[CMA R] Good news for some...

[Diane Reid]

++Apologies for cross posting++

Good news for some



 but bad news for many community stations, especially in London. Ofcom
today announced the award of seven new community radio licences. This brings
the total number of full community radio licences awarded to date to 62. In
addition, Ofcom also announced 32 non awards in the London area and one in
Scotland. The remaining 11 London applications, all of which propose to
broadcast on FM, are still under consideration.  However, because of limited
suitable FM frequencies available, Ofcom has stated that it does not expect
to be able to license more than a small number of community radio stations
in the FM band in the Greater London area.

Diane Reid, Director of the CMA, said: “The spectacular growth of the
Community Media sector in the last year  is an important reward for the
dedication that Community Media groups have to improving the places where
people live.  We are however disappointed by the outcome for London where
the greatest demand from a diverse range of communities exists for Community
Radio licences. It is our hope that this situation can be improved and we
have already started working on methods of taking this forward.”

A special session on Community Radio for London was held at the CMA AGM
earlier this year: participants made a number of recommendations including
suggestions that all stations, not just those with 5 year licences, should
be supported and resourced, that stations should work together and that
Ofcom should not force groups to look for their own frequencies.

The Community Media Association has requested meetings with both Ofcom and
the DCMS to discuss future options for frequency availability.

Ofcom has awarded community radio licences in the following areas:

· Central and East Brighton
· Colchester
· Plymouth
· West Hull
· Bankside, London
· Hackney, London
· Southall, London

The new community radio licensees in each of these areas are:
RadioReverb (Central and East Brighton)
RadioReverb will provide a community radio service for the Central and East
Brighton areas, focusing on the needs of the deprived Marine and Moulsecoomb
wards and other underserved groups.

Colchester Garrison FM
Colchester Garrison FM’s target community comprises soldiers, their families
and Ministry of Defence civilians in Colchester.

Spirit of Plymouth FM
Spirit of Plymouth FM will serve the Christian community of Plymouth.

West Hull Community Radio (West Hull)
West Hull Community Radio will aim to provide a service to all of the
community in West Hull.

Resonance FM (South Bank & Bankside)
This service is targeted at inner London’s community of practising artists
and those outside the mainstream media.  The audience also includes the
socially deprived, minority groups and the culturally under-represented.

Sound Radio (Hackney)
This station will broadcast on AM and continue to target the diverse range
of communities that comprise Hackney and East London.  The station offers a
schedule of multi-cultural multi-lingual programming with a backbone of
English language community output.

Desi Radio (Southall)
Desi Radio provides a community radio service for the Panjabi community in
West London, including the different faith communities and nationalities,
and people of all ages. It broadcasts on AM.

Ofcom decided not to award licences to the following 33 applicants: 32 in
London and one in Dumfries and Galloway
Slough Asian Radio
Citizen Radio, Slough
Difusion FM, Wembley
Link FM Radio, Brent
2.4 Stadium FM, Brent
Brent Life
Avenues FM, Queens Park & Paddington
Bounce FM, Holloway Road
Issue FM, Lambeth
TLS FM, Lambeth
City Radio Clapham Park
ECO Radio, Wandsworth
Demo FM, Streatham Hill
Radio Peckham
Raven Sound, Bromley
Azhar Community Radio, Forest Gate
Betar Bangla, Tower Hamlets
Radio BG London, Leytonstone
Akasamona Radio, Hackney
Break FM, Newham
Gina FM, Newham
>From the Nam FM, Dagenham
Red FM, Redbridge
Gravesham Community Radio, Gravesend
Shalom FM, Hendon
Hope Link Radio, Haringey
City Radio Haringey
Edmonton FM
GU1, Guildford
Sussex Surrey Radio, Redhill
Eafm, London-wide
Radio La Voz, London-wide

Lowland Radio, Dumfries & Galloway

Diane

Diane Reid
Director
Community Media Association
Access to the media for people and communities
http://www.commedia.org.uk/
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