were “impressed by this well-established group. It considered the application was particularly strong in its social gain objectives, in how well its output catered for the tastes and interests of its target community and broadened choice in the area, in its arrangements for access to the station and accountability, and in the support it had received from the over-60s of Havant.”
Station Manager Tony Smith said that support from
listeners, local businesses, community groups and Councils had all helped to win the radio station its very special licence. He added “Many people, when they first hear about our station, think that it?s just a little group of volunteers playing a few vintage records on the wireless, but in fact there are 70 volunteers doing a total of 740 hours a week, which, if they were paid, would mean a wage bill of ?500,000 a year. Angel Radio is committed to providing a full radio service 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, specifically for persons aged 60 and over who live in the Borough of Havant.
Uplifting nostalgic entertainment in the form of music, humour and memories from the years 1900 to 1959, together with current information regarding health, diet, pensions, etc. and stimulation in the form of reminiscence therapy for mental health, and dance and exercise for physical health, accentuate the positive aspects of old age for the 29,000 older persons who live within
the borough. The station creates a sense of value and self-worth for staff and audience and gives a voice to a section of the community who are often segregated and generally undervalued and underserved by the media.”
Angel Radio broadcasts on 101.1 MHz fm