Star and Stray FM extend to Fresh areas

UKRD owned stations Star Radio and Stray FM have had alterations to their licences to allow them to extend their coverage areas into Yorkshire.

In an Ofcom first – parent company UKRD, which bought the Yorkshire Dales licence in January, has been allowed to surrender the licence it bought, and effectively re-apply parts of it to two existing stations.

Stray FM, which was originally re-broadcast on the Yorkshire Dales frequencies after it bought and closed Fresh Radio, will broadcast with a single licence on FM in Skipton, Ilkley and Otley areas as well as Harrogate.

Meanwhile, Star Radio, which is made up of the former Alpha, Durham FM and Minster Northallerton licences will effectively extend its Darlington licence to serve Richmond in the north of the original Fresh Radio coverage area.

The Broadcasting Act 1990 (as amended) allows Ofcom to vary licences providing it “would not result in a significant increase in the area or locality for which the service in question is licensed to be provided.”

Both extensions will take effect from midnight on Monday 01 October.

UKRD Chief Executive William Rogers told RadioToday.co.uk: “This series of changes to the licences of both Stray FM and Star Radio bring FM radio to most parts of the old Dales licence that have never had it before and we are delighted to have played our part in delivering real broadcasting progress to these areas.

“Handing back the old AM licence was a necessary part of the process to bring local FM to parts of the Dales in a commercially viable way. Local listeners and businesses will benefit enormously from the local services that these two radio stations will bring and we are already seeing positive audience and advertiser reaction to these changes.”