Paisley FM Community Radio Licence Application Form
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Paisley FM community radio licence application form 1. Station Name Guidance Notes What is the proposed station name? This is the name you expect to use to identify the station on air. Paisley FM ‘Radio for Renfrewshire’ 2. Community to be served Guidance Notes Define the community or communities you are It is a legislative requirement that a service is intended proposing to serve. Drawing from various sources of primarily to serve one or more communities (whether or data (e.g. from the Office of Population, Census and not it also serves other members of the public) and we Survey) and in relation to your proposed coverage need to understand who comprises that community or area, please determine the size of the population communities. The target community will also be concerned and the make-up of the population as a specified in the licence, if this application is successful. whole, along with any relevant socio-economic The legislation defines a ‘community’ as: people who live information that would support your application. or work or undergo education or training in a particular (Please tell us the sources of the information you area or locality, or people who have one or more provide.) interests or characteristics in common. Answer in fewer than 300 words: Paisley FM intends to serve the communities as published in the invitation to apply, namely: Paisley, Renfrew and Johnstone and surroundings parts of Renfrewshire. It is the intention to serve the entire population of the Renfrewshire Council local government authority area. The 2015 population for Renfrewshire is 174,560 with the main town being Paisley with a total population of 74,640. [Source: National Records of Scotland] Paisley is the administrative headquarters of Renfrewshire Council. Paisley is defined by its population size and by its history, culture, tradition, sporting achievements, architectural heritage and shared sense of community. Renfrew, three miles from Paisley town centre has a population of 21,854 [2011 census] and Johnstone, again three miles from Paisley centre has a population of 15,687 [2011 census]. Therefore, the three main towns of Paisley, Renfrew and Johnstone have a total population of 112,181. Almost 175,000 people live in the area in nearly 81,000 households. Headline figures as follows: • There are more females (52%) in the area than males (48%). • Over two-thirds of the Renfrewshire population are of working-age. • 97% of the population are White, while under 2% have an Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British background; 32% of people in Renfrewshire belong to the Church of Scotland, 23% are Roman Catholic, while 33% are not religious. • 68.7% of people aged 16 to 74 in Renfrewshire are economically active. • The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) identifies small area concentrations of multiple deprivation. Eight of Paisley's 11 postcode areas have deprivation levels that are higher than the Scottish average and Paisley's most deprived locality, Ferguslie Park, the 10th most deprived postcode sector in Scotland. • In SIMD 2012, 48 (22.4%) of Renfrewshire’s 214 data zones were found in the 15% most deprived data zones in Scotland. [Source: SIMD 2012] 3. Proposed area Guidance Notes What is the area you propose to serve? Although we believe it is helpful to set guidance that frequency availability may often limit transmission powers to around 25 watts and the coverage radius to around 5km, we are adopting a more flexible approach and will consider applications for wider areas where applicants can demonstrate that the proposed coverage area will Paisley FM community radio licence application form better serve the target community, and where it is technically possible. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/10 1459/community-radio-future-licensing-technical-policy- statement.pdf The Paisley FM proposed coverage area is as published in the invitation to apply, namely: Paisley, Renfrew and Johnstone and surroundings parts of Renfrewshire. It is the intention to serve the entire population of the Renfrewshire Council local government authority area. Paisley is at the heart of Renfrewshire with the Headquarters of Renfrewshire Council. The target area is Paisley & Renfrewshire to include the historical towns of Renfrew, of which Prince Charles is the Baron of Renfrew and the town is referred to as the cradle of the Royal Stewarts, and the target area is also the former industrial town of Johnstone. Both towns are equidistant of Paisley being three miles to the north and three miles to the west of Paisley respectfully. This is a cohesive and structured population with a sense of place, and that place is Renfrewshire. Paisley FM has considered carefully an FM transmission site that will provide indoor FM reception to cover Paisley, Renfrew and Johnstone. The chosen site is a building nestled against the Gleniffer Braes on Gleniffer Road, Paisley. The building is used by Turning Point Scotland-Renfrewshire and is a residential unit at for men who require an intensive short term stay to address their substance misuse, mental health issues or lack of coping skills. Coverage prediction plots indicate that with an aerial height of 167m as/aod at the Gleniffer Braes site, a 25Watt ERP vertical polarisation FM transmission will cover the immediate Paisley area with 66 dB signal strength in stereo, however, there will be inadequate and poor reception in and around the centre of Paisley and to the north, and Renfrew will generally receive a 54dB mono service as will many parts of Renfrewshire. Parts of Erskine will have little or no reception. Paisley town centre, similar in Johnstone and around Kilbarchan will have little or no reception. Paisley town centre, in which there is considerable housing and the student population, will have poor or unreliable reception based on a 25W ERP. To provide Paisley & Renfrewshire with a usable and robust signal strength, Paisley FM requests a minimum of 50 Watts ERP with the ability to transmit with mixed polarisation in each plane, therefore an ERP of 100 Watts mixed (v + h). It is proposed to use the discrete Shively Labs (Maine, USA) antenna as used by Heartland FM (Pitlochry, Perthshire). The 100Watt vertical prediction plot does provide the ideal reception coverage of the target area with no overspill into the Barrhead area (CR licence Pulse 98.4) and around Rutherglen, south Glasgow (CR licence CamGlen Radio 107.9 FM). There is no overspill towards Ayrshire and the Clyde Coast due to topography including the Misty Law Muir hills (522n aod), therefore no interference to the West FM service on 106.7 FM from Toward Point (aka ‘Rothesay’). Robert McWilliam, a director of Paisley FM, has experience of the original commercial radio licence (ILR) awarded to Paisley Local Radio by The Radio Authority in 1991. The then new service was launched as “Q96” on 96.3 MHz FM from the Sergeant Law tower on the Gleniffer Braes above Paisley. At that time, the Radio Authority had cleared use of the frequency with 100 Watts ERP (200W mixed) at a maximum aerial height of 30m agl. Unfortunately, the MoD tower could only accept the top of the 60m tower for mounting the mixed polarised antenna. As a result, Q96 launched on 1 September 1992 with a reduced 50 Watts ERP (100 Watts mixed) to compensate for the additional 30m aerial height. In the built-up area of Paisley town centre, reception was difficult inside tenement buildings within considerable building clutter. Following six months of lobbying and extensive technical research and talking account listener comments, including the financial impact of poor reception in Paisley town centre, the then Radio Authority permitted the original maximum licensed allocation of 100 Watts ERP (200W mixed) which improved indoor reception in building clutter areas in Paisley and Renfrew. The directors of Paisley FM are also minded of limited FM frequency spectrum and availability. With previous successful licence application experience, the Paisley FM engineering team suggests using 106.6 MHz FM as a possible usable frequency for Paisley FM. Paisley FM community radio licence application form This is an adjacent to West FM relay (via DAB feed) on 106.7 MHz from Toward Point (Rothesay). These two areas are 23 miles apart shielded by topography of the Gleniffer Braes and beyond, including the Misty Law Muir range of hills (to 522m asl) between Renfrewshire/North Ayrshire and the Clyde coast. Paisley FM has coverage prediction plots on the use of 106.6 MHz with 25W and 50W vertical polarisation transmission within field strength of 66-60-54 dB reception. Also provided are the likely conflicts of commercial radio station West FM on 106.7 MHz from Toward Point site (aka Rothesay). This West FM relay is fed off-air from DAB digital radio. As an alternative, another adjacent channel for consideration is 105.6 MHz. This is adjacent to Capital FM on 105.7 FM from Craigkelly to serve Edinburgh and east central Scotland. Both suggested frequencies have been used for RSL periods in the greater Glasgow area. Renfrewshire Council are keen that residents throughout the Renfrewshire local government area have adequate reception of Paisley FM. A rider to this is that the Lochwinnoch and Howwood villages are in the Calder Valley and will not receive a signal at all. This means that Renfrewshire Council tax payers will not be in a position to hear relevant Renfrewshire information on Paisley FM. Lochwinnoch has a population of 3,410 while Howwood has a population of 1,502 therefore a total population 4,912 population. To resolve this, some consideration of a low-power relay to cover Lochwinnoch/Howwood of 10W ERP on perhaps 105.6 MHz FM.