West Wolds Radio Due 2015

POCKLINGTON and BIELBY’S OWN PERMANENT RADIO STATION GIVEN THE GO-AHEAD

The sound of Pocklington and surrounding villages including Bielby is to hit the airwaves with the launch of the area’s own community radio station.

The go-ahead has been given for West Wolds Radio, a dedicated service for the Pocklington area, which will be staffed by volunteers and provide really local programming every day.

The decision by the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, to award West Wolds Radio Ltd a five-year licence follows a bid which was submitted by a group of local people in 2013.

The station, which will go on the air early in  2015, will broadcast on FM, online and via mobiles, providing daily local output of news, music, information and features, with an emphasis on encouraging local groups to become involved.

Community radio, which was first launched by the Government in 2005, is aimed at specific areas or interest groups, and  involving local people of all ages. The services aim to provide them with skills and building their confidence to play a bigger part in their area. By design, each community station is assigned an FM transmitter to broadcast to a limited radius. Ofcom advertised licences for community radio services in Yorkshire in 2013, as there are only three currently operating in Hull and the East Riding in particular.

Founder and station manager, Stuart Cocker says: “This is really exciting, a one-off opportunity to bring local media back into Pocklington and deliver a dedicated service. I’m so thrilled we have been given the opportunity of launching something brand new. We’ve used the experience of providing really local broadcasting elsewhere to shape the West Wolds Radio service into an essential part of local life. We consulted with local people and groups before submitting our application and we are delighted that the hope has become reality.”

Stuart adds: “The next step is to start recruiting members, talk to businesses about supporting the station, and begin equipping the studios which will be based just outside the town centre. In other words, the hard work begins now.”

More details about the volunteering, programming and commercial opportunities through West Wolds Radio will be announced in due course. In the meantime, email: info@westwoldsradio.co.uk or call: 07949 158786.