Ofcom awards four new community radio licences

Ofcom today announces the award of four 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 typically 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 in Scotland and the north-east of England :

Stevenston, Saltcoats and Ardrossan, North Ayrshire
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Sunderland
Middlesbrough

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

3TFM (Stevenston, Saltcoats and Ardrossan, North Ayrshire)
Contact: Louis Ferguson, 3TFM Community Radio for Health, c/o Focus Community Learning Centre, Primrose Place, Saltcoats KA21 6LH
Telephone: 01294 604612. Website: www.3tfm.co.uk

3TFM will serve the local community of Stevenston, Saltcoats and Ardrossan with a community radio service which places particular emphasis on improving the health and general well-being of local residents.

Spice FM (Newcastle-upon-Tyne)
Contact: Sandeep Kapoor, 41 West Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE4 9PX
Telephone: 07771 565 836. E-mail address: sand@spicefm.co.uk Website: www.spicefm.co.uk

This station will aim to serve the South Asian and new and emerging communities of interest and identity in Newcastle. Spice FM’s philosophy is centred around the core values of ‘entertain, educate and enlighten’ and ‘by the community….for the community’.

Utopia FM (Sunderland)
Contact: Richard Berry, The Media Centre, University of Sunderland, Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peters, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear SR6 0DD
Telephone: 0191 515 2239. E-mail: community.radio@sunderland.ac.uk

Utopia FM will be a community radio station by and for students at the University of Sunderland and young people in the wider City of Sunderland. The music focus will be ‘new music’ with support for local and regional artists and output will also include material on local culture, education, training and social inclusion.

Community Voice FM (Middlesbrough)
Contact: Idrees Rashid, 109–111 Parliament Road, Middlesbrough TS1 4JE.
Telephone: 07984 183 833. Email: info@cvfm.org.uk. Website: www.cvfm.org.uk

Community Voice FM will serve the community of Middlesbrough , in particular those who are most marginalised and suffer the most disadvantage. It will give a voice to community issues, concerns and interests and involve the community in the development and delivery of the service.

Licences are awarded for a five-year period.

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

NOTES FOR EDITORS

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

Ofcom awards four new community radio licences

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