The first licence awards by Ofcom have been announced.
Original local group The Bee have won against stiff competition in Blackburn, whilst The Wireless Group have won an even hotter contested licence for the Scottish Capital.
The Blackburn licence was sought after by four groups – whilst Edinburgh attracted 12.
The Bee is owned by the Blackburn Broadcasting Company Ltd – made up of Two Boroughs Radio Ltd (32.5%) and The Radio Business Ltd (32.5%), and eight individuals. The Bee will provide a full service radio station for Blackburn, Darwen, Accrington and surrounding areas with a high profile and significant resources given to local news and information.
Edinburgh winner Dunedin FM Limited is wholly-owned by The Wireless Group plc. It will provide a 24-hour speech radio station with prominence of local news, national and international news and information for the people of Edinburgh and the surrounding areas.
The licence is for a service to cover the city of Edinburgh and the area surrounding the Firth of Forth which has an adult population (aged 15+) of around 940,000.
Each licence will be issued for a twelve year period.