Ofcom has awarded a five-year full time community radio licence to Tidworth Development Trust so that Castledown Radio can broadcast on the FM waveband.

Launched in March 2005, Castledown Radio, broadcasting on the Internet only, has been at the heart of a project operated by Tidworth Development Trust, which is aimed at integrating communities across the Tidworth Community Area (TCA).  Castledown Radio is a unique service, run ‘by the community, for the community’.

The station has already been a huge success, but with FM broadcasting it will go from strength to strength, providing a great radio service for the community area. 

The team: Baz Reilly, Steve Lawton, Shirley Swain and Mike Winterbourne

Baz Reilly heads up the station and has worked tirelessly in the community - promoting and encouraging locals to get involved.  He said:
“I am absolutely thrilled!  This is great news for the community area, we have already seen huge benefits from the station, but this is the icing on the cake!  We have been waiting a long time for this decision and now we have the go ahead to bring radio directly to the people.” 

Castledown Radio has the assistance of volunteers; who present shows, gather information and interviews, produce features and generally help in running the station. There are more than 20 volunteers at the moment and all receive training to enable their work to be of a high standard. Castledown Radio also provides free media training courses for the general public.

Baz added: “Most of all I am pleased for our volunteers, without whom we could not operate.  They have worked extremely hard to provide the Internet service and they will be as thrilled as I am that we can now progress the station and provide quality radio to serve the community like no-one else can.”

The licence is for five years and Ofcom allow up to two years for a station to commence broadcasting.  Castledown Radio hopes to commence broadcasting in late autumn 2006.

Castledown Radio is part of a community project that provides a newsletter, website and the radio service in order to promote information to the people across Tidworth Community Area.  This project involves a number of partners that give grants, including Kennet District Council, Wiltshire County Council and Tidworth Development Trust, with additional grants provided by EU/Defra through the ‘Sustain the Plain’ programme.

The Tidworth Community Area (TCA) consists of the parishes of: Chute, Chute Forest, Collingbourne Ducis, Collingbourne Kingston, Everleigh, Ludgershall, Tidcombe & Fosbury; and the town of Tidworth (includes Perham Down).

The radio service on FM will also cover Shipton Bellinger and other villages south of Ludgershall and Tidworth that are in Hampshire.