Stafford FM is a local community radio station serving Stafford, Staffordshire, England. It broadcasts on 107.3 FM and online. The station was one of two to apply in 2014 for an FM community radio licence to cover Stafford. The other was BFBS. On 3 October 2014, Ofcom announced that both applications had been successful and that 5-year full-time licences will be awarded.
History
1990s
There have been a number of volunteer-run radio broadcasting projects in the area at intervals over nearly 20 years, and many of the volunteers have taken part in several of them. An experimental project called the Stafford Broadcasting Society, organised by the late Robert Leighton carried out a restricted service licence broadcast in the mid-1990s, using a transmitter near Hopton.
2001-2003
Stafford FM was first set up in 2001 by broadcast engineer Richard Lamont and local broadcaster Ray Crowther to do 28-day RSL FM trials, serving Stafford and the surrounding area from studios in Gaol Mews and a transmitter near Hopton. It aimed to gain a permanent small-scale commercial radio licence from the then regulator, the Radio Authority. A total of four RSLs at six-month intervals were carried out between 2001 and 2003. By then the Radio Authority had been replaced by Ofcom, which announced that no more small-scale commercial radio licences were going to be handed out, so the project was put on ice indefinitely. Between 2003 and 2012, Super Radio was operated by Steve Rowney and Ray Crowther. Broadcasting by streaming on the internet, the station kept local radio in Stafford going.
2011-2012
Stafford FM re-emerged as a community station in 2011, launching online. At the time, the station was based in studios on Marston Road, Stafford. While at the Marston Road studios, the station held three RSL licences, using a transmitter at the same Hopton site as the earlier project. This was in an attempt to gain a community radio licence for the town.
XL FM
After a falling out with the owners of the studio building in December 2012, Stafford FM went off air for a time, until, on Sunday 3 February 2013, the station re-launched as XL FM. This was branded under a re-structuring, and the station promised a variety of shows and a wide range of music. However, it was announced on 19 August 2013 that the station would revert to its original name.
Stafford FM now
Stafford FM broadcast its eighth and final FM trail for 28 days from Monday 31 March 2014 on 87.7 FM, using a transmitter at Mount Street in the town centre. After being awarded a full-time community FM licence from ofcom in October 2014, the station commenced full-time broadcasting on 107.3 FM at noon on Saturday 25 April 2015. Ray Crowther presented a special 2 hour launch programme after selecting Neil Diamond's "Beautiful Noise" as its first track. Stafford FM broadcast from its studio's in Mount Street, near to Stafford Market until April 2017 when the station re-located within the town centre to a new broadcast centre with three studios and additional facilities. As well as the mainstream daytime programming, the station carries specialist programming during the evening, and covers local sport, including reports on Stafford Rangers FC, Brocton FC and Stafford Town FC. It is funded by advertising, sponsorship, grants and donations. The station is structured as a company limited by guarantee and is run by the board of directors who are all volunteers.
