Waterlooville to get its own community radio station after broadcaster granted licence

ONE TOWN is set to feel the benefits of a much-welcomed boost after plans for its own radio station have been revealed, and a £1,000 grant has been won for activities for this year's summer fete.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Jan 2019, 15:32 BST
Updated 10th Jan 2019, 14:28 BST
Volunteers from The Flash radio based in Leigh Park at their Christmas get-together at The Red Lion in Cosham. The team will help to bring a community service to Waterlooville.Volunteers from The Flash radio based in Leigh Park at their Christmas get-together at The Red Lion in Cosham. The team will help to bring a community service to Waterlooville.
Volunteers from The Flash radio based in Leigh Park at their Christmas get-together at The Red Lion in Cosham. The team will help to bring a community service to Waterlooville.

Waterlooville will get an FM community radio service of its own after The Flash, a radio station based in Leigh Park, has been awarded the licence to make this possible by broadcast regulator Ofcom.

The Flash already provides a community radio service for Portsmouth and now the group behind it, made up of volunteers, is raising £4,000 for the equipment needed to provide the new service.

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It will be set up with the help of the Waterlooville Events Team, which has been awarded a £1,000 grant for child activities at its August Jubilee Summer Fete, after receiving a high number of votes from locals in the Aviva Community Fund competition.

Martin Kirby, founder of The Flash, which currently provides a digital radio and internet community service for Portsmouth, said: '˜Waterloovile is the ideal place for this because it has a fast-growing population what with all of the new housing developments.

'˜The area deserves its own community radio station and its own identity on air.

'˜We're raising £4,000 to purchase transmission equipment which will go on top of Waterlooville Library.

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'˜We promote real music performed by musicians rather than anything computerised.

'˜Our plan is to launch the service this year.'

The Waterlooville Events Team has also given control of the bandstand music events that take place in the precinct to The Flash, which will be bringing local talent to the town monthly from now on.

The Flash, set up in 2012, is based at The Apex Centre. Martin said the radio station is different to any others and that it gives local artists and bands the chance to perform live on air.

Jackie Buckley, chair of the events team, is excited about the new plans for Waterlooville.

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She said: '˜All of this is really positive. The Flash will brighten up the town centre by bringing local acts in to entertain and it would be amazing for Waterlooville to have its own radio station.

'˜We're delighted to have won the £1,000 grant. Aviva funds lots of different community projects so we applied and won one of the grants available because we got 1,987 votes.

'˜The community really came behind us in support and this means we can provide great activities at our summer fete.'

Click here to donate money towards the equipment.

 

Related topics:WaterloovilleOfcomPortsmouth