Home > Radio > Information about stations and licensing > Radio Broadcast Licensing > Analogue Commercial Radio > Awards > Herefordshire and Monmouthshire

The FM local commercial radio licence for Herefordshire and Monmouthshire was awarded on 8 February 2007 to Herefordshire and Monmouthshire Classic Hits Limited (HMCH).

Herefordshire and Monmouthshire licence award decision

In considering the applications in relation to section 105(a), Ofcom’s Radio Licensing Committee (RLC) felt that the synergies which would be open to HMCH as a result of its co-ownership with closely neighbouring services Sunshine 855 and Classic Hits, and the opportunity to share their resources, offered a convincing business case in a market which is comparatively small and likely to be a challenging one in which to provide a commercial radio service. The Committee also noted the local knowledge brought to the group by a number of members of the board, their track record of operating small-scale radio services in this and other adjoining areas, and the experience gained from operating restricted services in each of Hereford and Monmouth.

With regard to sections 105(b) and (c), HMCH was considered to have proposed a simple and readily enforceable Format, which was unambiguous and consistently reflected the applicant's programming philosophy, as expressed elsewhere in its application. In terms of speech content, a distinguishing feature of the Format was the inclusion of commitments to the provision of local news in peak times, including two extended bulletins, and regular local information. Taken together with a commitment to provide a broad mix of music which includes album tracks, and the relevant local and operational experience outlined above, the RLC considered that HMCH would be well-placed both to cater to local tastes and interests and to broaden audience choice.

In relation to section 105(d), while the research projects conducted by HMCH were not notably detailed, they did provide broad evidence of demand for the proposed service. This was coupled with evidence of support for the application from local businesses, and, following the restricted service broadcasts, from other representatives of the local community.

The RLC considered that, in relation to section 314 of the Communications Act 2003, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire Classic Hits’ programming proposals contained a suitable proportion of local material and locally-made programmes for this licence area. The station will be locally produced and presented for at least 12 hours a day; while its Format includes commitments to deliver a wide range of local material.

The following pages set out the statutory requirements relating to radio licensing, and details of the licensing process. Further information about these, and detailed information relating to the applications for the Herefordshire and Monmouthshire licence, can be found at:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/car/

Statutory requirements relating to radio licensing

In carrying out all of its functions, Ofcom is required to have regard to the general duties set out in section 3 of the Communications Act 2003. In addition, under section 85(2)(b) of the Broadcasting Act 1990, it is the duty of Ofcom to do all that it can to secure the provision within the UK of a range and diversity of local radio services.

'Localness'

In carrying out its functions in relation to local commercial radio services specifically, Ofcom is required (under section 314 of the Communications Act 2003) to act in the manner that it considers is best calculated to secure:

• that programmes consisting of or including local material are included in such services but, in the case of each such service, only if and to the extent (if any) that Ofcom considers appropriate in that case; and
• that, where such programmes are included in such a service, what appears to Ofcom to be a suitable proportion of them consists of locally-made programmes.

For the purposes of the licensing process, Ofcom does not consider it appropriate to prescribe an amount of local material or a proportion of locally-made programming that new services should contain, as such matters may well vary greatly between different types of service. Rather, it is for applicants to set out in their application the amount of local material and the proportion of locally-made programming they propose to provide, supported, as appropriate, by evidence of demand or support for such proposals. Ofcom will then consider on the basis of the application whether the amount of local material included is appropriate, and whether the proportion of locally-made programming is suitable, for that particular service proposal.

Specific local licence award criteria

In considering the applications it receives for local commercial radio licences, Ofcom is required to have regard to each of the statutory criteria set out in section 105 of the Broadcasting Act 1990. These are as follows:

1. the ability of each of the applicants for the licence to maintain, throughout the period for which the licence would be in force, the service which he proposes to provide;
2. the extent to which any such proposed service would cater for the tastes and interests of persons living in the area or locality for which the service would be provided, and, where it is proposed to cater for any particular tastes and interests of such persons, the extent to which the service would cater for those tastes and interests;
3. the extent to which any such proposed service would broaden the range of programmes available by way of local services to persons living in the area or locality for which it would be provided, and, in particular, the extent to which the service would cater for tastes and interests different from those already catered for by local services provided for that area or locality; and
4. the extent to which there is evidence that, amongst persons living in that area or locality, there is a demand for, or support for, the provision of the proposed service.

The legislation does not rate these requirements in order of priority, but it may be that Ofcom will regard one or more of the criteria as being particularly important in view of the characteristics of the licence to be awarded and the applications for it.

Process for assessment of applications

The Herefordshire and Monmouthshire licence was advertised on 15 August 2006. By the closing-date of 14 November 2006, two applications were received, as follows:

Herefordshire and Monmouthshire Classic Hits Limited (HMCH)
Wye Valley Radio Limited (Radio Herefordshire/Radio Monmouthshire)

The membership of Ofcom's Radio Licensing Committee (RLC) for this licence award was as follows:

Ian Hargreaves, Ofcom Board Member (Chair)
Tim Suter, Partner, Content and Standards (Deputy Chair)
Peter Bury, Director of Strategic Resources
Martin Campbell, Chief Advisor, Radio
Peter Davies, Director of Radio and Convergent Media
Pam Giddy, Content Board member
Neil Stock, Head of Radio
Joyce Taylor, Content Board member

The applications were circulated among all members of the RLC as well as among relevant Ofcom colleagues. Copies of the non-confidential sections of the applications were made available for public scrutiny on the Ofcom website, and public comment on the local radio needs of listeners in the area, and the type of programme service required, was invited both at the time of the licence advertisement and on the day after the applications were received. The RLC took all replies into account when reaching its decision.

The RLC had an initial discussion of the applications at its meeting on 11 January 2007. This comprised an initial presentation by a member of Ofcom's Radio Team, summarising the proposals put forward by each applicant as they relate to the statutory criteria, followed by an opportunity for the RLC members to highlight any questions of clarification and/or amplification they wished to be put to the applicants.

Shortly after this meeting, each applicant was invited to respond, within a two-week period, to written questions of clarification and/or amplification on aspects of their proposals. The non-confidential questions and responses were subsequently made available for public scrutiny on the Ofcom website.

In line with Ofcom's published procedures, each application was awarded a score (of between 0 and 10) for each of the four statutory criteria contained in section 105 of the Broadcasting Act 1990. These scores provided an indicative picture of the perceived strengths and weaknesses of each application, and were used for guidance only. A summary of the scores was presented to the RLC at its 8 Febnruary 2007 meeting, as part of a paper which summarised the issues of relevance for each application under each of the statutory criteria. The information included in this paper was drawn both from the applications and the subsequent responses to questions of clarification and/or amplification.

Back to top