Radio station ready to take to airwaves – after 10 years

A COMMUNITY radio station is getting ready to go on the airwaves – after broadcasting for 10 years online.

Rhondda Radio is only weeks away from going live after being granted a community radio FM licence.

The big switch-on will happen on July 29 at its studio in the Treorchy and Cwmparc Boys and Girls Club, with the party starting at noon. At 1pm, X Factor star Lloyd Macey will press the big button to go live.

Station manager Lee Cole said: “It’s an exciting time at the moment, we’re all preparing for the big launch. We’ve invited a lot of people.”

Formed in 2007 as part of the Rhondda Cynon Taf Community Radio Project, the community radio station is currently available online and has been broadcast on FM three times since its creation. It is managed entirely by a team of 20 volunteers working around the clock both on and off the air.

Mr Cole said: “There’s a really wide range of shows: we do everything from Welsh language shows to gospel to rock and jazz. The station is really local, it comes from the community for the community.

“Hopefully we will get much bigger as a station but there will be more work to be done on a daily basis. Now we’re just looking for more volunteers.”

Ahead of the launch, the main concern for the station lies with the reception around the area. The Rhondda is made up of two valleys, but due to its topography, and the location of its transmitter, the station fears it could struggle to get reception everywhere.

Signal in the Upper Rhondda Fawr will be good but the quality will degrade further down the Fawr. In those areas, it hopes to promote community radio in the Valleys by encouraging residents to listen to its sister station, GTFM.

There will be many parts of the Fach with poor to no reception, but to help solve this the station will be applying to Ofcom for coverage enhancements and hopefully it can erect a second transmitter.

Mr Cole added: “We’d also like to thank our funders, without whom we would not be able to fulfil our dream of FM. A big thank-you goes to Penycymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund, Trivallis and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust.”