West Berkshire’s community radio station, Kennet Radio, has been granted permission by Ofcom to extend its FM coverage to include Hungerford.
Kennet Community Radio started in 2012, broadcasting online from studios in Newbury. The lengthy and rigorous licence application process took six years, and on 10th March 2018 Kennet Radio started broadcasting to Newbury and Thatcham on 106.7 FM as well as online and via its own smartphone app.
Kennet Radio’s FM signal, broadcast from Newbury, can just about be heard in higher parts of Hungerford. But now that a coverage extension has been approved, soon the town will have its own Kennet Radio transmitter, broadcasting a strong signal to the whole Hungerford area.
Hungerford has long been a community at the heart of Kennet Radio; four of our volunteer presenters live in the Hungerford area, and Kennet Radio already supports regular Hungerford events such as the Christmas Lights Switch-On (picture courtesy of Stuart March Photography).
Kennet Radio’s founder and chairman, Julian Swift-Hook, said, “This is very exciting news. This new Kennet Radio transmitter will bring truly local radio to Hungerford for the first time in 10 years, and it means we can extend our programming to cover even more of our vibrant local community.
“There’s a lot of work still to be done before we can switch on our new transmitter, but getting approval from Ofcom means we’ve cleared the first big regulatory hurdle. We now need to work out the technical details and secure the necessary legal agreements, planning permission, and funding.”
If everything goes smoothly, the station hopes to be able to switch on its new Hungerford transmitter before Christmas.
Julian Swift-Hook added, “I want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone in Hungerford who has supported our application – including the many community leaders who wrote letters of support.
“We are very grateful to Madam Mayor and the members of Hungerford Town Council, the Town and Manor of Hungerford, and the Hungerford Chamber of Commerce.
“I was also delighted to receive supportive letters from key local businesses including Sovereign Housing, from many individual residents, and from our MP, Laura Farris.
“This clear community support was a key factor in Ofcom’s decision to permit the extension, demonstrating as it does the strong demand from the Hungerford community for Kennet Radio to cover the town.”
For more information about Kennet Radio’s expansion to Hungerford, visit our dedicated page www.kennetradio.com/hungerford, email hungerford@kennetradio.com, or call 01488 859 860.
