Bishop FM

Case Study

A brand new radio station is celebrating the success of its first month on air, broadcasting local news and views to thousands of enthusiastic listeners across South West Durham. Community radio station Bishop FM is run by more than 60 volunteers from all walks of life.

The not-for-profit venture has been granted a five year licence and is broadcasting on 105.9FM from 7 am to 11pm daily from Bishop Auckland. Programmes feature local news, views, sport and music from folk and blues to indie and rock and roll with outside broadcasts, covering everything from village events to local businesses, are an important part in the station’s coverage.

One of the first visitors to the station was Sue Ellwood, Project Manager of North Pennine Dales LEADER that supported the venture with a grant of £11,500. “We are delighted that our grant has helped Bishop FM get up-and-running,” she said. “LEADER is here to support projects that improve the basic quality of life in rural areas and the station will help to foster community spirit and keep people in touch with what is going in their local areas. It is also providing volunteers with the chance to learn a whole range of new skills.“ “We are delighted to be actually on the air at last as the project was originally launched in 2006,” said Bishop FM’s

Finance Director Gillian Campbell. “So much time and effort has gone into this and the support from LEADER has been vital. “The grant was an invaluable contribution to the £22,000 we needed to purchase equipment and launch the station. We have also had help from the Lottery Awards For All and local authorities and our volunteers organised everything from discos and sponsored walks to bag-packing in order to raise the money we needed. “We have been bowled over by the enthusiasm people are showing for the station as we had 12,000 hits on our website before we broadcast a single word.

The district has quite a large number of elderly and disabled people who are often housebound so bringing local news and events into their homes makes them feel part of the community,” she added. The Bishop FM team are all ages and from all walks of life including DJs, former radio presenters, IT specialists, accountants, students and retired people. Around 30% of them are unemployed and the opportunity to learn and develop new skills could help them back into employment.

The LEADER funding is made available through the Rural Development Programme for England which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union and is managed by One NorthEast in the region. Working from the grass roots up North Pennine Dales LEADER supports innovative and sustainable rural development projects in Teesdale, Weardale, West Derwentside and South Tynedale.

Bishop FM Website