Ashdown Radio – How did they do it?

How long has it taken Ashdown Radio to go live?

The whole process took 2 years, from the initial application to going ‘live’. The extension required a new transmitter in Crowborough, which was approved during lockdown in 2020. Planning permission took 18 months, together with consultation with the local council and other bodies.

Ashdown Radio was finally launched on Friday 1^st April 2021. Zoe Ball (pictured) joined us for the official opening.  

New name and logo

Originally, Uckfield FM first went on air in 2003 as a temporary radio station for the Uckfield Festival, and much has changed since then, so a rebrand was inevitable.

A new name was required to reflect the increase in the area of transmission, so in mid 2021 (delayed due to Covid) the new name ‘Ashdown Radio’ was agreed and a new logo was created towards the end of 2021. It was also agreed that the new name would also be suitable to futureproof the station especially if the station could expand further, maybe into Heathfield, which is a next logical step and part of the future plans.

DAB

Applying for a DAB licence is a possibility, however at the moment it comes at a considerable cost and isn’t a priority at present. We are waiting for Small Scale DAB licences to become available in the area and this would potentially mean we could go onto DAB.

Volunteers

As with all voluntary organisations, times change for many and so we’ve lost some members but have also gained new members which we have been able to train in order that they can present their own programmes.

Covid

Thankfully the station was able to remain on air throughout Covid. We reduced the amount of people coming into the building at any given time. We had hour long remote programmes running in between the live based studio programmes, so that presenters didn’t come into contact with each other and so protect them and others from the virus.

Increased coverage = more listeners

The new extended coverage meant that our previous reach of roughly 45,000 population increased to around 83,000. Despite this increase and resulting potential boost in interest and enquiries for advertisers, it was agreed that – at least for the time being – package pricing would remain the same as before.

No doubt listeners will be interested to hear how things progress with Ashdown Radio.