31 want Wales and SW community licences

More than 30 groups have put in applications to Ofcom for the first area being looked at under round three of community radio licensing.

They include nine organisations wanting licences in Devon and Conrnwall and six applications for the whole of Wales.

The closing date for applications for Wales and South West England was last month. Groups with an interested in providing community radio for North Devon, however, still have another month to apply as the deadline for that area has been extended to 21 September following the decision to renew the commercial radio licence owned by Heart and provide the station on DAB in North Devon. As part of the DAB multiplex extension consultation there was demand shown for an alternative local radio service so the regulator decided to allow such groups to have more time to put together plans for a community radio station.

Ofcom hasn’t indicated the timescale for announcing which groups from Wales and the South West have been successful in their applications, although it could be before the end of the year. By December 2011 Ofcom is expected to open applications for round three of community radio in Scotland.

Applicants to Ofcom for community radio licences for South West England under round 3 of licensing:
Access FM (Bridgwater, Somerset)
Air (Weymouth and Portland, Dorset)
Apple FM (Taunton, Somerset)
Blandford Garrison FM (Blandford Camp, Blandford Forum, Dorset)
Bay FM Radio (Exmouth, Devon)
Bradley Stoke Radio (Bradley Stoke, South Gloucestershire)
CHBN (Truro, Cornwall)
Ethnic Minority Radio FM (EMR FM), (Swindon, Wiltshire)
Fantasy Radio (Devizes, Wiltshire)
FromeFM (Frome, Somerset)
GLOSS FM (Thornbury, S. Gloucestershire)
Newquay Sound (Newquay, Cornwall)
Penwith Radio (Penwith, Cornwall)
Plymouth Community Radio (Plymouth, Devon)
Pulse Radio (Cheddar, Somerset)
Q-mmunity Radio (Crediton, Devon)
Radio Sherborne (Sherborne, Dorset)
Radio Winchcombe (Winchcombe, Gloucestershire)
Redruth Radio (Redruth, Cornwall)
Riviera FM (Torbay, Devon)
The Beach (Christchurch, Dorset)
The Hub (central South Cornwall)
Tone FM (Taunton, Somerset)
Totnes FM (Totnes, Devon)
WCR (Warminster, Wiltshire)

Applicants to Ofcom for community radio licences for Wales under round 3 of licensing:
Community Radio Wales FM (St Asaph and Denbigh, North Wales)
Glan Clwyd AM (Abergele and St Asaph, North Wales)
Harlech FM (Harlech, Gwynedd)
MonFM (Isle of Anglesey)
Radio Beca (Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and north Pembrokeshire)
Radio FAM (Prestatyn, North Wales)

(Source : Radio Today, UK)