June 01, 2021 - 2173 views
Listeners in Llandudno, Colwyn Bay and the Conwy Valley could soon be receiving a new collection of community radio stations following an announcement today from Ofcom.
In their update, the broadcasting regulator published a list of 25 areas of the country which will be licenced to provide small-scale digital radio services as early as next spring.
The licenced area which is broadly described as ‘Llandudno and Betws-y-Coed’ will provide a range of range of radio stations operating from Abergele in the East to Penmaenmawr in the West and South to Betws-y-Coed.
The announcement follows on from the successful launch of Colwyn Bay based Bayside Radio which initially planned to share information on the emerging pandemic for three months last spring but with the support of the community and Ofcom, secured a series of FM licences and a full-time digital radio licence to broadcast across the whole of North Wales.
Since the company began in 2012, Bayside has been working behind the scenes with local broadcasters and politicians, to persuade Ofcom to advertise a digital licence specifically for the area. When awarded, small community groups or stations serving different parts of Conwy will be able to launch their own radio services.
“The beauty about small scale digital radio is that the transmitters will enable many different services to be broadcast at the same time,” said Simon Wynne Bayside’s Operations Director.
“It is possible to have 10 radio stations all serving a different North Wales community with ultra-local information or entertainment catering for different musical tastes in Welsh or English. The listener will simply tune their radio and listen to one that best caters for them – it’s a very exciting prospect and one which we wholeheartedly welcome.”
Bayside’s parent company, CCRM have confirmed that they will be applying to Ofcom to provide and manage the service.
“We have invested heavily in the concept of small-scale digital radio and have already spent many months planning what our operation and transmission might look like,” said Simon.
“In the weeks to come, we welcome the opportunity to talk to existing stations in North Wales who would like to bring their radio services into this area or groups who would like to launch a service catering for their community, interests or musical tastes.”
Bayside Radio Chairman and former Mayor of Colwyn, Jeff Pearson agreed. “During the pandemic, we have seen communities coming together and the value of having ultra-local media whether newspapers or radio, reflecting what is going on, cannot be under estimated. Small scale digital radio offers an exciting investment in our communities for a digital future”.
