The Ribble Valley’s new community radio group has raised £1,000 to apply for a full-time FM radio licence.
The month-long drive to raise the money via crowd-source funding website Kickstarter has been donated by local Lancashire businesses and people keen to have a local radio station on-air.
And this week, the completed application was submitted to Ofcom and will be available to view online via the regulator’s website next week. It was the only application for a radio station in the area.
Project co-ordinator and Whalley resident Sophie Greenwood: “We’re really pleased to see so many people supporting the initiative, raising over £1,000 for stage one of bring local radio to the Ribble Valley. Now we await a decision from Ofcom to find out if our application has been successful.”
Ribble FM also announced its new Board of Trustees which includes a local mayor, a curate and a tax officer alongside Ribble FM co-founders and directors Sophie Greenwood and Roy Martin who are spearheading the campaign.
Sophie Greenwood runs her own music company and has worked in commercial radio for over 25 years while Roy Martin founded Blackburn’s local radio station The Bee over 10 years ago and has worked in regional and local radio since 1996.
Ribble FM has been working towards a full-time radio station for the area since 2011, and aims to be on-air in 2015, subject to Ofcom approval.
Donations, grants, and, once on-air, commercial advertising will fund Ribble FM – a not for profit company.
