An application by local people in the Western Isles to run a community radio station has been approved by broadcasting regulators, Ofcom.
An Radio/An Rèidio – serving the islands of Berneray, North Uist, Baleshare, Grimsay, Benbecula, South Uist and Eriskay – is one of three community radio station bids approved, the other two being in Plymouth and Cornwall.
An application for a community radio station in Inverness was, however, refused.
Says Ofcom: “Community radio services are provided on a not-for-profit basis focusing on the delivery of specific social benefits to a particular geographical community or a community of interest. The new awards mean that 254 community radio licences have been awarded, with 198 currently on-air serving particular community needs.”
It went on to say the An Radio/An Rèidio application “is the first licence award in Scotland in our current round of licensing”.
Licences are awarded for a five-year period.
