Following on from the first awarding of a community radio licence in March, and a further four in April, Ofcom today announces the award of fifteen new licences.
The areas are Central Southampton, Hedge End, Botley and West End, near Eastleigh in Hampshire, Portsmouth, Newport, Isle of Wight, Glasgow (three services), Cumbernauld, Nottingham (three services), Normanton, Derby, Leicester, Market Harborough and Melton Mowbray.
The new community radio licensees in each of these areas are:
? Unity 24 (Southampton)
Contact: Ram Kalyan ?Kelly?, 107 St. Mary's Road, Southampton SO14 OAN
Tel: 023 8023 3239, email: kelly@unity24.org website: www.unity24.org
Unity 24 aims to provide a community radio service for those living in deprived communities, in particular Asian and ethnic minority communities, in Southampton.
? Skyline Community Radio (Hedge End, Botley and West End, Hampshire)
Contact: David Gates, HEYCA, St Johns Road, Hedge End, Southampton SO30 4AF. Tel: 0800 583 5898, email: Dgi-marketing@supanet.com
Skyline will provide a community service for the three villages of Hedge End, Botley, West End and surrounding areas of the southern parishes of Eastleigh, Hants.
? Express FM (Portsmouth)
Contact: Cheryl Buggy, 16, Villiers Road, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 2HQ
Tel: 023 9282 2112 , email: info@expressfm.com website: www.expressfm.com
Express FM will provide access to the airwaves for the learning community of Portsmouth enabling school, college and university students, and other volunteers, to make their own radio programmes; giving voice to young people, the city?s education providers and the wider community.
? Angel Radio (Newport, Isle of Wight)
Contact: Chris Gutteridge, Communications House, 56 Love Lane, Cowes PO31 7EU. Tel: 01983 246810, email: angelradioiw@hotmail.com
Angel Radio plans to provide a radio service specifically aimed at people aged over 60 living around Newport, Isle of Wight. It will provide an entertainment-based format focusing on the music and memories of 1900 to 1959, as well as up to date information of relevance to the target community.
? Awaz FM (Central Glasgow)
Contact: Ali Malik, 92 Commerce Street, Tradeston, Glasgow G5 8DG
Tel: 0141 420 6666, email: ali@radioawaz.com website: www.radioawaz.com
Awaz FM will serve the Asian (Indian sub continent) population in Glasgow, delivering entertainment, community information, local, national and international news broadcasting in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and English. It will be the voice of Glasgow?s ethnic communities and their respective faiths. Awaz FM is one of the pilot access/community radio services and began broadcasting in April 2002.
? VIP On Air (West End of Glasgow)
Contact: Kerryn Krige, Centre for Sensory Impaired People, 17 Gullane St, Glasgow G11 6AH.
Tel: 0141 3345530, email: Kerryn.krige@viponair.com website: www.viponair.com
VIP On Air will provide blind and partially sighted people with news and information in an accessible format, presented in an informative and entertaining manner. Programming is broadcast and produced by and for blind people.
? Sunny Govan Radio (Govan, SW Glasgow)
Contact: Heather McMillan, Unit 29-30 Elderpark Workspace, 100 Elderpark Street, Govan, Glasgow G51 3TR. Tel: 0141 440 0600,
email: sunnygovanradio@hotmail.com Website: www.sunnygovan.org
Sunny Govan Radio aims to be pro-active in encouraging participation from the local diverse community. It will develop learning opportunities, promote equality, creativity, volunteering, and community empowerment, ?giving a voice to people who are seldom heard?.
? Revival Radio (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch)
Contact: Ian Dunlop, Revival Radio Ltd, PO Box 106, Cumbernauld G67 1JX
Tel: 01236 721110, email: ian@revivalradio.org.uk website: www.revivalradio.org.uk
Revival Radio will broadcast locally-produced programmes from a Christian lifestyle perspective to Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch.
? Radio Faza* ? Asian Women?s Project (Nottingham)
Contact: Tasneem Ahmed, 412 Radford Road, Nottingham NG7 7NP.
Tel: 0115 8440047, email: ahmedtas@hotmail.com
Radio Faza aims to empower individuals within the South Asian community through the provision of education, training, advice and information in several community languages, and contribute to building an enterprising community which values its people.
? Faza FM* ? Karimia Ltd (Nottingham)
Contact: Dr Musharaf Hussain, 512-514 Berridge Road West, Nottingham NG7 5JU. Tel: 0115 8415807, email: bmccnottingham@hotmail.com website: www.karimia.com
The station will provide a platform from which social, economic & religious issues of concern to the Muslim Community (Pakistani, Kashmiri, Bengali & Indian) will be addressed. The service aims to promote the regeneration and confidence building of the community through entertaining, inspiring and educational programmes.
*The Asian Women?s Project and the Karimia Institute currently jointly operate one of the pilot access/community radio services and began broadcasting in March 2002. They have now successfully applied to run separate services.
? NBC Live (Nottingham)
Contact: Kelbert Henriques, African Caribbean Enterprise Consortium, 14 Peveril Street, Radford, Nottingham NG7 4AL. Tel: 0115 970 6882, email: info@ace-consortium.net website: www.ace-consortium.net
NBC Live is aimed at the African Caribbean community and the wider community in Nottingham. It aims to combat discrimination, connect communities and foster a cohesive environment.
? Radio Ikhlas (Normanton, Derby)
Contact: Aftab Rehman, 110A Lower Dale Road, Derby DE23 6WZ
Tel: 01332 202880, email: info@ikhlas.org.uk website: www.ikhlas.org.uk
Radio Ikhlas plans to target the Asian (primarily Pakistani) community and the growing population of asylum seekers in the Normanton area of Derby.
? Takeover Radio (Leicester)
Contact: Graham Coley, PO Box 2000, Leicester LE1 6YX. Tel: 0116 299 9600, email: graham@takeoverradio.com website: www.takeoverradio.org
Takeover Radio is for children and young people. It is characterised by the involvement of the young people they serve, who receive training and produce programming with energy, enthusiasm and originality. Takeover Radio currently operates one of the pilot access/community radio services and began broadcasting in March 2002.
? Harborough FM (Market Harborough, Leicestershire)
Contact: Barry Badger, Learning Innovation Centre, Welland Business Park, Market Harborough LE16 7PS. Tel: 01858 466984, email: chrishfm@hotmail.com website: www.harboroughfm.co.uk
Harborough FM aims to provide a sustainable, informative, entertaining and relevant community radio service for the Market Harborough area.
? The Eye (Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire)
Contact: Cliff Sanderson, Bridegate Manor, Bridegate Lane, Hickling Pastures, Melton Mowbray LE14 3QA. Tel: 01664 822132, email: theeye@twcfm.co.uk, website: www.twcfm.co.uk
The Eye will broadcast to the rural community of the Vale of Belvoir in the heart of the East Midlands.
This brings the total number of community radio licences awarded to date to twenty. Licences are awarded for a five-year period.
Applications for the first wave of community radio licences were invited in September 2004. Ofcom received 194 applications and is currently in the process of assessing those applications and examining frequency availability options. The applications can be viewed at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rl/commun_radio/tlproc/applications/
There are currently 14 pilot community radio stations operating around the UK. Given the large number of applications received for community radio licences, Ofcom decided to assess them in order of priority by first considering applications for areas where the 14 pilot community radio stations are currently broadcasting. This involves over 70 applications, and includes areas such as London, Manchester and Glasgow.
Ofcom is aiming to make decisions in these areas by early autumn, before moving on to look at applications for areas not involved in
the pilot scheme. Ofcom expects to complete this round of the community radio awards process in late autumn.
A statement setting out the main determining factors for the award of the fifteen community radio licences set out above will be available shortly from the Ofcom website.