Column: Our future has never looked brighter..

This opinion column is written for the Stray Ferret by Mark Oldfield, chairman of Harrogate Hospital Radio. It follows a recent decision by the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom, to grant the charity radio station a 5 year licence on 95.3FM. 

Being granted a five-year FM is the end of a very long personal journey. One that began with the near demise of Harrogate Hospital Radio.

For those not in the know, Harrogate Hospital Radio is the town’s longest running radio station. Based in Harrogate District Hospital, our first broadcast was in October 1977. In those days we were located in a small room next to the mortuary and our equipment consisted of one turntable, one microphone and one reel-to-reel tape recorder.

I joined the station, which is a registered charity and run entirely by volunteers, as a rookie broadcaster in 2013. The next March I put myself forward as secretary, and the following year I was asked if I would take on the role of chairman. And I did.

Three years into the job and we faced a massive threat to our very existence. Up to then, the only way patients could listen to us was via a bedside console, In 2018, these were removed, meaning patients were unable to listen to us.

We knew this was on the cards, but it still came as a huge shock. Some hospital radio stations who had found themselves in a similar situation had actually called it a day. I was determined we wouldn’t go the same way.

Thanks to the brilliant team we have at Harrogate Hospital Radio, we quickly launched an app. We purchased 55 WiFi radios and, with the full cooperation of the Hospital Trust, we placed them in various locations around the hospital, including reception and waiting rooms. We were back on air. And more importantly, the opportunity to listen to us had grown significantly.

I then decided to apply to Ofcom for an FM licence which would allow us to broadcast to a wider ‘local’ audience. However, it was turned down because according to Ofcom, ‘there was no frequency available for us to broadcast’!

In 2019, Harrogate lost its only local FM radio station to a national franchise, which, in my opinion, left a hole without any local contact and local approach. Because of this, and having researched availability of FM frequencies, I decided to apply again to Ofcom, and again it was rejected.

Disappointed yes. Defeated no. My response was to set up a petition. I also had a Zoom meeting with MP Andrew Jones, who told me he would help as much as possible to gain us a licence.

Early last year, I was invited to resubmit my application and, finally, at the end of May 2021, I got a call from Ofcom who informed me my application had been successful. We had been given a 12-month licence and I was ecstatic. A five year licence was now in our grasp.

And since our launch on 95.FM back on September 1, 2021, I provided Ofcom with regular updates on our transmission, and happily reported no issues.

Twelve months ago, MP Andrew Jones pressed the button to launch us on FM and the last year of broadcasting on FM was a great success, so much so Ofcom has now granted us the extension.

This is fantastic news for the team at Harrogate Hospital Radio, and more importantly for our listeners.

Our future has never looked brighter!

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