East Yorkshire station West Wolds Radio is to cease broadcasting at the end of this week.
The directors of the station have decided to close it down at 1pm on Saturday 16th April, five months after it was launched.
West Wolds Radio broadcasts to the small town of Pocklington which has a population of 8,337. The reason for the closure is financial.
A statement from the station says: “West Wolds Radio has not managed to attract sustainable funding through advertising or sponsorship from the local community, which would normally be the route expected of a service such as this. Start-up and initial operating costs were covered through a long-term loan but the station directors were concerned that the station would struggle to meet repayment costs unless external funding was brought in.”
Founder and Station Manager Stuart Cocker adds: “It’s so disappointing that the dream I had of a community station in Pocklington has not caught the imagination of everyone who could support us. We have a dedicated band of volunteers who have helped as much as they can but, whilst it’s been great fun, it’s been a constant worry about finding the finance to keep the station on the air.”
West Wolds Radio was launched from studios in Market Street, by East Yorkshire MP Sir Greg Knight on Sunday 29th November 2015, 20 months after Pocklington was granted an FM licence by Ofcom.
Stuart continued: “As volunteers, we worked hard to find solutions to the funding issue but we need to cover running costs of many hundreds of pounds a month and it was going to be impossible. Community radio is a success in parts of the country but it needs a lot of support. I’d like to thank my fellow directors and the dedicated volunteers who’ve helped the West Wolds Radio story and I am only sorry that the station has to close.”
