Wave of success as 100th Community Radio Station is licensed

17/05/2006
The 100th Community Radio licence award was announced today as Ofcom completed its first round of Community Radio licensing by announcing a further eight licences in Wirral, Liverpool, Cheshire, Lancaster, Essex and Kent. The 100th station to be licensed is 7 Waves Community Radio in the Wirral, which aims to be run ‘by the community, for the community, with particular attention to the elderly and disadvantaged’. The total number of licenses awarded since November 2004 is now 107.  A second round of licensing will begin later this year and 184 letters of intent have been received from groups expressing an interest in applying for a licence.

Diane Reid, Director of the Community Media Association said: “I am delighted that at long last we have over 100 community radio stations. This is a dream come true for thousands of people, especially CMA members, who have campaigned against the odds for years. With 107 new Community Radio stations and further interest from 184 groups this announcement clearly demonstrates an overwhelming demand for community owned and run local media. Community radio has the potential to make a real impact in communities all over the UK and it’s wonderful to see this happening on such a scale.”  

Pauline Murphy, Project Co-ordinator of newly licensed 7 Waves Community Radio in the Wirral said: "It's a golden opportunity for us to get the whole community involved and carry on the good work that we've been doing over the last three years."  The station’s recent wave of success includes a national award from ‘Housing Today’ magazine for ‘Best led Community Initiative for Social Inclusion.

Community Radio stations are a new tier of not-for profit broadcasters, owned and run by local people, mostly volunteers, which enable communities throughout the UK to use the medium of radio to create new opportunities for regeneration, employment, learning, social cohesion and inclusion as well as cultural and creative expression. For more than 20 years the CMA and its members campaigned for Community Radio licences, achieving this in 2004, when the Community Radio Order was passed.

Applications for the first round of full time Community Radio licences were invited in September 2004. Ofcom received a total of 194 applications.