Radio will make waves

Oct 4 2008 by Dan Warburton, The Journal

ADISUSED swimming pool could become the base for a new community radio station. Hexham’s redundant swimming pool in Gilesgate could soon become the home of the Tynedale Community Radio station.

The initiative could hit the airwaves from the former Henry Bell’s wool warehouse next month, if an application to Tynedale Council succeeds.

The old pool is one of a number of places being considered for the venture, in which the station plans to go on the air 24 hours a day for a month’s trial period from November 27.

And the volunteers who run the service hope the experiment will lead to the group being granted a five-year licence.

One of the driving forces behind the project, Hilary Carter, of Newbrough, said: “It is a very exciting time and we are determined to make a success of it.”

The station has been granted a restricted service licence by broadcasting regular Ofcom to put out programmes from November 27 to Christmas Eve.

It will broadcast on 102.2m FM and should be able to be picked up throughout the district.

The scheduling includes a gardeners’ question time, listen with mother, script writing and music, with a special section devoted to youth issues. Hilary said: “The original plan was to broadcast for 17 hours per day, but we’ve decide to go the whole hog and broadcast round the clock.

“We have been talking about this since March and it has suddenly really taken off.

“We have been given wonderful support by Northumberland County Council, Northumberland National Park Authority and the Halifax.

“We are now a registered charity and a lot of people have promised us their support.

“The young people of the district have been particularly enthusiastic – I think they could provide all the music on their own.”

Hilary was keen to stress that the radio station will be very much a district-wide project and not just Hexham based.

Satellite offices are planned in Prudhoe, Haltwhistle, Bellingham and Greenhead, with others also in the offing.

She said: “We want people who don’t live in Hexham to record their contributions in the satellite offices or at their homes, so they don’t have the expense of continually coming in and out of Hexham.

“Doing it this way, they will only have to come into town once, for their programmes to be properly edited.”

A spokesman for Tynedale Council said: “Representatives of Tynedale FM approached us looking for premises from which to carry out their pilot project – a short-term restricted service licence.

“We have been exploring options, of which the old pool building is one.

“We are looking at the feasibility of this short term use of parts of the building.”

• For more Hexham stories, go to www.journallive.co.uk/hexham.