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11|05|07

Ofcom awards six new community radio licences

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

Community radio is a new tier of radio which complements the mix of services already provided by the BBC and commercial radio sectors. Community radio services cover a small geographical area and are 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 awarded community radio licences in the following areas:

• Inverness
• Isle of Bute
• North and South Queensferry
• Dumfries
• Bangor (Northern Ireland)
• Enniskillen

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

Ness FM (Inverness)
Contact: Mike Gilmour, Lismore, Rosehaugh, Avoch, Ross-shire, Scotland, IV9 8RF
Tel: 01381 620655 or 07815 416957
E-mail: gilmourmike@yahoo.co.uk Website: www.nessfm.org

Ness FM will provide Inverness with a local voice and a platform for local culture and the arts. Access to the station will be open to local residents, and programming will be governed largely by local market research to reflect the unique nature of the Highland Capital.

Bute FM (Isle of Bute)
Contact: Iain Donald, ButeLive, Macbeth & Maclagan, 34 Castle Street, Rothesay, Isle of Bute PA20 9HD. Tel: 01700 504673
E-mail: butefm@yahoo.co.uk Website: www.butefm.org.uk

Bute FM will provide a community-focussed station devoted to the people of Bute. It will include a varied mix of music styles and genres together with local news and views, up-to-the minute travel information and other items of local interest.

Jubilee FM (North and South Queensferry)
Contact: Charles Fletcher MBE, 17 Carlingnose Point, North Queensferry, Fife, KY11 1ER. Tel: 0131 331 3325 or 07774 405279.
E-mail: jfm@jubileefm.co.uk Website: www.jubileefm.co.uk

Jubilee FM will serve the community of North and South Queensferry, twin towns on either side of the River Forth. The service will offer local news, local views, music and entertainment.

Alive Radio (Dumfries)
Contact: Ian Faulds, 2 Norfolk Terrace, Glencaple Road, Dumfries DG1 4AR
Tel: 01387 270294 or 07910 124483
E-mail: mail@aliveradio.net Website: www.aliveradio.net

Alive Radio will provide a community service with a Christian ethos for the Dumfries area.

Star FM (Bangor, Northern Ireland)
Contact: Liane Radcliffe, South Eastern Regional College, Castle Park Road, Bangor, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, BT20 4TF.
Tel: 02891 276710 or 07817 425533
E-mail: lradcliffe@ndai.ac.uk Website: n/a

Star FM will broadcast a service reflecting the area's rich local heritage and arts activities. The provision of training opportunities will be central to the ethos of the station and programming will include a diverse range of music and speech-based output.

Vibe FM (Enniskillen)
Contact: Neil Wylie, Vibe FM Community Radio Limited, Intec Centre, East Bridge Street, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, BT74 7BT
Tel: 02866 343944 or 07782 561217
E-mail: manager@viberadio.fm Website: www.viberadio.fm

Vibe FM will provide a service for the Enniskillen area, focusing on the interests and needs of young people. The station will provide media training, and broadcast programming relevant to the local community including a diverse range of music genres and participatory speech-based output.

Licences are awarded for a five-year period.

A statement setting out the main determining factors for the award of the six 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 two further applications, but has decided not to award a licence to the following groups:

• Highland Christian Radio, Inverness
• Radio North Isles, Orkney

2. Applications for community radio licences are being invited on a region-by-region basis. Further details can be found on the Ofcom website at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/commun_radio/

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

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