Ofcom has announced the award of eighteen new community radio licences.
This brings the total number of community radio licences awarded to date to forty-eight.
Community radio is a new sector of radio being introduced in the UK. It will become the third tier of radio which will complement the mix of services already provided by the BBC and commercial radio sectors. The characteristics of community radio are distinct from commercial radio in that the services will cover a small geographical area and be provided on a not-for-profit basis focusing on the delivery of specific social benefits to enrich a particular geographical community or a community of interest.
Ofcom has awarded community radio licences in the following areas:
Leeds
Oldham
Tameside
Stockport
Salford
North east Birmingham
Winson Green ( north west Birmingham )
Aston (north central Birmingham )
Small Heath (east Birmingham )
West Bromwich
Stourbridge
Wolverhampton
Belfast (two services)
Lisburn
Newry
Downpatrick
Banbridge
The new community radio licensees in each of these areas are:
Radio Asian Fever (Harehills and Chapeltown, Leeds)
Contact: Jabbar Karim, 229 Roundhay Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS8 4HS
Tel: 0113 240 2222 email: radioasianfever@yahoo.co.uk website: www.feverfm.co.uk
Radio Asian Fever aims to serve the South Asian communities of Leeds ; the Pakistani, Kashmiri, Indian (Sikh and Hindu) and Bengali communities. They mainly reside in the Harehills/Chapeltown, Hyde Park/Burley and Beeston areas.
Oldham Community Radio
Contact: David McGealy, PO Box 444, Oldham, OL4 2WY
Tel: 0161 626 4004 email: studio@oldhamcommunityradio.com
website: www.oldhamcommunityradio.com
Oldham Community Radio will target various disadvantaged communities in the Oldham area.
Tameside Community Radio
Contact: Simon Walker, 166 Mottram Old Road, Hyde, Tameside SK14 3BA
Tel: 0161 367 9580 email: simon@tcrfm.com website: www.tcrfm.com
The station will provide a service for the residents of Tameside, supporting the regeneration of the area.
Pure Radio (Stockport, Cheshire)
Contact: Doug Cresswell, Sanderling Building, Bird Hall Lane, Cheadle Heath, Stockport, SK3 0RF Tel: 0161 474 5900 email: dave@pureradio.org.uk website: www.pureradio.org.uk
Pure Radio aims to serve the community of Stockport, especially the various groups within the general community that are most disadvantaged.
Salford Community Radio
Contact: Paul Miller, The Angel, St Philip?s Place, Off Chapel Street, Salford M3 6FA Tel: 0161 212 4987 email: salfordcommunityradio@hotmail.com
This station will target residents within a 5km radius of Swinton in Salford.
CVCR (north-east Birmingham)
Contact: Neil Hollins, Lower ground Floor, Topcliffe House, Hawkinge Drive, Birmingham, B35 6BT Tel: 0121 749 1343 email: nhollins@cvcr.co.uk
website: www.cvcr.co.uk
CVCR will provide a service to deprived communities in the north-east Birmingham area.
New Style Radio ( Winson Green, north-west Birmingham)
Contact: Martin Blissett, 339 Dudley Road, Winson Green, Birmingham, B18 4HB Tel: 0121 456 3826 email: newstyle@acmccentre.co.uk website: www.newstyleradio.co.uk
A station for people of Afro Caribbean heritage and its derivatives living in Winson Green and the surrounding areas of Birmingham.
Aston FM (Aston, north central Birmingham )
Contact: Muff Murfin, The Old Smithy, 1 Post Office Lane, Kempsey, Worcester, WR5 3NS Tel: 01905 820659 email: Muffmurfin@btconnect.com
Aston FM will serve the various communities in the Aston area.
Unity FM (east Birmingham)
Contact: Dr. Mohammed Hanif, PO Box 5243, Birmingham, B11 1TA
Tel: 07977 217088 email: Drhanif786@aol.com
This service is for Muslims in east Birmingham, including Small Heath and surrounding areas.
The Public ( West Bromwich)
Contact: Beverley Harvey, 1 Overend Street, West Bromwich, West Midlands , B70 6EY Tel: 0121 525 6861 email: bevharvey@thepublic.com website: www.thepublic.com
Public FM will serve West Bromwich and the culturally diverse surrounding areas.
The Bridge (Stourbridge)
Contact: Dr. Paul Collins, PO Box 3968, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY8 5WR
Tel: 01384 394014 email: paul.collins@stourbridgeradio.com website: www.stourbridgeradio.com
The service is intended to serve the community of Stourbridge.
WCR FM (Wolverhampton)
Contact: Peter Whitehouse, WCR FM, Newhampton Centre, Newhampton Road East, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV1 4AP Tel: 01902 572260 email: whitehousep@wolvercoll.ac.uk website: www.wcrt.co.uk
The service will target people living within a 5km radius of the centre of the City of Wolverhampton , particularly the most deprived areas to the east.
F?ile FM (West Belfast)
Contact: Emma Mullen, 473 Falls Road, Belfast, BT12 6DD
Tel: 028 9031 3440 email: emma@feilebelfast.com website: www.feilebelfast.com
F?ile FM will broadcast mainly to the West Belfast community. It will reflect the diversity, cultural, political historical and social experiences of a broadly nationalist working class community.
Raidi? F?ilte (Belfast)
Contact: M?ire U? Mhaoilchiar?in, Cult?rlann Mc Adam ? Fiaich , 216 Falls Road, Belfast BT12 6AH Tel: 028 9020 8040 email:mary@aislingghear.tv
Raidi? F?ilte intends to broadcast to the Irish language community in Belfast , including those who can understand Irish or are interested enough in the Irish language and Gaelic culture, in general, to want to listen to Irish orientated radio.
BFBS Lisburn
Contact: Marc Tyley , BFBS Radio, Chalfont Grove, Chalfont St. Peter, Bucks, SL9 8TN. Tel: 01494 878702 email: marc.tyley@bfbs.com website: www.bfbs.com/ni
British soldiers, sailors, airmen, officers, their immediate dependents, and associated civilians living and working in the Lisburn community.
I?R FM (Newry, Co Down)
Contact: Sean Og Mac Braoin, Aerwaves Ltd, Iontaobhas na Gaeilge, WIN Business Park, Canal Quay, Newry BT35 6PH Tel: 028 3025 7800 email: info@iontaobhas.com website: www.iontaobhas.com
The target community is the people of Newry City.
Down FM (Downpatrick, Co Down)
Contact: Ian McCormick, EDIFHE, Market Street, Downpatrick, Co Down BT30 6ND Tel: 028 4461 5815 email: ian.mccormick@edifhe.ac.uk Website: www.edifhe.ac.uk
Down FM will serve the town of Downpatrick and surrounding villages.
Shine FM (Banbridge, Co Down)
Contact: Mrs. Annmarie Asiimwe, 49 Cline Road, Banbridge, Co Down BT32 3HT Tel: 028 4062 2445 email: admin@shinefm.org.uk website: www.shinefm.org.uk
Shine FM intends to broadcast to Banbridge and the surrounding areas providing a community radio service with a Christian ethos.
Ofcom has under consideration two more applications from the West Yorkshire area. Decisions on these applications will be made once further work on the availability of suitable FM frequencies in the area has been completed.
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, 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 by the end of the year.
Licences are awarded for a five-year period.
A statement setting out the main determining factors for the award of the eighteen community radio licences set out above will be available shortly from the Ofcom website.