TotalStar Somerset
Encyclopedia
The Breeze is a radio station which is broadcasting on 100.8, 102.4 and 107.4 in Somerset
, England
, and is owned by Celador Radio and is part of The Breeze
network of stations.
, who ran the first RSL
in 1995. Following a final RSL in December 1996 a County Councillor and local businessman, Phil Greatorex, created the financial structure necessary for Quay West Radio Ltd to apply for a full time licence. At the time it was the smallest full-time commercial Independent Local Radio
station
in the country. It went on air in August 1998. It was largely attributable to Greatorex's innovative financial structure and 'out of the box' thinking to previously unchallenged radio industry concepts that ensured the ongoing survival of such a small station. Since being owned by One Gold radio, the station has breached OFCOM regulations. The station was found to be transmitting 30,000 watts vertically, instead of the permitted 2,000 watts for the station on 102.4 from North Hill.
Ofcom revoked the licence, announcing it would terminate at the end of 2011.
In 1999 the Radio Authority confirmed that Bridgwater would get its own full time radio service. Four groups entered applications: Bridge FM, BCR FM, Sedgemoor Coast FM and Riverside 105. BCR FM won the licence in May 2000 and went on air on 4 July 2001.
BCRfm was subsequently purchased by Choice Media, and was sold in July 2006 to Laser Broadcasting. The station has always remained a local service for the area, under the direction of Dave Englefield - one of the station's co-founders, with Mark Painter and Nick Rickards.
The station relaunched at 10pm on 28 February 2007 as Quay West 107.4 to bring it in line with a station of the same name in the Minehead area of West Somerset.
On 3 October 2008 it was announced that a petition to wind-up Laser had been published.
Later that month, it was reported that Laser Broadcasting
had volunteered to go into administration. Then came the revelation that the stations would be run in the interim by Bridgwater Broadcasting Services (BBS) Ltd whilst administrators were appointed. Both stations were then taken over along with 3 other stations by a new company, South West Radio Ltd.
South West Radio Ltd went into administration in 2009 and the stations it owned were eventually bought by Your Media Group.
Communications Regulator OFCOM refused to transfer the licences to Your Media Group (YMC) in December 2009 and again in 2010.
The licences remain with the original Ltd companies and therefore effectively all 5 radio services, including the two Quaywest stations, remain in administration.
On 24 March 2010, the 5 YMC Ltd stations were closed by administrators after multiple refusals on the part of regulator OFCOM to transfer the licenses, following a number of financial issues at the stations following TLRC's sale. In early 2010, the 5 stations were purchased by One Gold Radio Ltd and in August 2010 the stations were relaunched using the Total Star brand owned by Red Media Services Ltd through a service agreement. The two Quaywest stations were merged to create Total Star Somerset.
confirmed that they would be shortening the licence for the Bridgwater and West Somerset FM licences, triggering a re-advertisement of the licences., stating that "...in view of the licensee's unsatisfactory record of compliance with licence conditions, we will not be implementing the special application procedure...". Subsequent to this, it was announced that The Breeze, which already operated in Bristol
(formerly as Star 107.2), and which had recently been awarded the re-advertised Total Star Bath licence, would acquire the remainder of the existing Somerset licence and broadcast The Breeze on the former QuayWest and BCR frequencies from Sunday 7 August 2011.. The re-advertisement of the licence will still go ahead, and it is likely that The Breeze will apply to be awarded the 'new' replacement licence.
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and is owned by Celador Radio and is part of The Breeze
The Breeze (radio network)
The Breeze is a network of independent local radio stations broadcasting to Bristol, Bath, Bridgwater, West Somerset, Frome, West Wiltshire and the Southampton, Portsmouth and Winchester areas of Hampshire, England...
network of stations.
102.4 & 100.8
Quaywest 102.4 was originally conceived by an ILR presenter Keri JonesKeri Jones
Keri Jones is a British radio executive.Keri Jones attended university from 1989 to study law and worked for a number of radio stations throughout the 80's and 90's including DevonAir, Radio Medica, Viking FM, BBC Radio Humberside, Fosseway Radio, Leicester Sound, Valleys Radio and various BBC...
, who ran the first RSL
Restricted Service Licence
A UK Restricted Service Licence , is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event...
in 1995. Following a final RSL in December 1996 a County Councillor and local businessman, Phil Greatorex, created the financial structure necessary for Quay West Radio Ltd to apply for a full time licence. At the time it was the smallest full-time commercial Independent Local Radio
Independent Local Radio
Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. The same name is used for Independent Local Radio in Ireland.-Development of ILR:...
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...
in the country. It went on air in August 1998. It was largely attributable to Greatorex's innovative financial structure and 'out of the box' thinking to previously unchallenged radio industry concepts that ensured the ongoing survival of such a small station. Since being owned by One Gold radio, the station has breached OFCOM regulations. The station was found to be transmitting 30,000 watts vertically, instead of the permitted 2,000 watts for the station on 102.4 from North Hill.
Ofcom revoked the licence, announcing it would terminate at the end of 2011.
107.4
During the late 1990s, many trial stations took place in Bridgwater and Sedgemoor. The first Restricted Service Licence station went on air in April 1996 on 105.4, under the direction of Keri Jones who had successfully launched Quay West Radio in West Somerset. Between 1996 and 1999, other 4-week trials were operated by companies called Riverside 105, BCR FM, and Sedgemoor Coast FM.In 1999 the Radio Authority confirmed that Bridgwater would get its own full time radio service. Four groups entered applications: Bridge FM, BCR FM, Sedgemoor Coast FM and Riverside 105. BCR FM won the licence in May 2000 and went on air on 4 July 2001.
BCRfm was subsequently purchased by Choice Media, and was sold in July 2006 to Laser Broadcasting. The station has always remained a local service for the area, under the direction of Dave Englefield - one of the station's co-founders, with Mark Painter and Nick Rickards.
The station relaunched at 10pm on 28 February 2007 as Quay West 107.4 to bring it in line with a station of the same name in the Minehead area of West Somerset.
Quaywest Stations
In September 2008 it was suggested parent company Laser Broadcasting were in financial trouble and posts on forums suggested the company had failed to pay its staff for several months.On 3 October 2008 it was announced that a petition to wind-up Laser had been published.
Later that month, it was reported that Laser Broadcasting
Laser Broadcasting
Laser Broadcasting was a commercial radio operator based in Darlington in County Durham, England.-History:The group was founded in 2002 by Nigel Reeve—one of the launch directors of Classic FM and one time chief executive of London News Radio owners of LBC—and Nick Jordan, a media sales executive...
had volunteered to go into administration. Then came the revelation that the stations would be run in the interim by Bridgwater Broadcasting Services (BBS) Ltd whilst administrators were appointed. Both stations were then taken over along with 3 other stations by a new company, South West Radio Ltd.
South West Radio Ltd went into administration in 2009 and the stations it owned were eventually bought by Your Media Group.
Communications Regulator OFCOM refused to transfer the licences to Your Media Group (YMC) in December 2009 and again in 2010.
The licences remain with the original Ltd companies and therefore effectively all 5 radio services, including the two Quaywest stations, remain in administration.
On 24 March 2010, the 5 YMC Ltd stations were closed by administrators after multiple refusals on the part of regulator OFCOM to transfer the licenses, following a number of financial issues at the stations following TLRC's sale. In early 2010, the 5 stations were purchased by One Gold Radio Ltd and in August 2010 the stations were relaunched using the Total Star brand owned by Red Media Services Ltd through a service agreement. The two Quaywest stations were merged to create Total Star Somerset.
The Breeze
In August 2011, OfcomOfcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
confirmed that they would be shortening the licence for the Bridgwater and West Somerset FM licences, triggering a re-advertisement of the licences., stating that "...in view of the licensee's unsatisfactory record of compliance with licence conditions, we will not be implementing the special application procedure...". Subsequent to this, it was announced that The Breeze, which already operated in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
(formerly as Star 107.2), and which had recently been awarded the re-advertised Total Star Bath licence, would acquire the remainder of the existing Somerset licence and broadcast The Breeze on the former QuayWest and BCR frequencies from Sunday 7 August 2011.. The re-advertisement of the licence will still go ahead, and it is likely that The Breeze will apply to be awarded the 'new' replacement licence.