CN Group radio stations in the Midlands have been given permission from Ofcom to co-locate, RadioToday.co.uk can reveal. A new studio centre in Honiley, Kenilworth will house Rugby FM, Touch FM Coventry, Touch FM Warwick and Touch FM Stratford upon-Avon from next year.
The new premises, at Honiley, Kenilworth are located within the licence area for the new Warwick station (Touch) and inside the boundary of the MCA for Touch FM Stratford, meaning only Ofcom approval was needed for two of the four stations to locate there.
Julie Fair, in submitting the request to Ofcom said: "We do not believe that the character of service in terms of output will be affected in any way . Localness and relevance to each licence area will be completely retained as we are not asking to change the output , only the location from where it is generated, which is still geographically very close to each separate licence area."
Senior management would be reduced, along with the elimiation of rent on each current location.
In approving the request, Ofcom said: "The Warwick premises are to be situated on the edge of the Stratford MCA, creating the path to a natural South Midlands hub for the CN Group. Cultural affinity has been displayed, and the request is in line with criteria as laid out in Ofcom’s Radio Review. It involves short distances only, and a good case has been made with regard to the financial situation."
CN's new Warwick station is set to launch before April 2008, after a three month extension was granted.
Meanwhile, here are the various points referred to above, via Google Maps. Click a blue place-mark for further details:
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