Award hope for radio station
One of Crieff’s most recent initiatives is up for an accolade.
Creative Crieff and Radio Earn have been shortlisted in the inaugural Scotland Loves Local Awards.
The finalists were announced this week and winners will be presented with their gongs during a celebratory online broadcast later this month.
Individuals, businesses and community organisations from across the country are in the running for the accolades after being nominated by those who have seen and felt the positive impact of their work.
The awards are organised by Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP) as part of the Scotland Loves Local campaign, which encourages everyone to choose local and support businesses in their communities to build a better future.
The online event will be presented by STV’s Sean Batty and will be broadcast via social media on Thursday, November 25.
It will double as the culmination of the Scotland’s Towns Conference, a week-long showcase and celebration of innovation improving the nation’s towns and places.
Radio Earn is a project overseen by Creative Crieff, a social impact organisation aiming to improve the lives of young people and the wider community in Strathearn and Strathallan through music, film and the creative arts.
It is planning to create a cinema complex on the site of the former Crieff Hotel, which would also incorporate the radio station.
In the meantime, Radio Earn has set up home in High Street since launching in June.
Station manager Duncan Taylor told the Herald: “Creative Crieff and Radio Earn are delighted to be shortlisted for the Innovative Town category of the Scotland Loves Local Awards.
“This is the first time Creative Crieff has been shortlisted for an award. Radio Earn is on the high street of Crieff, located in the heart of Strathearn and Strathallan, and is a not-for-profit local community radio station partly run and built by the local community.
“We broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a potential audience of 22,000 listeners in our local area.
“Creative Crieff is a youth- driven organisation as we currently employ three young people under the age of 25 to run the radio station, and we are providing a medium for creativity in the heart of Crieff.
“We are thrilled to be recognised alongside some amazing Scottish organisations.”
Creative Crieff and Radio Earn are up against the likes of Kilmarnock Business Association and East Ayrshire Council and Milngavie Town Centre BID and Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce in the Innovative Town category of the awards.
STP chief officer Phil Prentice said: “All of our shortlisted entries stand testament to the dedication and innovation of those who make our communities great places in which to live.
“The awards are sponsored by Collective Architecture, Commsworld, Creative Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Message Matters, South of Scotland Enterprise, Spar Scotland and ThreeSixty Architecture. They are also supported by STV.
“I can’t wait to hear more about their stories and the difference they make.
“My thanks also go to our sponsors for making these awards possible.”
We are thrilled to be recognised alongside some amazing Scottish organisations Duncan Taylor, station manager