Heart North Wales Coast (formerly Coast 96.3 and originally Marcher Coast FM) was an independent local radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 broadcast along the North Wales

North Wales

North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...

 coast, and owned & operated by Global Radio

Global Radio

Global Radio UK Ltd. is a British commercial radio company, the largest in the country following acquisitions of Chrysalis Radio and GCap Media.The company's Chief Executive Officer is Stephen Miron, while the Group Chairman is Charles Allen...

.

The station, which broadcast from studios in Colwyn Bay

Colwyn Bay

- Demography :Prior to local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 Colwyn Bay was a municipal borough with a population of c.25,000, but in 1974 this designation disappeared leaving five separate parishes, known as communities in Wales, of which the one bearing the name Colwyn Bay encompassed...

 & latterly, Bangor

Bangor, Wales

Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...

 and transmitted from Great Ormes Head, Llandudno

Llandudno

Llandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy County Borough, Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community...

, officially served an area stretching from Amlwch

Amlwch

Amlwch is the most northerly town in Wales. It is situated on the north coast of the Isle of Anglesey, on the A5025 which connects it to Holyhead and to Menai Bridge. The town has no beach, but it has impressive coastal cliffs. Tourism is an important element of the local economy. At one time it...

 in the west to Holywell

Holywell

Holywell is the fifth largest town in Flintshire, North Wales, lying to the west of the estuary of the River Dee.-History:The market town of Holywell takes its name from the St Winefride's Well, a holy well surrounded by a chapel...

 in the east, but could be heard as far away as Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 and The Fylde

The Fylde

The Fylde ; Scandinavian: "field") is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Bowland hills to the east...

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The station, along with the nearby Heart Wrexham (formerly Marcher Sound) and Heart Cymru (Champion 103) were part of the Marcher Radio Group

Marcher Radio Group

Marcher Radio Group Ltd, previously Marcher Sound Ltd, was a former British media organisation which operated several radio stations in north Wales and north west England...

 of radio stations, which were bought by the GWR Group (now GCap). GCap put the Marcher Group stations up for sale in 2005, but in March 2006 the sale was called off.

Coast 96.3 won a Gold Sony Award at the Sony Radio Awards 2006

24th Sony Radio Academy Awards

The 24th Sony Radio Academy Awards were held on 8 May 2006 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane in London.There were 29 categories of award and two special awards.-Programme awards and winners:...

 for stations with a TSA of under 300,000.

On 21 June 2010, Global Radio announced plans to close Heart North Wales Coast and merge the station with Heart Cheshire and North East Wales

Heart Cheshire and North East Wales

Heart Cheshire and North East Wales was an independent radio station broadcasting to north east Wales and north west England from its Mold Road studios in Gwersyllt, Wrexham, also shared with Gold and Heart Wirral.The station was owned by Global Radio who purchased the previous owner, GCap Media,...

 and Heart Wirral as part of plans to reduce the Heart network of stations from 33 to 15. The new station, Heart North West and Wales

Heart North West and Wales

Heart North West and Wales is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Cheshire, the Wirral Peninsula and North Wales. The station began broadcasting on 2 July 2010 as a result of a merger between Heart Cheshire and North East Wales , Heart Wirral and Heart North Wales Coast...

, is now broadcast from Wrexham but the now-defunct North Wales Coast station retains an opt-out for Welsh language news bulletins and programming during early mornings.