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08|09|05

Ofcom awards ten community radio licences

Ofcom today announces the award of ten new community radio licences.

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 this week awarded community radio licences in the following areas:

• Bradford
• Halifax
• Ardwick, Longsight, Levenshulme and surrounding areas to the south of central Manchester
• Wythenshawe, south Manchester
• Chorley
• Rochdale
• Norwich
• Aberdeen
• Orkney Islands
• Isles of Scilly

The new community radio licensees in each of these areas are:

• BCB (Bradford)
  Contact: Mary Dowson, 2 Forster Square, Bradford, Yorkshire, BD1 1DQ
  Tel: 01274 771677, email: mary@bcb.yorks.com website: www.bcb.yorks.com
  BCB aims to serve the diverse inner city communities of Bradford. It is currently broadcasting a pilot access/community radio service, which commenced in March 2002.
• Phoenix Radio (Halifax)
  Contact: Howard Priestley, DG/G, D Mill, Dean Clough, Halifax, HX3 5AX
  Tel: 01422 365923, email: sales@phoenixfm.co.uk website: www.phoenixfm.co.uk
  Phoenix Radio will provide a community service to Halifax. It will provide a voice for community groups in the area, highlight issues of concern to local people, and training in radio skills.
• ALL FM (Ardwick, Longsight, Levenshulme and surrounding areas to the south of central Manchester)
  Contact: Alex Green, 19 Albert Road, Levenshulme, Manchester, M19 2EQ
  Tel:0161 2486888, email: alex@allfm.org website: www.allfm.org
  ALL FM provides a community radio service for the benefit of the inhabitants of this culturally diverse area of Manchester. ALL FM is one of the pilot access/community radio services and began broadcasting in June 2002.
• Wythenshawe FM (Wythenshawe, South Manchester)
  Contact: Phil Korbel, Radio Regen, 12 Hilton Street, Manchester, M1 1JF
  Tel:0161 237 5454, email: phil@radioregen.org website: www.wfmradio.org
  Wythenshawe FM aims to become a vital part of the life of Wythenshawe, providing ‘radio for the people, by the people’. This group has been operating one of the access/community pilot stations and commenced broadcasts in May 2002.
• Chorley FM (Chorley, Lancashire)
  Contact: Nicola Hammerton, 4 Victoria Street, Chorley, Lancashire, PR7 2TX
  Tel: 07956 256563. email: nicolahammerton@hotmail.com
  Chorley FM aims to provide a service for Chorley’s youth aged between 15 and 25, and Chorley’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community.
• Crescent Radio (Rochdale, Lancashire)
  Contact: Faheem Chisti, PO Box 284, Rochdale, OL16 1YS
  Tel: 01706 340786, email: faheem@myself.com website: www.crescentradio.net
  Crescent Radio will provide a community service for the Asian Muslim audience of Rochdale, with largely talk-based programming in English and community languages.
• Future Radio (Norwich)
  Contact: Tom Buckham, The NR5 Project, 561 Earlham Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TF Tel:01603 250505, email: info@nr5project.co.uk website: www.futurefmradio.co.uk
  Future Radio will be a community station for West Norwich. It will be delivered by the NR5 Project, an inclusive arts and education project, and will reflect the diversity of the communities in the area.
• shmuFM (Aberdeen)
  Contact: Murray Dawson, Station House Media Unit, Station Road, Woodside, Aberdeen, AB24 2WB Tel: 01224 487174, email: stationhouse@freeuk.com website: www.shmufm.net
  Station House Media Unit (shmu) is a community-managed, needs-led organisation which aims to feature a broad range of programming on schmuFM. It will broadcast to the Middlefield, Printfield, Ferrier/Sandilands and Tillydrone areas of Aberdeen.
• The Superstation (Orkney Islands)
  Contact: Dave Miller, St Margaret’s Hope, Orkney, KW17 2SP
  Tel: 01856 831332, email: studio@thesuperstation.co.uk website: www.thesuperstation.co.uk
  The Superstation will be a community-focussed station devoted to the people of Orkney. It will aim to provide news, views and information as well as music, to all Orcadians.
• Radio Scilly (Isles of Scilly)
  Contact: Peter Hobson Isles of Scilly Perfumery, St Mary’s Porthloo Isle of Scilly, TR21 ONE Tel:01720 423304, email: radioscilly@aol.com
  Radio Scilly will target all of the 2,100 residents of the five inhabited Isles of Scilly, with an ‘open door’ policy that involves and targets all demographic groups and reflects the distinct culture of the Isles.

Ofcom has under consideration more applications from the Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire areas. It is unable to make decisions on these applications at present, pending further work on the availability of suitable FM frequencies in these areas. Ofcom hopes to be able to make further awards in both regions in due course.

With the announcement of the ten new community radio awards today, the total number of community radio licences awarded to date has increased to thirty. Licences are awarded for a five-year period.

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/rbl/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, 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 have assessed all 194 applications by the end of the year.

A statement setting out the main determining factors for the award of the ten community radio licences set out above will be available shortly from the Ofcom website.

Ends.

NOTES FOR EDITORS AND CSEs

1. In addition to the licence awards detailed above, Ofcom considered four further applications but has decided not to award licences to these groups. They are:

• Canalside Community Radio in Bollington, Cheshire
• Wayland Community Radio, Watton and Swaffham, Central Norfolk
• The Edge FM, Haverhill, Suffolk
• Drive FM, Derry/Londonderry

2. Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.

For further details please visit www.ofcom.org.uk.

CONTACT
Ofcom Media Office
mediaoffice@ofcom.org.uk
(+44) (0)20 7981 3033

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