The Bradley Stoke Journal

Bradley Stoke Radio is holding an open evening on Thursday (22nd July) for anyone looking to find out more about the town’s new community radio project.

The event, which takes place in the Culbone Suite of the Aztec Hotel & Spa (7pm start), will be an informal get-together for anyone interested in getting involved with the radio station. Members of the Committee will be on hand to discuss all aspects of the project.

The last few weeks have been very busy for Bradley Stoke Radio since their debut presence at the Community Festival in June.

The group’s programme covering the Community Festival was recently broadcast on air on BCfm (Community Radio for Bristol)  and a number of interview podcasts have been published on the station’s own website.

More recently, an interview with Bradley Stoke schoolgirl Abigail Newton Smith, an 8-year-old cerebral palsy sufferer who is hoping to travel to the USA for surgery, has been picked up for broadcast on the BBC.

Read on for more details of the station’s aspirations and plans »

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The embryonic Bradley Stoke Community Radio has published its first material, in the form of a podcast recorded at the recent Community Festival.

Reporters from the organisation, which describes itself as “an exciting new community radio station run entirely by volunteers living in and around the Bradley Stoke area”, were at a number of festival events and even managed to grab an interview with Britain’s Got Talent finalist and local resident Paul Burling (photo above) at the Community Fair.

The station has been promising to publish some of the festival interviews on its new website and the first of these, a short conversation with Mayor Ben Walker, has now appeared on the Podcasts page [QuickTime plugin required].

The interview with Paul Burling is said to be “coming soon”.

Julian Okoye, Vice Chair of the Bradley Stoke Community Radio Association (BSCRA) told The Journal that some of the interviews may also be aired on BCfm (Community Radio for Bristol).

BSCRA held a set of radio workshops at the end of February and is understood to be currently applying for a licence to broadcast on air for a seven-day period in October.

Anyone who would like to get involved, become a sponsor, share ideas or be kept informed of future developments is invited to get in touch with the group through its website.

The station faces competition from the well-established GLOSS FM (formerly Thornbury FM), which recently extended it broadcast area to include Bradley Stoke by re-siting its transmitter.

Enrolment for Radio Workshops is now open – all ages welcome

Bradley Stoke Community Radio Association (BSCRA), under the guidance of Southern Brooks Community Partnership (SBCP), has announced that it has been successful in securing grant funding to provide radio workshops for the residents of Bradley Stoke.

The workshops are seen as the first step towards establishing a community radio station in Bradley Stoke, along the lines of the highly successful Gloss FM (formerly Thornbury FM).

Winsome Barrett-Muir of SBCP explains:

These workshops are suitable for all ages – you need only attend one. They will introduce you to a radio studio and the use of the recording equipment, how to put a programme together, how to conduct an interview and what is involved in setting up and managing a community radio station.

The workshops will be fun and enjoyable with plenty of opportunities for you to have a go in the studio. We’re expecting the workshops to be popular so please contact us at Southern Brooks Community Partnership to book a place.

The workshop dates are:

• Friday 26th February 2010, 9.30am – 3pm
• Saturday 27th February 2010, 10am – 3pm
• Monday 1st March 2010, 6pm – 9pm

All workshops will be held at Bradley Stoke Community School. Lunch and a crèche will be provided for those who require it.

To book a place, please email Winsome Barrett-Muir (winsomebmuir@sbcommunitypartnership.org.uk) or call the SBCP office on 01454 868570/1.

Ofcom defines community radio stations as “a new type of not-for-profit radio service, designed to operate on a small-scale and to deliver community benefits (‘social gain’) to one or more communities”.

To date, 214 such stations have been awarded licences, of which 159 are currently broadcasting.

More information and related links:

• Bradley Stoke Community Radio Workshops – Poster [PDF]
• Community Media Association
• Community Radio Toolkit