Radio station up and running for Avondale
A new radio station has launched in Lanarkshire.
Avondale Radio will serve communities in Strathaven, Glassford, Chapelton and many other villages in the surrounding area.
It was set up by Avondale stalwarts Les Hoggan, who runs local publication Strathaven Echoes, and former DJ Kenny Quiqley.
The pair put their heads together over a year ago and began raising funds for the project before assembling a team of volunteers.
The platform now boasts a variety of shows broadcast by 20 different presenters.
And after only launching on March 14, it’s already received a fantastic response from the local community and beyond, with over 5000 listeners tuning in.
The community station is set up on a server in Les’ house where different presenters can log in remotely and broadcast their pre-recorded shows.
“We got funding from three different sources and spent about a year working on it all before finally going live on March 14”, said Les.
“It’s been good so far. We’re up at about 5000 listeners, which is great for our first three or four weeks.”
Avondale Radio aims to have a real community feel about the station – covering different events happening in the local area, speaking to local people, and bringing news and great listening to residents in Avondale.
Speaking on how the idea came about, Les added: “My friend Kenny phoned me one day to go out a walk with the dog as he had an idea he wanted to talk about.
“We walked about a mile round Glassford and by the time we got back to the village we had come up with the idea that we’d start a radio station.
“So we just started working on funding and put together a group of presenters, which is now at around 20.
“We have a social media team and a scheduler, so it’s all come together quite nicely.
“It’s all volunteers, lots of people across the community have come up with various ideas for shows such as our 60s and 70s shows, a rock show, a talk show and quite a range of programmes.
“The focus is mainly on the community and making sure we cover things that are going on in and around the area.
“We recently went along to the Glassford Beer and Gin Festival, and we’ll be along to the Gala Day, Balloon Festival and others in the area.
“We’ll also cover the local organisations and promote what they’re doing with a range of different groups.”
Les says presenting on air is quite a change from producing his local paper, and said it’s been “challenging but fun”.
Avondale Radio can be played on Alexa and Google as well as being available on the station’s website at https://avondaleradio.com/
You can find out more on their Facebook and Instagram pages.