Ofcom has granted a further £233,460 to community radio stations across the UK – giving priority to groups that had not previously received an award.
Of the 62 applications, 15 were granted, 46 were turned down and one was not considered as the station concerned had not yet returned a Community Radio Fund grant report to Ofcom following a previous grant award.
The average grant in the latest round was £15,564 – and all but one of the applications are to fund a staff position. Ofcom was particularly pleased with the award of a grant that will support the continued development of the Community Radio Toolkit: "a valuable free resource that will have a positive impact across the sector."
The next round (the Second Round of 2009/10) will be available later this year, of which a total of £226,540 remains in the Fund available to stations.
Some of the stations winning a grant this time round include Canalside Community Radio in Cheshire, Glastonbury FM, 3TFM (Ayrshire), Bute FM (Isle of Bute), Hillz FM (Coventry), Radio Cardiff and Wythenshawe FM in Manchester.