A London community radio station has become the first in the capital to cease broadcasting. TGR Sound, which broadcast to the Bexley, Dartford, Thamesmead and Woolwich areas of South-East London since 2006, ended at 1pm on Sunday 22 June.
A statement published on the TGR Sound website describes the financial conditions which have led to the closure: "Although regular revenue from training and hosting festivals existed, it is not sufficient to cover the total costs of running an FM Radio Station and therefore we became increasingly dependant on grants and funding to survive and pay for the cost of rent, electricity and other essential services.
"These forms of funding by their very nature cannot be guaranteed and a succession of rejected applications have left 103.7 FM TGR Sound with no major source of income for the remainder of this year."
Since its launch, the station claims to have provided over 300 community groups with support and free publicity for their events and services, trained in excess of 5,000 people and forged partnerships with 200 organisations.
At the end of a special "Goodbye Show" broadcast by TGR Sound on Sunday, chairman Terry Smith thanked listeners and volunteers for their support: "Thanks to everyone who has kept it going for as long as it has.
"It's not about the station, it's about the friends we've met, and that'll carry on."
[b]Do you volunteer with TGR Sound? How do you feel about the closure? [link=https://radiotoday.co.uk/e107_plugins/contactform_menu/contactform.php]Contact RadioToday.co.uk[/link] and tell us your thoughts.[/b]