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At its meeting on Tuesday 12 June, Ofcom's Radio Licensing Committee (' RLC') awarded five community radio licences.

All community radio services must satisfy certain 'characteristics of service' which are specified in Article 3 of the Community Radio Order 2004. The RLC was satisfied that each of the applicants awarded a licence met these 'characteristics of service'. In addition, each application was considered having regard to the criteria set out in section 105 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 ('BA 1990') (as modified by the Community Radio Order 2004). A summary of these criteria is set out below. The key considerations in relation to these criteria, which formed the basis of the RLC's decisions to award licences to particular applicants, are also set out below. Where applicable, the relevant subsection of section 105 (1) of the BA 1990 is noted in brackets. (Please see specific community radio licence award criteria, set out below, for full details of each subsection.)

Applicants awarded a licence

Ofcom's Radio Licensing Committee made licence awards to the following applicants in Northern Ireland and Scotland (in no particular order):

1. Drive FM (Derry/Londonderry)
2. Aldergrove and Antrim FM (Aldergrove and Antrim)
3. Ballykinler FM (Ballykinler, County Down)
4. Holywood FM (Holywood, County Down)
5. Speysound Radio (Badenoch & Strathspey)

Each of these services will be licensed for a period of five years from the date of their launch.

Drive FM (Derry/Londonderry)

This service will aim to act as a voice for the community of Derry/Londonderry and forward the cause of good community relations. The application was from a long-established group with a good range of experience, for example, of broadcasting in the area, charity fundraising, community relations and finance (section 105(1a)). The service will include local and community news, as well as opportunities for discussion and the expression of opinion through discussion shows and interviews (1b and 1e). The application had the support of an impressive range of local and national organisations (1d). It intends to provide a forum for divided communities to meet and discuss contentious issues, and create a sense of common purpose in the community (1e).

Aldergrove and Antrim FM (Aldergrove and Antrim)

This station will provide a service for British soldiers, sailors and airmen, and their families at RAF Aldergrove and the Masereen Barracks in Antrim. The station will be owned and operated by a company based at RAF Aldergrove, and already has studios and equipment in place (1a). It will provide a service unique to Aldergrove and Antrim for a few hours a day, and also carry some programmes from the Forces community radio service based at BFBS Lisburn (1b). Output will be tailored to the target community and include forces-specific news, garrison news and welfare support (1b and 1e). It will broaden the range of services available in the area, and have content which is distinct from that provided by commercial radio broadcasters in the area (1c). An education and training programme will be available for station volunteers (1e and 1g).

Ballykinler FM (Ballykinler, County Down)

This service is for the British forces personnel stationed at or working at the Ballykinler Barracks, and their dependents. The applicant group is based at Ballykinler, and is under separate ownership to those operating the services at Holywood and Aldergrove and Antrim (1a). The group already has a studio in place in the barracks and experience of providing a service to this target community via a long-term restricted service licence (LRSL) (1a and 1b). The service would clearly broaden choice in the area by providing a forces-focussed service of forces and garrison news as well as welfare information of relevance to the target community (1b and 1c). A community liaison body will be set up, and regular audience research will help to ensure accountability to the target community (1f).

Holywood FM (Holywood, County Down)

This is a service for British Forces personnel and their families at the Holywood Barracks in County Down. The group has relevant experience through operating a radio service at Holywood, and access to appropriate support services at BFBS (1a). It has a clearly identified target community which will enjoy output tailored to its informational and welfare needs (1b and 1e), and which offers a service which broadens radio choice in the area (1c). Training will be provided for volunteers and work placements and work experience will be provided in conjunction with local schools, colleges and youth projects (1e and 1g).

Speysound Radio (Badenoch & Strathspey)

Speysound Radio will provide a community radio service to the residents of, and visitors to, Badenoch and Strathspey. Since 1995 the applicant group has been providing some community output as an ‘opt out’ service on one of MFR’s transmitters (1a). Therefore it already has studios in place, as well as sufficient funding for transmission equipment (1a). It has a strong local board with a range of experience and a clear structure in place (1a). It plans to increase its output from current levels, with a service focussing on community news and information, social action broadcasting and so on, which will broaden choice against MFR which covers a far wider area (1b and 1c). Good evidence of support has been provided (1d), and the group already has good community links (1e).

The RLC was satisfied that, with the exception of Drive FM in Derry/Londonderry, each group awarded a licence should be allowed to seek up to 50% of its annual income from the sale of advertising or programme/station sponsorship if it so wishes, in accordance with section 105(6) BA 1990, and that none of the new services would prejudice unduly the economic viability of any other local service (section 105(3) BA 1990).

Drive FM (Derry/Londonderry) will have a condition in its licence prohibiting income from the sale of advertising or programme or station sponsorship. This is because the coverage of the service falls within the coverage area of a local commercial radio service which has more than 50,000, but fewer than 150,000, adults living in its measured coverage area (Q102.9). Under the legislation, community radio services in such areas are prevented from seeking advertising and programme or station sponsorship revenue (section 105(4)(b)) if the coverage of the two stations overlaps by 50% or more in terms of adult (15+) population.

Statutory requirements relating to community radio licensing

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

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

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) BA 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.

The characteristics of a community radio service

In respect of the licensing of community radio services in particular, all community radio licensees must satisfy 'characteristics of service' requirements which are specified in Article 3 of the Community Radio Order. The characteristics of community radio services are:

• That they are local services provided primarily for the good of members of the public, or of particular communities, and in order to deliver social gain, rather than primarily for commercial reasons or for the financial or other material gain of the individuals involved in providing the service;
• That the service is intended primarily to serve one or more communities (whether or not it also serves other members of the public);
• That the person providing the service does not do so in order to make a financial profit by so doing, and uses any profit that is produced in the provision of the service wholly and exclusively for securing or improving the future provision of the service, or for the delivery of social gain to members of the public or the community that the service is intended to serve;
• That members of the community it is intended to serve are given opportunities to participate in the operation and management of the service;
• That, in respect of the provision of that service, the person providing the service makes himself accountable to the community that the service is intended to serve.

Article 2 of the Community Radio Order includes four mandatory “social gain” objectives. ”Social gain” means the achievement, in respect of individuals or groups of individuals in the community that the service is intended to serve, or in respect of other members of the public, of the following objectives:

• the provision of sound broadcasting services to individuals who are otherwise underserved by such services,
• the facilitation of discussion and the expression of opinion,
• the provision (whether by means of programmes included in the service or otherwise) of education or training to individuals not employed by the person providing the service, and
• the better understanding of the particular community and the strengthening of links within it.

Article 2 also includes a number of other objectives of a social nature which may be considered to represent "social gain".

Specific community radio licence award criteria

There are seven specific selection criteria set out in section 105(1) BA 1990 that Ofcom must have regard to when considering whether to make a community radio licence award. In summary these are:

• The ability of each applicant to maintain its proposed service over the licence period (section 105(1)(a));
• The applicant’s ability to cater for the tastes and interests of the target community (s ection 105(1)(b));
• The extent to which each applicant would broaden the range of local radio services available in the area, and have a content distinct from those services (section 105(1)(c));
• The extent to which there is evidence of local demand or support for a proposed service (section 105(1)(d));
• The extent to which the service would deliver social gain benefits to the public or relevant community (section 105(1)(e));
• Provisions for making the operator of service accountable to the relevant community (section 105(1)(f));
• Provisions for allowing access by members of the public or the relevant community to the station facilities, and the provision of training in the use of those facilities (section 105(1)(g)).

Considering whether, or to whom (and on what conditions), to grant a community radio licence, Ofcom must also have regard to the need to ensure that any service provided under that licence does not prejudice unduly the economic viability of any other local service. Sections 105(4) to (6) BA 1990 require Ofcom:

• not to grant a community radio licence which would overlap with a commercial radio service serving no more than 50,000 persons of 15 years or older;
• to prohibit paid advertising and sponsorship of programmes in respect of any community radio service where that service overlaps with any other local radio service serving between 50,000 and 150,000 persons of 15 years or older; and
• in all other cases, to prohibit any community radio service from receiving an appropriate proportion (at least 50%) of relevant income from paid advertising and sponsorship of programmes.

For the avoidance of doubt, programme sponsorship includes station or channel sponsorship.

Ofcom is also prohibited, by subsection 2 of section 105, from granting a licence to any applicant who proposes to receive from any one person (or company) more than 50% of its annual funding.

Process for assessment of applications

On 25 October 2006 Ofcom invited applications for licences to provide community radio services in locations in Scotland and Northern Ireland . These licences were offered for the provision of services on either the FM (VHF) or AM (medium wave) wavebands. The invitation did not specify the locations of services, but left it for applicants to decide where they wanted to be located.

Ofcom received 24 applications, the non-confidential sections of which were made available for public scrutiny on our website. The first six licence awards were made by the RLC on 8 May, a further five on 12 June, and it is anticipated that the remainder of the applications received from applicants wishing to serve localities in Scotland and Northern Ireland will be considered by the RLC in July.

The membership of the RLC for the licence awards detailed above was as follows:

Philip Graf, Ofcom Deputy Chairman (Chair)
Joyce Taylor, Content Board Member for Scotland
Pam Giddy, Content Board Member
Tim Suter, Partner - Content and Standards
Peter Davies, Director, Radio & Convergent Media
Peter Bury, Director of Strategic Resources
Martin Campbell, Chief Adviser, Radio
Neil Stock, Head of Radio

A summary and assessment of each application was presented to the RLC at its meeting on Tuesday 12 June 2007. These papers summarised the proposals put forward by the applicants as they relate to the statutory criteria, and highlighted any issues of relevance under those criteria.

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