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THE BEGINNING |
Stourbridge and its surrounding areas, including
places as far apart as South Dudley, Clent, Kinver
and West Halesowen, are covered mainly by radio
stations broadcasting from Wolverhampton, Birmingham
and London.
In
April 2001, a group of radio professionals believed
that Stourbridge deserved its own commercial radio
station.
After a
meeting at Stourbridge Town Hall, "Stourbridge-FM"
was formed and set about in an attempt to achieve
the goal of getting the town its very own radio
station.
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GETTING A RADIO BROADCASTING LICENCE |
It is not possible to simply buy a licence to
broadcast to an area.
A
group wishing to set up a radio station must
prove to the UK regulators, Ofcom, that the area
it wishes to broadcast to can support its own
full-time radio station in terms of everything
from finances to local support of residents.
One way of proving
this is by carrying out a series of
'experimental broadcasts' which usually last for
28 days (four weeks).
These four-week broadcasts are known as
Restricted Service Licences, more
commonly referred to as RSLs.
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STOURBRIDGE FM |
The
original Stourbridge FM was created in 2001 by Paul
Teague with the intention of broadcasting RSLs in
order to earn a permanent commercial radio licence
for the Stourbridge area.
Under
the Radio Authority, which preceded Ofcom as the
radio regulator, a station would broadcast RSLs with
a view to being added to the "working list".
This
list would be gradually worked through by the Radio
Authority, who would advertise the radio licence for
the area and invite applications from groups who
wish to set up a radio station to serve this area.
The
applications would be evaluated by the Radio
Authority, with a full-time licence being awarded to
the winner.
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RSL 1 |
Broadcasting on 102.6FM, Stourbridge-FM provided
a radio service to the town of Stourbridge
between Monday October 29th and Sunday November
25th 2001.
The broadcast was a complete success and
included a mixture of chat, songs, live music,
sport and local community information.
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RSL 2 |
After
RSL1, Stourbridge-FM immediately put a plan of
action together for RSL2, and its second broadcast
was completed in May 2002, which produced even
better results, increasing the town's support for a
full-time licence for the station.
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RSL 3 |
Following the success of RSL2, plans were
submitted for RSL3, which broadcast in January
2003.
Again, results improved and the response from
the townspeople had significantly increased from
RSL2, as Stourbridge-FM continued its pursuit of
a full-time licence for the radio station.
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LIFE AFTER RSL 3 |
Despite the intention to broadcast RSL4, further
plans for a Stourbridge radio station were
disrupted, largely due to uncertainties in 2003
caused by the Radio Authority's imminent
absorption into Ofcom (the Office of
Communications), which took over the regulation
of UK radio in early 2004.
In
addition to this, the Radio Authority had
indicated that Stourbridge would not be
considered for its own commercial licence any
time in the near future.
With a commercial station for Stourbridge
looking unlikely, Stourbridge-FM appeared to
have gone as far as it could.
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STOURBRIDGE RADIO GROUP |
In
February 2004, a meeting of the Stourbridge-FM
members was held at Stourbridge Town Hall.
It was
felt that, in light of a commercial station not
being on the horizon, a new direction was needed
in the project.
Teague
decided not to continue with the project, citing
personal reasons, leaving the remaining members
to start afresh.
The
Stourbridge Radio
Group was formed.
The group
began by appointing a chairman, Dr. Paul
Collins, a well-respected local historian.
A string
of further appointments followed to form a board
of directors, consisting mainly of people who
had been involved in Stourbridge-FM.
The group
rallied the support of local authorities,
including companies who rely on local
communities to provide them with their business;
Councillors and Members of Parliament.
Representatives of the group now regularly
attend public meetings, including those of local
Area Committees, to update on the progress of
the group.
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COMMUNITY RADIO |
With two tiers of radio existing (BBC radio and
commercial radio) there has, for a long time,
been calls for a third tier of radio that is
intended to better serve communities and to
improve society as a whole.
Prior to the formation of the Stourbridge Radio
Group, the Radio Authority proposed a scheme
called "Access Radio" and 16 access radio
stations were created, running a pilot scheme.
Each station was given a 12-month licence and
all but two are still on air today, having had
their licences periodically renewed.
Stourbridge-FM had applied for an Access Radio
Licence, but this bid was unsuccessful.
Ofcom took over from the Radio Authority in
January 2004, about a month before the birth of
the Stourbridge Radio Group. Proposals for
Access Radio took off, with the scheme being
re-branded as "Community Radio".
Community stations would be not-for-profit
organisations meaning that, although they could
generate income and make financial profits, any
revenue would be re-invested in the radio
station.
The
very purpose of community radio would be to
improve the lives of people within the
community, to give the public a voice, to
support initiatives in the most underserved
areas and, to sum it all up in two words, to
provide social gain.
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THE RADIO LICENCE |
Following a
public consultation on community radio,
Ofcom invited applications for community
radio licences for the first time in
September 2004.
The Stourbridge
Radio Group submitted its application,
expecting to hear a decision around March
2005, with Ofcom aiming to complete the
licensing procedure by June.
But delays in
the licensing procedure, cause largely by
the fact that Ofcom received far more
applications than had been expected, meant
that there was over a six month delay.
The group's
patience paid off in style when, on
Wednesday 5th October 2005, Dr. Collins
received a phone call from Ofcom to inform
him that the group had been awarded a
licence.
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THE 'BRIDGE |
The next two years were spent wading
through the logistical nightmare of
setting up a station, from acquiring
premises for studio and transmitter
sites to selecting and funding the
equipment.
After numerous obstacles were overcome,
Ofcom engineers arrived on site on
Tuesday 4th December 2007 to check the
station's transmission equipment.
Following the all-clear from Ofcom, the
station began tests on this date and
will launch full programming on Tuesday
1st January 2008.
The station, which is based in
Stourbridge, covers the town as well as
serving areas as far apart as Brierley
Hill, Kinver, Hagley and Halesowen.
Despite being
called the Stourbridge Radio
Group, the group feels it is only fair
to ensure that we are accountable to
every section and every person within
the above towns, regardless of colour,
creed, age or any factor which may
result in a normal radio station not
meeting their needs.
This will truly be a
service made by the
community, for the
community.
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LONG TERM |
Firstly, the long-term aim is to provide and sustain
The 'Bridge as a permanent station
and, now that we have our licence, this will become a reality.
In a short space of time, we have received support from
many people across the Stourbridge area.
We have also received press coverage from local newspapers
including the Express & Star, Stourbridge News and Stourbridge Chronicle, plus
the offers of help and support from countless organisations.
We (the board of directors) are holding regular meetings
with each other as we prepare to launch the station, after which we will seek to
become more involved within the community itself to help us fully integrate
within it.
We also intend to involve the local community in surveys
to find out how we can tailor the radio station so that it appeals to them, no
matter what their age, musical tastes or interests.
Check out the News page
for updates. If you have any further queries, you can
contact the appropriate department by visiting the
Contact page. |
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