Stafford FM

Last updated

Stafford FM
Frequency 107.3MHz
RDS Stafford
Programming
Format Community radio
History
Founded2001
First air date
April 25, 2015 (2015-04-25)
Former names
XL FM
Technical information
ERP 25+25 watts
Links
Website stafford.fm

Stafford FM is a local community radio station serving Stafford, Staffordshire, England. It broadcasts on 107.3 FM to a 5mile radius of Staff and online. The station was one of two to apply in 2014 for an FM community radio licence to cover Stafford. The other was BFBS. [1]

Contents

On 3 October 2014, Ofcom announced that both applications had been successful and that 5-year full-time licences will be awarded. [2]

History

1990s

There have been a number of volunteer-run radio broadcasting projects in the area at intervals over nearly 20 years, and many of the volunteers have taken part in several of them. An experimental project called the Stafford Broadcasting Society carried out a restricted service licence (RSL) broadcast in the mid-1990s, using a transmitter near Hopton.

2001-2003

Stafford FM was first set up in 2001 and 28-day RSL FM trials followed, serving Stafford and the surrounding area from studios in Gaol Mews and a transmitter near Hopton. It aimed to gain a permanent small-scale commercial radio licence from the then regulator, the Radio Authority. A total of four RSLs at six-month intervals were carried out between 2001 and 2003. By then the Radio Authority had been replaced by Ofcom, which announced that no more small-scale commercial radio licences were going to be handed out, so the project was put on ice indefinitely.

Between 2003 and 2012, Super Radio was in operation. Broadcasting by streaming on the internet, the station kept local radio in Stafford going.

2011-2012

Stafford FM re-emerged as a community station in 2011, launching online, the station was based in studios on Marston Road, Stafford. While at the Marston Road studios, the station held three RSL licences, using a transmitter at the same Hopton site as the earlier project. This was in an attempt to gain a community radio licence for the town.

XL FM

As a result of having to leave the studio building in December 2012, Stafford FM went off air for a time, until, on Sunday 3 February 2013, the station re-launched as XL FM. [3] This was branded under a re-structuring, and the station promised a variety of shows and a wide range of music. However, it was announced on 19 August 2013 that the station would revert to its original name. [4]

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References

  1. ↑ http://radiotoday.co.uk/2014/07/27-community-applications-for-the-midlands/ Radio Today | 27 community applications for the Midlands
  2. ↑ http://media.ofcom.org.uk/news/2014/community-radio-awards-sep14/ Ofcom awards new community radio licences in Staffordshire
  3. ↑ http://radiotoday.co.uk/2013/01/stafford-station-re-structures-for-2013/ Radio Today | Stafford station re-structures for 2013
  4. ↑ http://www.staffordshirenewsletter.co.uk/XL-FM-reverts-original-Stafford-FM/story-20158361-detail/story.html XL FM reverts to original Stafford FM name | Staffs Newsletter
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