Two volunteers on a temporary community radio station in Northumberland have stayed on-air together for 58 hours – beating the 52 hour record set by Chris Moyles and his Radio 1 team. Sarah Stewart and Jamie Thirlwell completed the broadcast last weekend on Koast Radio in Morpeth. Koast Station Manager Vicky Oakley, who came up with the idea, told the Morpeth Herald:
Late last year the staff at Koast submitted their news about securing a grant to begin the South Northumberland based radio station. Six months on they are pleased to update CRT readers that the station has at last found premises to broadcast from thanks to a well known hotel. They say:
“Koast Radio will be based at Longhirst Hall and will start its live broadcasts from 20 May 2011. At present Koast has over 10,000 listeners tuning in each month on its internet website www.koastradio.co.uk which is also available on itunes radio and radiotime.
The South Northumberland based radio station, which plays music across the years from the 1960’s to now, has been searching for premises for over six months.
Koast Radio’s MD, Vicky Oakley says it brings us a step closer to getting a full time FM licence, she said:
“I’m so pleased we’ve been able to work with Longhirst Hall on this, it’s a beautiful location and perfect for broadcasting.
“The studio is now all set up and our presenters are all in place, we are now just working towards the big launch party where we hope to have some big names to help celebrate the region’s newest radio station.
“The good thing about us is we are specifically for South Northumberland only and our music is for all age groups. We are also working with local communities by making education fun, bringing them to the studio, showing them what we do and how they can get involved. We can also offer support to local businesses who wish to get onboard.”
Koast Radio is also involved in many local projects from festivals to training courses and supports the Sara’s Hope Foundation.”
Good luck for the future Koast Radio.
People in Northumberland’s most heavily populated area will soon be able to listen to a new community radio station which eventually plans to broadcast to 140,000 homes. The fledgling Koast Radio station aims to offer a lively mix of music and talk, and help bridge the gap between public authorities and deprived communities in Blyth, Ashington, Cramlington and Morpeth.
It has just secured a £10,000 grant the National Lottery, Awards for All to help pay studio and equipment costs, and expects to receive a further £20,000 to £25,000 in the next couple of months.
The Koast Radio board has identified its own studio premises in Bedlington, and in about 5 weeks’ time people should be able to listen to its first output online, via its website. The station hopes to run two or three trial radio broadcasts early next year, before applying for a full-time FM licence from Ofcom later in 2011.
The Koast Radio website is currently being set up in readiness to stream content by the end of November or early December, but the long-term aim is to take to the airwaves with a mixture of 70% music and 30% talk.
Station manager Vicky Oakley, 38, who lives in Bedlington, gave up her job as an auditor with the county council in July to spearhead the project.
Radio bosses say the station aims to ‘make a difference’ to South East Northumberland and provide volunteering opportunities for disadvantaged teenagers and unemployed adults and are forging links with local councils and other statutory bodies. …
