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. Radio Seerah

2. Community to be served Guidance Notes Define the community or communities you are proposing to It is a legislative requirement that a service is intended serve. Drawing from various sources of data (e.g. from the primarily to serve one or more communities (whether or not Office of Population, Census and Survey) and in relation to it also serves other members of the public) and we need to your proposed coverage area, please determine the size of understand who comprises that community or communities. the population concerned and the make-up of the The target community will also be specified in the licence, if population as a whole, along with any relevant socio- this application is successful. economic information that would support your application. The legislation defines a ‘community’ as: people who live or (Please tell us the sources of the information you provide.) work or undergo education or training in a particular area or locality, or people who have one or more interests or Answer in fewer than 300 words: characteristics in common.

Radio Seerah will serve the diverse Muslim and wider community of Leicester. There is a community of Guajarati, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Arab, Somali, Turkish, Pashto and Malaysian. This community lives in Leicester within the 5 kilometres radius of where we wish to broadcast Radio Seerah from. Although these communities live across Leicester they are mainly located in the following areas: Spinney Hills, Highfields, St Mathews, Charnwood, Evington, Evington Valley, North Evington, Thurnby Lodge, Belgrave, Leicester City Centre, and Humberstone. According to the 2011 census the total population of Leicester is 329,600. The Asian Indian population consists of 93335 people and from those the total Muslim population is 61440. This includes 17360 Asian Muslims, 8067 Pakistani Muslims, 3642 Bengali Muslims and 3311 Arab Muslims. The target Muslim population that Radio Seerah wishes to serve is approximately 40000 people. Programmes will be delivered in various languages including, English, Urdu, Guajarati, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Somali, Arabic, Kerio, Turkish and Pashto. These are the diverse communities that will tune in to the radio station. Radio Seerah aims to cover the following content on its programmes: To provide an educational radio service that will be both entertaining and interactive for the communities and particular for the Muslim Communities. To give a common platform for networking and partnership interests in the community and the city. To promote Education, health and social, Environmental issues, crime and domestic issues as well as discussion programmes. To work towards a solid and active citizenship. Leicester has a got a high unemployment rate as well as high crime rate (see table below). Therefore having a Community Radio station will aim to improve and better these rates by providing information and guidance through the various programmes.

3. Proposed area Guidance Notes What is the area you propose to serve? It is Ofcom policy that community radio stations usually serve an area of up to a 5 kilometre radius from the transmission site. See ‘Coverage and planning policy for analogue radio broadcasting services’. http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/broadcast/radio- ops/coverage/analogue-coverage-policy.pdf

Radio Seerah will serve the “inner city” areas of Leicester. Our studios will be based in Leicester which is 5Km from the city in the Humberstone ward. Our aim is to broadcast to particularly cover the wards listed above. Radio Seerah will serve the ‘inner city' areas of Leicester. The transmission site will be Nexus International House, 64 St Barnabos Road, Leicester, LE5 4BD

Radio Seerah would like broadcast within the 5 kilometres radius which will have both the Muslim and the wider community.

Programmes and programme output: Definitions: Studio location: The studio from which the service will be broadcast should be located within the licensed area. (In some instances, and by prior written agreement from Ofcom, it may be acceptable for the primary studio to be located outside the licensed area.) Locally-produced: it is anticipated that most stations will produce the bulk of their output themselves, in the locality. However, for some target communities it may be appropriate for fairly high levels of output to originate from outside the licensed area. Live output: is that which is produced by a presenter in the studio at the time of broadcast. The amount of live output may vary between different services depending on the needs or expectations of the target community. Original output: All output specifically produced for this service (but excluding repeats and automated material). Peak time: it may be helpful to state what material will be broadcast in ‘peak time’. If you do, please say what you consider peak time to be for your target community (this may vary from station to station). Automated output/voice-tracked material: most stations will carry automated output at some time. The amount of automated or voice-tracked material does not need to be specified in the key commitments. Sustaining service/third party produced material: if you intend to broadcast material produced by a different organisation please state what it is and how much (per day or week as appropriate).

4. Programming output Guidance Notes Please fill-in all three questions below The law requires applicants to state their proposals for providing a service that would: Question A asks you to describe your programme service. (i) cater for the tastes and interests of members Question B relates to how your output will serve the of its target community or communities (or for any tastes and interests of your target community. particular tastes and interests in those communities); (ii) broaden the range of programmes available on Question C is about how your service will broaden non-BBC local services (commercial and community the range of local (non-BBC) services available in stations) to members of the relevant community or your area. communities; Later in this form you will be asked to draft your own (iii) broaden the overall range of such non-BBC ‘key commitments’. This will form the basis of your local services provided in the area concerned; and licence and is what Ofcom will judge you against. It (iv) have a distinct nature, or provide distinct should include a summary of your proposed content, from any non-BBC local services with which it programme output as set out below and reflect your would overlap. commitment to cater for relevant tastes and interests, Ofcom is required to consider the extent to which an to broaden the range of relevant programmes and applicant’s proposals will cater for the tastes and services and to provide a service with a distinct interests of members of its target community or nature and content as set out in the Guidance Notes communities. in the column opposite. Ofcom is also required to consider the extent to which proposals for a community radio station would broaden the range of programmes available by way of non-BBC local services (both commercial and community stations) in the area concerned (especially, the extent to which a proposed service would have a distinct nature or provide distinct content from any overlapping non- BBC local services). The information given here should be more detailed than what you set out in your draft key commitments (later in this form), and will help us gain a fuller understanding of how you will serve your target community and what the station will sound like. 4. Programming output

A: Please tell us about your programme service. The following questions may help you describe your programme service (but should only be used as a guide):  What will the service sound like?  What music will you play?  What are the main speech elements of the service and how will the social gain/community benefits you propose be reflected on-air?  What is the likely music to speech ratio?  Will this vary at different times of the day or week (or year)?  Do you intend to broadcast live output? If so when and how much do you propose to do?  Will you broadcast in languages other than English (what languages and how much)?  Will your output be original i.e. specifically produced for your service?  Will it be locally produced?  Do you intend to repeat material? Answer in fewer than 1,000 words: RADIO SEERAH members have of combined experience of 14 years in running Radio Ramadan, Seerah and Holy Month of Rabi Ul Awal (in which the Prophet Peace Be Upon Him was born) RSL’s for the Muslim Community. Radio Seerah February 2014 was the latest RSL, and was broadcast from the premises of the RADIO SEERAH. The aim of Radio Seerah was to build bridges between the Muslim community and the wider non- Muslim communities in our local patch to create dialogue, integration and promote community cohesion between the Muslim and non-Muslim community. These are the fundamental principles of the Radio Seerah. Radio Seerah proved extremely popular and strengthens our case, in that the needs of our local community are not being met through other non-BBC broadcasters. Radio Seerah provided the platform to share the RADIO SEERAH’s primary objective of community cohesion. Over 27 volunteers were involved with Radio Seerah, many of whom came from Muslim and other wider community backgrounds, and worked in a unified manner. The success of Radio Seerah was measured through busy phone-ins bearing in mind that this was simply a 4 week licence with limited resources, which clearly demonstrated the need for a dedicated 24 hour service for the local community. Radio Seerah will have a distinct sound. The main output will be in English in order to reach out to all communities. Station idents, sweepers, and jingles will all be professionally produced and will all be in English with a spiritual undertone. The station will sound young, fresh, and dynamic with a broad appeal to all sections of the community. Our aim is to achieve BBC 5 Live style speech in our core daytime programs. In order to achieve this, we have a number of volunteers from commercial radio, as well as the BBC, with decades of experience in broadcasting, broadcast legislation, and management, and who will provide training to our team of day time and weekend presenters. Broadcasting to the Muslim audience needs careful planning as this ‘community of communities’ is diverse, coming from different ethnicities, cultures, backgrounds, languages, denominations, and with varying needs . Therefore, in order to strike a middle ground we will play a wide variety of faith related material from all over the world. The speech to music ratio will be 30:70. The speech content would vary according to the Islamic calendar. During the Ramadan, Holy Month of Rabi Ul Awal (in which the Prophet Peace Be Upon Him was born), and Seerah periods, our speech element could increase to near 90% with 10% music. We aim to start with 70% speech as presenters will need full training before being allowed on- air. This speech content will increase by 10% on a monthly basis, moving up to 90% after month 2, where it will remain. The remainder of 10% output will consist of Islamic spiritual music. Our music content will be made up of: Naats, Nasheeds and Islamic poetry. Daytime output will be mainly in English from 0600-1900 Mon-Friday. The presenters will come from local areas and will be fluent in English and ideally one other language in order to maintain that bond with the diverse audience. We will also broadcast in ethnic languages based on our research (Census 2011). The evening programmes will be delivered in various languages inlcduing, English, Udru, Gujrat, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Somali, Arabic, Kerio, Turkish and Pashto. The night shows for our young audience will be presented by 18-25 years olds from the local community. These shows will be debate based with light poetry. Great emphasis will be placed on listener interaction through phone-ins, facebook, twitter, and text messages for the youth in a style dedicated to the young audience. The recitation of Quran with English translation will be part of the program schedule. This will be scheduled in for early hours of the morning. There will be dedicated programs of Tafseer, and hadith. These programs will be delivered by scholars from all walks of life and will mainly be for the youth and presented in English in the local dialect in order to engage young people. Open dialogue and debate with all communities of faiths will be encouraged as well educate and inform them of the true peaceful nature of Islam. During the week (Mon-Friday), in our core programming hours, there will be a number of guests who will advise on a variety of topics affecting our target audience. Each program will be catered to as many denominations as possible. Programs We would define our weekday peak hours as: The Breakfast Show from 0700-0900hrs and Drive time from 1600-1800hrs. These programs will be a reflection containing news, travel, business updates, current affairs, headlines, school run requests for young children of school age, along with competitions and games. The mid-morning show will be on-air between 0900-1200hrs and will focus on light entertainment, and will also feature a debate asking listeners to call in to participate. All guests will be vetted by our producers and station managers, regular guests from all demographics will be lined up daily based on their professional background and the topic on the day. In order to establish a community cohesion theme for all our listeners. If a guest is not able to come into the studio, we will conduct the interview on the phone. Hourly News (IRN) will be aired 24 hours a day, followed by local community news during peak broadcasting hours. Local news will be produced in-house and will be focused particularly on Leicester. The lunchtime show will be on-air between the hours of 1200 - 1400, and will focus on local community issues. Guests on this show will come in to talk about various community projects to promote community cohesion and awareness. The afternoon show 1400-1600 will focus mainly on women, education, fashion, beauty, cooking, social welfare and health Weekday evening programs from 1900-2200 will be business talk in ethnic languages based on audience numbers. Each week day will be presented in a different language. I.e. English, Urdu, Gujrati, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Somali, Arabic, burmi, Turkish and Pashto. Weeknights from 2200-2300 will comprise of a live talk show answering various question from the Muslim and non Muslim communities, talking points presented in English, Solicitors, health specialist and scholars Throughout the night the station contain Quran recitation with English translations. Friday afternoons 1300-1400 will broadcast the RADIO SEERAH Friday prayer and sermon in English, covering the topics, of values, charitable giving, good moral character, sharing and caring, and community work. Weekend programs will be a variety of: local events; children’s programs; lifestyles and request We aim to ‘present’ live programs 16 hours a day, and as our volunteer become confident through our, we aim to increase our live output to 24 hours a day, within 6/7 months. Programs will vary during various times of the year. The three main times of the Muslim calendar are: Ramadan, Hajj and Muharam. With particular interest added to the Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Ahda. There will be dedicated programs during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan with a daily live broadcast from a local mosque Tarawih prayer (evening prayer). There will be specialist programs during the run up to Hajj with live link-ups with our presenters who from different countries This will be an innovative and pioneering program for a local radio station. We aim to have approximately 70% of live output. The core programs during the day will be live and produced in-house by our production team of volunteers. Local news will also be produced and read in-house by our volunteers and work experience people from local schools, colleges, and universities. Interviews will be conducted for the news stories, and clips will be repeated hourly in our bulletins. On some occasions, depending on listener demand, certain material may have to be repeated Time Show Details

7am - 9am Breakfast show – Urdu and English mix, Naat, Nasheed, Poem Programme, including news, travel and traffic news, short interviews on local issues. 9am – 12pm Gujrati and Asian language programme – newspaper reviews and community announcements. 12pm – 2pm Programme for women – discussion, interviews, health issues, recipes and healthy cooking – English Urdu Gujrati and Hindi. 2pm – 4pm Programme in Arabic and Punjabi – social issues for women, domestic violence, lifestyle 4pm – 6pm After school Kids programme, stories, health and wellbeing ideas, sports, competition, speech, request show, participation for kids by phoning in, radio supplementary school. 6 pm – 9pm Live talk show with local councillors, MP’s, Doctors, health visitors, Nurse and community leaders / representatives. 9 pm – 11pm Late night live shows, youth shows, ladies hour, news and question and answers sessions. 11 pm – 7:00 am Pre recorded Naat, Nasheed, Poems, Ghazals, Speeches and Quran Recitation Saturday Weekend programme Time Show Details 7 am -9am Breakfast show – kids programme, youth programme, news, history, travel destinations, Mix language programmes (English, Urdu, Gujrati. Hindi, Somali) 9am – 12pm Live phone request show including competition. Children can also pray or sing a nasheed by phoning in. 12pm – 2pm Programme for Girls – education, cooking, discussion about forced marriages, child abuse awareness, drugs, substance misuse and quite smoking programme. Raising aspirations and guiding them to be good role models. Female youth issues, Age upto 16 years. 2pm – 4pm Community issues awareness – talk show with a range of religious and community leaders as guests on the show. 4pm – 6pm Guidance show for females – how to bathe a deceased person, burial – programme to be presented by experts in this field. 6 pm – 9pm Guidance show for males – how to bathe a deceased person, burial – programme to be presented by experts in this field. 9pm – 10pm Programme for adults and old age people – discussion about how to live with children and facilities available to adults and old age people. Ideas about how they can help the community presented by adults and old age people. 10pm -11pm News in different languages, history, business advises, immigration advice, social benefits advice, care advice – programme for both male and female. Live talk show about how to live with other communities and also talk about crime. Sunday Weekend programme Time Show Details 7 am -10am Breakfast show – kids programme, youth programme, news, history, travel destinations, Mix language programmes (English, Urdu, Gujrati. Hindi, Somali) 10am – 12pm Live phone request show including competition. Children can also pray or sing a nasheed by phoning in. 12pm – 2pm Programme for Girls – UK and world history, also exploring family tree and learn a new language, social interaction discussions and how to live with family, friends etc. 2pm – 5pm Local events from Mosques and Community Centres 5pm – 9pm Mashira – Invited local guests to read poetry 9pm -11 pm Pre recorded Naat, Nasheed, Poems, Ghazals, Speeches and Quran Recitation

B: Based on what you have said above, how will your proposed radio service cater for the tastes and interests of your target community/communities? Answer in fewer than 400 words: Coming from the very heart of the communities it will serve, Radio Seerah programming will accurately reflect the needs, tastes and interests of our target communities as well as wider communities. It will be done in the following ways Radio Seerah will appeal to all generations and ethnicities of our target community. We will cater for the tastes and interests of our audience by providing topical, informative, and entertaining programs. Audience research is a crucial part of radio programming. Our research indicates the need to educate, and create awareness within the community, in particular meeting the needs of young adult, 50% of who are illiterate. We will put a large emphasis on the needs of women in our target community, Majority of who are unemployed. We will work with our partner organisations e.g. drugs awareness groups, local schools, colleges, DWP, CAB, the NHS, along with various charities, and other organisations that are currently delivering these services, by providing them with a platform from which to engage the community. Training is a major part of our project. A large emphasis will be placed on training volunteers from the local community by running free radio courses, and developing their confidence, self esteem and communication skills. Broadcasters, media trainers and lecturers from local colleges, Universities, and other radio stations will be invited to give lectures and training on a voluntary basis to our volunteers. In-house volunteers will provide regular training in script writing, speech, news reading, editing, and radio production, and voice over work. Some members of our target community have undiscovered talent. This could be a good voice, reciting, writing, or other creative art. Radio Seerah will provide dedicated programs which will seek to discover that talent by various on-air talent and competition programs. These members will be given a platform to present their talent and art. C: How will your proposed community radio service add to the range of programmes available on non- BBC local services (commercial and community stations) to members of the relevant community or communities, add to the overall range of such services in the area concerned and be different and distinct from them? Please tell us which non-BBC local services your station will overlap with.

Answer in fewer than 400 words: Radio Seerah will provide a much needed alternative and distinctive radio service for our target communities. There is currently no station that serves our communities. As described above our communities have needs that are not being met by the current local radio provision. Radio Seerah will address those needs, and reflect the interests and concern of our communities and audiences by playing spiritual or faith material, therefore Radio Seerah will offer a wider range then other non BBC services. Commercial Radio: there are a couple of mainstream radio stations that cover the Leicester area e.g. ----. As mainstream popular music stations they do not provide any specific relevance and interest to target our communities. Access to local events, will be promoted on a non profit basis, through our various public and voluntary and community sector partners. For example: the promotion of the winter flu jab for vulnerable people, at a local venue. BBC Radio Leicester: This is the local BBC service. It covers the whole of East Midlands, with only a small part of the coverage concerning the issues that affect Leicester - even less coverage of the minority South Asian communities that our service will target. Sabras Radio: Although targeted towards South Asians this station avoids from spiritual and religion topics which we will be addressing.

Social gain 5. Social gain Guidance Notes Community radio is required to be for the public good Broadcasting legislation specifies a number of and to bring community benefits, or social gains, to ‘characteristics of community radio services’. Licence listeners and participants. The requirement for ‘social holders need to ensure their services conform to these gain,’ is one of the key factors that makes community characteristics, including in this case the delivery of radio stations different from other radio services. social gain. Please tell us what community benefits your service The legislation sets out social gains that stations must will bring to your target community(ies) and/or the provide. These are the achievement, in respect of general public. Please include summaries of individuals or groups of individuals in the target evidence to support your answer. community, or in respect of other members of the public, of the following objectives – Your draft ‘key commitments’ (later in this form) should include a summary of your proposed social (a) the provision of a radio service to individuals who gain set out below. are otherwise underserved by such services, (b) the facilitation of discussion and the expression of Answer in fewer than 1,500 words: opinion, (c) the provision (whether by means of programmes included in the service or otherwise) of education or training to individuals not employed by the station, and (d) the better understanding of the particular community and the strengthening of links within it. Social gain may also include the achievement of other objectives of a social nature. Applicants are required to provide evidence that their service will result in significant social gain to the public or the target community(ies). Copies of letters or research reports etc. should not be submitted, but brief relevant extracts from them, which represent an accurate and comprehensive summary, may be included. If we wish to see the source material, we will ask for it. Ofcom is required to have regard to the extent to which your proposed service would result in the delivery of social gain to the public or target community.

Community benefit and social gain are clearly the main drivers for this application. Our aim is to provide a full time community radio station to bring together members of the south Asian and wider communities described above, creating greater knowledge, understanding and awareness of both diversity and similarity between those diverse communities About 49 per cent of the population is made up of people from Asian, African or Caribbean or mixed race backgrounds and about 5 per cent are white but not British. The numbers were the latest to be released by the Office of National Statistics from the 2011 Census. The city's 93,335 Asian or British Asian Indians make up the next biggest ethnic group in Leicester, for 28 per cent of the population – an increase of two per cent since 2001. Leicester now has the highest proportion of people of that ethnic group in England and Wales, where three per cent of the total population is Asian or British Asian Indian. Meanwhile, two per cent of people in Leicester are Asian or British Asian Pakistani, equalling the average for England and Wales. The religious make-up of the city's population has changed drastically since the last census in 2001. Leicester has the 11th highest percentage in England and Wales of Muslims, who or 19 per cent of the population, an increase of eight per cent since 2001. Overall in Leicester, 51 per cent of residents class themselves as white, regardless of where in the world they are from originally, and 49 per cent as not white. Suleman Nagdi, chairman of the Federation of Muslim Organisations, said: "I think we are seeing what makes Leicester so unique – there is no such thing as a majority. Ref; Community Radio - Application Form Section: B (tastes & interests of the Target Community) Prior to the proposal for Community Radio (CR) thorough research has been conducted which has revealed that the Target Community (TC) has some specific tastes and interests – these are not met by current local broadcasters. The array of research was conducted on the basis of Radio Ramadan FM, and Radio Seerah FM (later renamed Seerah Online). Also, exhaustive discussions were carried out within the community groups, those who were relevant in public opinion and working for the public welfare. Further details are given in later sections and in the appendix. TC needs a forum and a platform to be able to get guidance and information and type of music, which existing local radio station are not able to fully provide. It may be interesting to note that due to Internet development and digital technology the target community has rapidly expanded and further development and innovation is still required. Our proposed CR will strive to fill this gap. Its position is more supplementary than complimentary. So it is not an alternative to the available services but will be introducing a niche for which the local target community has been waiting for (as evidenced by our consultations and research). • The target community will find the opportunity to raise their voices on various issues of public concern vis a vis a particular interest (socio-economic and religious domains). Their participation in the community and their contribution towards communal goals have been recognised by the Government. • The TC has a desire to get more precise and clear insights into vital matters such as health and education, to be able to make their own informed decisions. • CR will endeavour to address the local and national issues in an understandable way involving specialists and experts in those fields. These programmes will be on a weekly basis. For example, Radio Ramadan and Seerah run programmes on issues such as legal advice, immigration, law, and housing to name a few and these programmes have been beneficial to their listeners. • CR will be approaching female members of society in order to make sure their participation in community programmes is acknowledged. There will be an emphasis on dealing with the special interests of the Muslim community, for example, can women have their own needs met whether that is job related, marital issues, childcare and so on. They will, alongside the rest of the community, be given a platform to be able to discuss issues relevant to them and feel more engaged in the societal fabric. This inclusion will give more confidence to the target community to use its full potential. • CR will provide avenues for children, especially belonging to the TC, to receive the benefit of live shows, for example competitions and quizzes. A phone-in facility will be give listeners access and the opportunity of participation. The proposed schedule will elaborate that weekends and school holidays will be more convenient and useful for children of the TC to use their time for positive aspects of their interests and tastes. Currently there is no such service available. • Market forces lead the commercial radio so community broadcasting, understandably, has some limitations. Our proposed CR radio will be exclusively for community gains. This point will be further explained hereafter. Significant Social Gain to the Audience of the TC CR will benefit the community enormously. • CR’s organisation is a very vital point because CR will be run and managed by the Muslim community of Leicester and the wider communities. • The TC includes Muslims of all ethnicities and nationalities. It will do its best to include and cater for people of any gender or age. Diverse Output • The output and programmes will be geared towards providing the kind of music which has an appeal to the target community; in light of their aesthetic tastes and interests (programme schedule will shed some light on this.) • Although the proposed CR has an apparent focus of catering for the Muslim TC of Leicester, its main unique point will be to promote integration between communities through its programmes and provide a good forum for interfaith dialogue and understanding. As the CR will function on a digital and technical platform so the issues related to MIS perception and other related matters will be dealt with in a practical, balanced and objective way so that the TC and wider community both receive the benefits of positive communication and integration. • CR is initiated at a difficult time when our young people, women and others are in need of pastoral support or guidance to be able to allay the fear of exclusion. Providing this support through CR can facilitate positive social and mental health development of members of the TC. It is hoped that CR will provide choices and options to the people, especially of the TC, to come forward with practical solutions to their concerns, reservations and difficulties. In this way the task of community cohesion and investment in people will be more achievable. At present, the Muslim community living in Leicester does not have a facility which enables them to manage their own affairs, and being part of the wider society and participating in it without any religious discrimination will be a central aim. These individuals, who whether restricted to their home due to illness or other reasons, or even part of the culture do not consider themselves included in the cultural orbit. The local radio’s output is mainly film industry based and their economic base is on the market forces. In contrast, CR will provide programmes with a significant emphasis on community development. The services will be provided in including English, Urdu, Guajarati, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Somali, Arabic, Kerio, Turkish and Pashto. our offered programmes will be inclusive of the interests of these communities. Radio Ramadan and Seerah have given us an opportunity to tap in to the demand of various ethnic groups so it will be easier for us to empower these groups to participate in the CR programmes and functions. These communities will have a say in the services so that the CR can provide the best possible opportunities to the people of the TC, be they individuals, families or groups. Again, this will also be beneficial to the wider community and society.

J Ashworth (MP) letter of Support I write to support the application by Radio Seerah for a permanent broadcasting radio licence. I have previously appeared on Radio Seerah that provides a much needed, and much valued, community service. This radio station plays a vital role in promoting community cohesion within my Constituency, as well as being of benefit to the different communities. In light of the above, I should be very grateful if the application submitted by Radio Seerah is given serious consideration in light of the various social benefits it would bring to the area.

Inspector Gillard letter of support (police) I and my officers have been invited on several occasions to use Radio Seerah to communicate with their Muslim listeners. I had an hour slot earlier this year which I used mainly to address community tensions and concerns about a spate of burglaries that had been committed at local Mosques. I took questions from the presenter and answered texts that had been sent live on air from listeners. Many of these questions were challenging, and I believe reflected genuine feelings and thoughts of members of local communities. I found the experience refreshing and extremely useful; it was of a very different character to the engagement I often have with community leaders.

Councillor M Dawood letter of support I would happily endorse such a provision as it creates understanding and awareness of relevant issues affecting the Community and the radio can be a vehicle for such provision. Furthermore, this will also be an opportunity for input by people whose voices are not prominently heard on national radio. What I also would like emphasised is that I have appeared on radio shows which have been led by Mr Diwan and this has increased my engagement with the constituents and most importantly has been successfully run.

Access and participation: 6. Participation in the service Guidance Notes How do you propose to ensure that members of your Legislation specifies a number of ‘characteristics of target community (or communities) are given community radio services’. Licence holders need to opportunities to participate in the operation and ensure their services conform to these characteristics, management of the service? including in this case providing opportunities to participate in the operation and management of the Your draft ‘key commitments’ (later in this form) service. Ofcom requires information as to how this should include a summary of your proposed would be achieved. participation objectives as set out below. What will be the involvement of members of the target Answer in fewer than 400 words: community in the radio station? How many volunteers do you anticipate will be involved in your service per year?

We will have community members from all the target communities actively engaged as volunteers at Radio Seerah, This will include all levels of operational and governance roles within the organisation. The volunteer roles will range from the operational roles as radio presenters and producers, admin support, studio managers, publicity and marketing roles, community outreach work, outside broadcasting, technical and IT support, social media and website support etc through to sitting on the programming and steering committees, participating in task groups, and as members of the Board of Directors. We recognise the important role that a community radio station can play in providing the opportunities for volunteers and community members to gain skills through their involvement with their community radio station, and want to ensure that this will happen throughout all the activities of Radio Seerah. The personal development of volunteers and community members will be a central and important part of what we aim to do as part of our radio licence. We will offer a high level of volunteer support at all times, encouraging on-going training of volunteers so that they have the skills and support to take on roles of responsibility within the organisation. As well as having community members on the board of Directors, we will have a range of sub committees/task groups and decision making groups within the station that we will encourage community members to take an active role in. Radio Seerah will be seen to be a successful community radio station through the active participation of the communities it serves.

7. Access to facilities and training Guidance Notes Set out the practical (formal and informal) Ofcom is required by the legislation to have regard to mechanisms which you will use to ensure that the provision each applicant proposes to make to allow members of your target community can gain access for access by members of the target community to the to your facilities that would be used for the provision facilities to be used for the provision of the service and of your service and to receive training in their use. for their training in the use of those facilities. Your draft ‘key commitments’ (later in this form) should include a summary of your proposed access and objectives for training people in the use of the facilities as set out below.

Answer in fewer than 400 words: Based in the very heart of the community, the community radio station will become a community hub offering a range of broadcast, and non-broadcast, opportunities to targeted community members. We will particularly target community members who are not currently engaged in activity – this will include unemployed people, women, older people and young people not currently in education training or employment (NEET). The building, including the studios and production facilities, will be open all day and into the early evening; we will train volunteers to become volunteer studio managers, enabling access to the facilities at times when staff are not available – including evenings and weekends. We will constantly promote these resources and opportunities across our target communities, networking with other community groups, using community partners, leafleting and of course on air promotion. We will offer drop-in radio workshops after school for young people, offering radio training and radio programme production as an alternative activity in ‘a safe space’ for local young people.( this may also serve as an informal homework club) . There will be a ’library’ room for older people to access during the day, as a place to commune and reduce isolation among the older community; there will also be a production/training room with PCs giving access to internet for people for community use, internet access, radio production, informal job search, etc. We will make this widely available to people across our target communities. We will also facilitate intergenerational work within the radio station, encouraging dialogue and discussion – and the participation of older and younger people in producing radio programmes together. Volunteering: opportunities for volunteering will be promoted throughout our target communities. There will be a range of volunteering roles, straddling the day to day operations of Radio Seerah as a community radio station as well as strategic roles in the development and governance of the organisation – e.g. Editorial teams, programming teams and Board member etc. Training: Volunteers will be offered appropriate training and support to enable them to take an active role in the life of their community radio station. We will work with volunteers to develop an action plan for their own development, identifying training needs of those individuals. Ongoing Support: We recognise that volunteers need on-going support. This will be offered to all volunteers in whatever role they are taking on within the radio station, as well as supporting them to constantly develop their skills, and to help them through the general challenges of life too.

Ensuring accountability: 8. Accountability Guidance Notes Please set out your proposed community Broadcasting legislation specifies a number of accountability mechanisms. These should cover ‘characteristics of community radio services’. Licence matters such as: holders need to ensure their services conform to these characteristics. One is that, in respect of the provision How will members of your target community: of the service, the provider makes itself accountable to • make contact with your service, and the community (or communities) the service is intended to serve. • influence the operation of the service? Ofcom is required to have regard to the provision each How will suggestions or criticisms from members of applicant proposes to make in order to ensure its your target community (or communities) be accountability to the relevant community (or considered and acted upon? communities). Your draft ‘key commitments’ (later in this form) should include a summary of your proposed accountability measures as set out below.

Answer in fewer than 500 words: Through its Community based studios and production facilities, Radio Seerah will create an accessible and informal environment that will lead to an open system of dialogue and discussion between the management of the organisation and the communities we aim to serve. All the systems of accountability to our community will be regularly reviewed throughout our licence period. Open meetings: Working alongside other community partners, we will participate in a series of open meetings in community venues where we will promote the radio station and the opportunities for people to participate in the life of their community radio station, and get feedback on the broadcasting. Board: This will be the formal accountable body. As we become a membership organisation anyone who is a member of Radio Seerah will be able to be nominated and then stand for election to become a board member of Radio Seerah. New board members will be voted on at our AGM. Period of office will be for 3 years. Memorandum and articles of Association – we fully recognise that we need to change these to be able to implement the structure that we need to put in place for effective governance of Radio Seerah as a full time community radio station, We are currently in the process of changing these so that we become ‘fit for purpose’ as a membership organisation with accountable structures in place. Steering Group: We will establish a steering group with representation that reflects members of the diverse communities. The steering group will meet quarterly. Members of community groups and other relevant organisations, and individual community members, will sit on a steering group to influence the direction of the radio station. This will be fed directly into the board meetings. Other committees / task groups: We will set up a series of task groups and committees as appropriate as the radio station develops, This will include a programming committee, marketing and publicity, etc with an open recruitment from our membership for people to serve on those groups. Complaints policy: The station will have a clear complaints policy, covering both ‘on air’ and organisational complaints, that will enable listeners to complain and get a response to their complaint within a reasonable and clearly stated period. This should enable community members to feel confident that their views are being heard and acted upon, and that we take their views seriously, and will help us to be the accountable, inclusive and responsive organisation that we strive to be. Website: we will use feedback forms on our website to invite comments from listeners and participants.

Guidance notes: station’s draft key commitments Please draft the Key Commitments for your proposed service. There is a blank key commitments document overleaf. If your organisation is awarded a licence, the key commitments you draft here will form the basis of what we put in the licence. (Please note: this would be subject to Ofcom’s agreement, and we may require it to be amended, including, for example, to properly reflect legislative requirements). Your draft Key Commitments should be consistent with, and summarise the answers you have already given in sections 1-8 of this application form. Four sample key commitment documents are provided for information at annex 1. These are provided as illustrations only – it is important that you draft your own commitments, rather than just copying what may have been done by others, or what we have put in the sample versions. You should keep in mind that it will be a condition of any licence to meet the Key Commitments: something you must do at all times and for breach of which you could face sanctions including revocation of the licence. So, you should think carefully about what you will be committing to. We would expect key commitments to be brief, and no more than two pages long.

KEY COMMITMENTS: to be completed by the applicant

Station name Radio Seerah [As in section 1 of this application]

Community to be served According to the 2011 census the total population of Leicester is 329,600 [In no more than 30 words describe the community or communities you will We will serve the needs of the diverse Muslim communities the serve. This should be a summary of ethnic minority communities including Asian British, Pakistani, section 2.] and Bengali amongst others.

Proposed area We are proposing to serve an area of 5KM. Please see map at [State the proposed coverage area as the starting of the application form to highlight the 5km radius. set out in section 3.]

Programming output [This should be a summary of the answer you have given in section 4, in no more than 200 words] (Radio Seerah will serve the diverse Muslim and wider community of Leicester. There is a community of Guajarati, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Arab, Somali, Turkish, Pashto burmis, and Malaysian) Leicester with a live service of 16 hours per day. The station will serve the South Asian amongst other communities as well by providing locally produced relevant programming, promoting the cultural diversity and aspirations of the target audiences, including the diverse religious beliefs of the community. The musical focus will be Asian genres mostly from India and Pakistan, including Nasheeds and Naats. Programmes will be mostly presented in English, Urdu, and Punjabi, (and will also include Pathwari, Sylheti and Pushto). Programmes will be delivered in various languages including, English, Urdu, Guajarati, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Somali, Arabic, burmis,Turkish and Pashto. Speech programming will encourage dialogue and debate around issues affecting the Asian communities in Leicester. It will include local and community news, information directly relevant to the target communities, interviews and discussion. Listeners will engage with the service through phone-ins, website and social networking sites, including the free app which is available to download. The studios will be located within the heart of the community and will provide community access to media related training facilities. Live and/or original output: [what are the minimum hours per day or week that the service will broadcast live and/ or original output? (Content specifically produced for this service (but excluding repeats and automated material).] Locally-made programming: [what proportion of output will be locally-made?] Studio location: [This should be in the proposed coverage area.] Live and/or original output: [what are the minimum hours per day or week that the service will broadcast live and/ or original output? (Content specifically produced for this service (but excluding repeats and automated material).] Locally-made programming: [what proportion of output will be locally-made?] Studio location: [This should be in the proposed coverage area.]

Social gain [Summarise the answers you have given in section 5.] We will provide a distinctive radio service that meets the needs of our target audiences, the South Asian communities and other communities as well as described above, broadcasting from within the heart of the community that we serve. We will create a thriving 'community hub', actively supporting diverse members of the local community, governance and the day to day running of the station. We will work with the Council, other voluntary groups, local educational establishments, local businesses and the jobcentre to regularly promote and support employment and training opportunities as well as opportunities for active citizenship. We will provide broadcasting opportunities for volunteers to have a voice within the community, facilitating dialogue and discussion, and promoting greater awareness and understanding among diverse South Asian communities

Participation in the service [Summarise the answer you have given in section 6.] Radio Seerah will have an ‘open door’ policy towards the use of facilities by groups and individuals wishing to acquire the necessary skills to communicate effectively through radio. We will provide a wide range of volunteering opportunities, supporting volunteers to participate in all areas of the station's operation and governance. Four directors of the station will be elected from within the community and be instrumental in providing support and feedback from the community. We will actively encourage participation in programming from voluntary and community organisations as well as statutory agencies, ensuring that they use Radio Seerah as a way to reach our target communities.

Access to facilities and training [Summarise the answer you have given in section 7.] The station will offer broadcasting-related training to individuals, and community groups, particularly engaging harder to reach groups - women, older people and NEET young people. We will develop work with local schools and other educational establishments to provide training and broadcasting opportunities. The station will work with the local council and other statutory and voluntary organisations to promote its facilities and training on offer. We will provide periods of work experience and college placements

Accountability [Summarise the answer you have given in section 8.] The station will have a public AGM. The station will set up a steering group of community members to give guidance to the board and management The station will publish and follow a clear complaints procedure made available on our website. The station will actively encourage feedback on a daily basis through phone ins, text messaging and through our social network site. The station will employ mechanisms to review accountability to the target community, including relevant community feedback.

Please note: If awarded a licence, the commitments the applicant makes in this section will, subject to Ofcom’s agreement, form the basis of the ‘key commitments’ part of its community radio licence. The headings above are for applicants’ guidance and will be removed from the final version.] About your organisation:

9. Company details Guidance Notes

The legislation requires that: • Community radio services should not be provided primarily for commercial reasons or for the financial or other material gain of the body providing the service or the individuals involved in it • Any profits produced may only be used to either improve the future provision of the service or for the delivery of social gain to members of the public or the target community Provide the name of the body corporate (e.g. Only a body corporate can hold a community radio company) submitting this application and the type of licence. A body corporate is almost always a body corporate. (registered) company, although it can also include, for example, some bodies created by statute (an individual Please provide copies of the company’s or a registered charity on its own is not a body Memorandum, Articles of Association and Certificate corporate). of Incorporation (or, where it is another type of body corporate, its founding documents and those which Your application must therefore be submitted on behalf set out its objectives and rules of operation) of a registered company (or other body corporate). There are different types of company (e.g. a company limited by shares, a community interest company, a company limited by guarantee) and we need to know what kind of company is applying for a licence. We will not consider a licence award to a company if it has not yet been registered. If the application is successful the licence will be awarded to the body corporate (e.g. company) submitting this application.

Company (or other body corporate) name: Seerah Academy (Radio Seerah) Date of registration: 7/02/2014 Company registration number: 08881831 Type of company (or other body corporate): company limited by guarantee Where your body is not a company, please explain how it meets the requirement to be a body corporate: N/A

10. Ownership Guidance Notes

Please provide details of who controls and who owns Ofcom needs to know about the ownership of the the body corporate (e.g. company) applying for this company (or other body corporate) applying for this licence, and on what basis this control and licence, and any issues regarding its control. We will ownership is achieved. (If this will be different once also consider how the company (or body corporate) will the station starts broadcasting please say so (a be run (this will usually be specified in the Articles of licence is not issued until broadcasting starts.) Association of the company). The information provided must include: In relation to exerting control over the applicant, the information provided should include the name and • all the subscribers, members, shareholders, or address of any individuals or corporate bodies in whatever is appropriate for the applicant accordance with whose wishes the applicant’s affairs company (or body corporate), and state the are or will be conducted in most cases or in significant extent of their interest (e.g. % shareholding) (if respects. the company will be controlled by members, but the members are not yet recruited, please say so). (You will also be asked about the board of directors in 11 & 12 below.) • details of any individual, company or other body that may exert control over the applicant.

Radio Seerah is a company limited by guarantee with 4 Directors as the body corporate. All directors are members of the company and have undertaken to guarantee the company a certain amount as a subscriber in the event of it being wound up.. There are no shareholders. There is no external ownership. The membership is open to all.

Ability to maintain the service: 11. Management and operations Guidance Notes

With regard to the applicant please provide: In addition to the notes above on ownership, Ofcom is also required to evaluate the human resources involved • A list of directors, indicating who is the in the running of a community radio station. Answers managing director and/or chair (please see should demonstrate how those who have relevant question 12 regarding directors’ details). experience will work for the station. In addition, a • An indication of management structure (e.g. diagram or organisation chart may help paint a clearer management committee or equivalent, if picture. applicable), and/or • Information about who would be responsible for the day to day management and running of the station (there is a separate question regarding other staff below). Explain the role(s) in the station, job titles, and indicate whether paid or voluntary, full or part-time (and the number of hours). Individual Position Full/ Part Time Paid /Voluntary Mr Ahmed Seedat Chair Part time Voluntary Mr Yusuf Patel Member Part time Voluntary Mr Suleman Patel Member Part time Voluntary Mrs Rahima Banu Sheikh Member Part time Voluntary

12. Management and operations Guidance Notes

Please provide information regarding each director Ofcom needs to know about the proposed directors and as set out below (some or all of which may be chair of the applicant. Some or all of the information regarded as confidential). given in this section will usually be removed from the publicly available copy of this application form. In addition if any individuals have been identified for (All community radio applications forms will be made management roles at the proposed station, please available on our website.) If you request that any give further information in this section. information be removed, please indicate which (and why by email to [email protected]). Answer (for each director):

Mr Yusuf Patel (Director) Employment: Business Owner Other directorship: 8 years of experience working for RSL radio raising funds by asking other businesses to advertise via RSL radio. Relevant Experience and Qualification 8 years of programming and setting radio stations technical aspects.

Mr Ahmad Seedat (Director) Employment: Motor Vehicle Technician Relevant Experience and Qualification 3 years of experience presenting radio shows for the younger generation (kids programme) on RSL radio.

Mr Suleman Patel (Director) Employment: Royal Mail Relevant Experience and Qualification 6 years of experience supervising the day to day running schedule of the RSL radio station.

Mrs Rahima Banu Sheikh (Director) Employment: Welfare rights advisor Relevant Experience and Qualification 7 years of experience presenting radio shows about women’s issues and discussing about domestic violence.

13. Staffing structure Guidance Notes

What is the staffing structure of your proposed radio The legislation requires that Ofcom has regard to the service? Provide a job title for each position and applicant’s ability to maintain the proposed service (as indicate whether the individual will be paid or will well as to ensure the applicant is fit and proper to hold work in a voluntary capacity, will be full or part-time the licence). As well as its ownership, management and (indicate the number of hours for part-time posts). operations, the proposed staffing of the station is This may be provided as a diagram or organisation relevant to these considerations. chart. Answer in fewer than 400 words, plus organisation chart (optional): Head of Operations- Full Time Paid (38 Hours p/w) IT & Technical Manager- Part Time Paid (16 Hours p/w) Programme Controller- Full time Paid (38 hours p/w) Sales Manager- Full Time Paid (38 hours p/w) News Editor- Part Time Paid (16 Hours p/w) Presenters- Approx 25 - Voluntary Producers- Approx 8 -Voluntary Telephone Answerers - 2 voluntary Receptionist- 1 Part Time Paid

Radio Seerah will be staffed by both paid and voluntary personnel. Alongside the Directors and governors of the organisation who will all serve 10 voluntary hours per week towards the operational element of Radio Seerah, there will be two paid station manager posts, a volunteer trainee station manager position and one paid apprentice position. The two station managers (42 hrs per week in total) and the trainee station manager (45 hrs per week voluntary) will have overall responsibility for the day to day management and organisation of the station and its functions including all volunteers. The chart does however show a strategic relationship between the governance of the station, the skills of the Directors and their oversight of some of the voluntary roles. The Directors will also be volunteers for 10 hours per week each to create extra capacity within the radio station. Through meetings, line management and reports the station managers will support the decision making of the Directors.

14. Applicant’s experience Guidance Notes

Please describe the history of your group, and any Ofcom is required to consider whether an applicant has relevant experience of the group, or the individuals the ability to run a community radio station for the within the group, by answering the questions below. licence period (up to five years). To aid our consideration we want to know about any relevant experience the applicant group as a whole, or the individuals involved, may have. A. Please provide a brief history of your group. Answer in fewer than 300 words:

Our group has been running RSL broadcasts in Leicester for over a decade. In 2007 we formed a not for profit organisation called Communities Together and started to broaden the range of people involved within the organisation. We have supported and trained a number of organisations and individuals who have gone onto run RSL broadcasts themselves. We have worked with the local authority, statutory bodies and other voluntary organisations to support the South Asian communities of Leicester. We have also run a number of media training projects for young people and have formed partnerships with local schools. The individuals within the group have many skills which have been utilised over the years to support our work; our group involves people who are solicitors, NHS professionals, Head teachers, web design professionals, presenters and producers. A number of our group have worked with other charitable organisations to support disadvantaged communities. The radio station also produces a compilation of CD with includes Mr Abdurahim Diwans lectures and prayers and have been producing it for the last few years. People enjoy listening to it and there has been a great interest.

B. Please summarise the group’s broadcasting experience (e.g. internet radio, Restricted Service Licences (RSLs)). Answer in fewer than 150 words:

We currently run an internet based radio station which broadcasts and has had requests and feedback from about 22 countries. We are one of the few organisations which developed a free downloadable app for smart phones and tablets so that people could listen to us on the ‘go’. We have carried out a number of outside broadcasts which has involved working directly with the communities that we intend to serve. We have been running RSLs in Leicester since 2010 and or supporting other RSLs in the area with technical support, training and or equipment. Mr Diwan has been broadcasting since 2010 but has experience of broadcasting from 2001. Also Mr Diwan is not the managing director but will take on the responsibility on helping to support the Radio Seerah fully. Since the last two years Radio Seerah and presenters are working and presenting with EAVA FM 102.5. We have run successful RSLs in Leicester under the banner of Radio Seerah in the following Years: 2010, 2011, 2013,2014 and 2015. We have supported other organisations to run RSLs in Leicester through the provision of consultancy support, training, equipment, studio loan and or programming. Radio Seerah has an audience from around the world including India, United Arab Emirates, Canada and New Zealand. We have had a large number of audiences that downloaded the radio on their phones and I-pads to listen to the radio. We interview professional people on Radio Seerah such as Leicester City Mayor, Local MP J. Ashworth and a number of couincillors such as M. Dawood , Mr A. Usman, Mr H. Aqbani. We have also interviewed professional organisations members such as Health Doctors, Police prevent officers, charity commisioner and many more. If Radio Seerah is granted the license Mr Abdurahim Diwan will be supporting the Radio with setting up and guiding the presenters. He has been a minister of religion for the last 16 years. He has been working closely with the community and has successfully completed many projects. He is a head of a supplementary school. He has been working in the radio industry for a number of years where he has been training a number of young people on broadcasting and presenting on radio programmes. D. Please summarise the radio broadcasting experience of key individuals in the applicant group (only if not already described above). Answer in fewer than 150 words:

All members of the organisation have at least 10 years of experience of broadcasting, running successful RSLs and have technical knowledge of studio and IT setup. As an organisation we have provided consultancy support, loaned equipment and produced programming for other local RSL broadcasts. Mr Ahmad Seedat is a close member of the group and been working effectively within the community. Mr Seedat has 3 years of experience presenting radio shows for the younger generation (kids programme) on RSL radio. Mr Yusuf Patel has been working with community closely and has been fundraising many projects. Mr Patel also has 8 years of experience working for RSL radio raising funds by asking other businesses to advertise via RSL radio. Mr Patel also has 7 years of programming and setting radio stations technical aspects. Mr Suleman Patel has also been working closely with different community members and has particpaited in various community projects. Mr Patel has 6 years of experience supervising the day to day running schedule of the RSL radio station. Mrs Rahima Banu Sheikh has been working closely with female members of the community where she has provide help and support with different issues within the females of the community. Mrs Shaikk has 7 years of experience presenting radio shows about women’s issues and discussing about domestic violence. She has also been presenting educational programmes as she is currently working and has been working in a local school. Mr Abdurahim Diwan (radio programmer) Relevant Experience and Qualification 15 years of experience presenting on RSL radio programme. 6 years of experience broadcasting RSL radio.16 years of working as a community representative, bringing the community together.

Evidence of demand: 15. Demand and/or support Guidance Notes

Please provide a summary of evidence of demand When considering community radio licence applications, and/or support for your proposed service. Ofcom is required to take into account the extent of local demand for, or support for, the provision of the This may include a variety of information, for proposed service. example: It is for applicants to decide what evidence of demand • summary of support from statutory or voluntary or support they wish to submit. However, Ofcom does sector organisations which expect to contribute not believe that generic support for the establishment of practically and/or financially to your operations, a new radio service is as meaningful as evidence of or which would expect to collaborate with you in considered support for a specific applicant’s proposals. joint activities; This means that Ofcom does not attach great value to numerous examples of similar generic or form letters of • evidence of interest generated through radio support by your group, or to petitions. activity (e.g. RSLs, internet radio), community activity, training, voluntary sector work etc; Copies of letters or research reports etc. should not be submitted. However, your response here may include • results of research; brief relevant extracts from such material and must • summary of support from local politicians, represent an accurate and comprehensive summary of councils, educational or religious bodies etc; any such supporting evidence. If we wish to see the source material, we will ask for it. • summary of support from local business or other sectors; • Evidence of support from your proposed target community.

Answer in fewer than 1,000 words: Since the first RSL (Radio Seerah) in 2010, the radio team have been welcomed and embraced by the community it served. Over the past five years it has gained much support and offered its support to a number of charities, community organisations, associations, local businesses and individuals have supported us by participating. We have repeatedly been lobbied by listeners of Radio Seerah over the years to expand the service towards a permanent radio station providing similar content. On average we have received in excess of 150 calls per day, over 95 % of callers would ask and request for us to be a full-basis broadcast service and that this is much needed in Leicester. Here are some quotes from local community members A K Gheewala From Indian Muslim Association “The Radio Seerah has a committed team of volunteers who have been running it on a temporary basis for a last few years. It provides a much needed valuable community service.” And “I have therefore no hesitation in recommending the application for an approval considering the various benefits it has brought to the Leicester community.” Islamic Education Trust (Leicester) “I am confident that the community radio will provide much needed valuable services in addressing the present day challenges. The community broadcasting will cover range of socio economic as well as religious issues.” Spinney Hill Local Policing Unit (Mr M Bailey, Mr B Knop and Mr Y Dada. “I and my officers have been invited on several occasions to use Radio Seerah to communicate with their Muslim listeners. I had an hour slot earlier this year which I used mainly to address community tensions and concerns about a spate of burglaries that had been committed at local Mosques. I took questions from the presenter and answered texts that had been sent live on air from listeners. Many of these questions were challenging, and I believe reflected genuine feelings and thoughts of members of local communities. I found the experience refreshing and extremely useful; it was of a very different character to the engagement I often have with community leaders.” J Ashworth (MP for Leicester South) “I should be very grateful if the application submitted by Radio Seerah is given serious consideration in light of the various social benefits it would bring to the area.” Councillor M Dawood “I would happily endorse such a provision as it creates understanding and awareness of relevant issues affecting the Community and the radio can be a vehicle for such provision. Furthermore, this will also be an opportunity for input by people whose voices are not prominently heard on national radio. What I also would like emphasised is that I have appeared on radio shows which have been led by Mr Diwan and this has increased my engagement with the constituents and most importantly has been successfully run.” Full letters are available upon request.

Ability to maintain the service – financial information: 16. Pre-launch financial information

In assessing an applicant’s ability to maintain the service we need to know what funds and assets it holds, how much it intends to spend getting the station on-air (pre-launch expenditure), and predicted funding for the pre- launch period. Please note ‘in-kind’ income is dealt with in 18 below.

17. Year 1 financial information – income

Please provide information on the predicted income for your first year of broadcasting. N.B. there is a legislative restriction on income from on-air advertising and sponsorship/commercial references (this is usually 50% of total annual income (cash and value of in-kind support), but the amount of such income may be more limited in some cases and some stations cannot take any income from on-air advertising sponsorship/commercial references.

18. Financial information – in-kind support

Please provide totals that reflect the in-kind support you expect to receive for the pre-launch period, and for year one. You may count some volunteer input as in-kind support – please see our guidance on this http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/broadcast/radio-ops/volunteerinput.pdf

19. Year 1 financial information – outgoings Please summarise year 1 outgoings – your expected operational expenditure to cover the first 12 months after the service has commenced broadcasting. (Add rows if necessary).

20. Year 1 financial information – commercial activities on air

During your first year of broadcasting would your proposed station carry any on-air advertising? (If so, please state the amount of income you anticipate from this source and its anticipated proportion of total income)

21. Pre-launch financial information – contingency

If there is a shortfall between pre-launch predicted income and outgoings, please explain below how you would expect to cover any outstanding costs.

22. Year 1 financial information – contingency

If there is a shortfall between Year 1 income and Year 1 outgoings, please explain below how you would expect to cover any outstanding costs (see also 23 and 24 below). Alternatively if there is a surplus at the end of Year 1, please explain what you intend to do with such additional resources.

23. Financial information – loans and other borrowings

If any of your proposed funding (either set-up or operational) is in the form of loans e.g. from directors, individuals or organisations, please provide details as to who the loan is from and the terms of such lending, expected repayment terms, interest rate charged and other associated costs.

24. Financial information – alternative funding streams

If there is a shortfall between income and outgoings, what arrangements have you explored and are in place to provide further financial and/or ‘in-kind’ support for your proposed service? If you have any proposals for expanding and/or changing the funding model of your proposed service after the first year of operation, please provide details below:

Broadcasting engineering: Engineering notes

We require preliminary radio frequency (r.f.) engineering information and applicants are advised that this section is not intended to be exhaustive. We are asking for the basic engineering parameters necessary to determine the extent of frequency availability in an applicant’s chosen area (after taking account of the requirements of neighbouring broadcasters). While Ofcom would not wish applicants to go to unnecessary expense (we do not guarantee the availability of a suitable frequency and/or our ability to allocate it for broadcasting from the chosen transmission site), we do require precise details about the transmission site chosen. The questions following relate to this. Applicants should provide evidence of negotiations or agreement with the site owner (e.g. whether a provisional agreement is in place). Any licence award will be based on the coverage area from the site identified in the application. If a licence is offered, Ofcom may not be able to agree to a change from the site put forward in this application (and any request for a change will need to be justified). Applicants should read and be aware of the relevant part of the Ofcom Site Engineering Code which may be found at: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/guidance/tech-guidance/eng_code/ Community radio stations typically have a coverage area of up to a 5 kilometre radius. Please see Ofcom’s ‘Coverage and planning policy for analogue broadcasting services’ (including community radio) http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/broadcast/radio-ops/coverage/analogue-coverage-policy.pdf

25. Engineering information

Note: there are fundamental differences between FM (VHF) and AM (MF) transmission systems. These include differences in mast and antenna size, transmitter site requirements, site location, installation cost, audio quality and night-time interference. Before completing this section, applicants may wish to take professional advice to ensure they understand these differences and their implications. Waveband: Is the application for an FM licence? No Is the application for an AM licence? Yes Should a suitable FM frequency be unavailable, would N/A a frequency on AM be acceptable? If you have answered YES to this last question please complete the questions below separately for both an FM transmission site and an AM transmission site. Do you understand the fundamental differences Yes between FM (VHF) and AM (MF) services and have you incorporated these below and in, for example, your start-up and other costs, detailed earlier? Transmission site What is the postal address and post code: Nexus International House, address: 64 St Barnabas Road, Leicester, LE5 4BD National Grid The NGR is a reference code comprising two letters Reference (NGR): and two groups of three numbers (e.g. SW 123 456). It SK 61130 05168 is available from Ordnance Survey. Further information can be found at: http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/index.html About the site’s What is the height of the site, in metres, Above 64m dimensions: Ordnance Datum (AOD)? In metres, what is the total height of the mast / building 12m Above Ground level (AGL)? What is the height, in metres, of the transmitting 11m antenna AGL? Please supply photographs of the transmitter mast / building and aerial location. About the Who owns the site and what are their full contact transmission site: details? Is this site already used for broadcasting and if so by N/A whom?

Transmission site Delete as appropriate the yes/no answers which availability: describe your situation regarding proposed site (it may be that you cannot answer all four questions): Site identified? Yes Provisional agreement with site owner in place? Yes Or under negotiation? No Applicant group owns site? No Other – please specify.

(Note: we cannot consider an application if no site has been identified.)

How to contact you: 26. Public contact details Guidance Notes

Provide the name of the person who will deal with Ofcom will publish community radio licence enquiries from the press and public and the contact applications, and from time to time statements which details for them. may include public contact details, on its website. A point of contact is required to deal with press and other enquiries from interested parties.

Name: Mr Ahmed Sidat E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.radioseerah.com

Name: Mr Abdurrahim Diwan E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.radioseerah.com

27. Contact details for Ofcom Guidance Notes

Provide the name of the person who will be Ofcom’s Ofcom will need to contact your group in relation to this primary contact and their contact details: application.

PLEASE ENSURE YOU ADVISE OFCOM OF ANY CHANGES TO YOUR CONTACT DETAILS

Concluding declaration: 28. Declaration

APPLICANT’S, DIRECTORS’ AND OWNERS’ OTHER INTERESTS 1. In relation to the applicant and any body’s and/or individuals whose details are given in sections 11, 12 and 13 of this application, please state whether the applicant, any body or individual is (and if so identify that body or individual) involved in any of the activities set out in the table below, and the extent of the involvement or interest. For these purposes, the applicant includes associates of the applicant (i.e. directors and their associates and other group companies): (Note: if none of the following categories in this section apply, this must be clearly indicated by writing “none” in any appropriate box.) Activity/involvement By the applicant By a director and/or a shareholder (section 12 of this or member application form) (section 11 of this application form) Local authorities NO NO Bodies whose objects are wholly or mainly of a political NO NO nature, or which are affiliated to such a body Bodies whose objects are wholly or mainly of a religious NO NO nature An individual who is an officer of a body falling within (c) NO NO above A body corporate which is an associate (as defined in NO NO paragraphs 1(1) and 1(1a) of Part I of Schedule 2 to the Broadcasting Act 1990) or a body falling within (b) or (c) above) An advertising agency or an associate of an advertising NO NO agency Other broadcasting interests (including radio, television, NO NO satellite and cable broadcasting and allied activities). Other interests 2. Give details of any other interest or activity of the applicant which is or could be incompatible with the requirements imposed by or under Schedule 2 to the Broadcasting Act 1990 (as modified by the Community Radio Order 2004) and Articles 6 and 7 of the Community Radio Order 2004. Please also give details of any other participant in the applicant whose interest is or could be incompatible with those requirements. (You may need to seek advice about these matters) None Other matters 3. In pursuance of its duties under Section 86(4) of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (as amended), Ofcom requires that the applicant should notify Ofcom of any matters which might influence Ofcom’s judgement as to whether: (i) the applicant; (ii) any director of the applicant; (iii) any individual, or any director of a company, who will have an interest of 5 per cent or more in the applicant; may not be considered a 'fit and proper person' to participate in a radio licence. Such matters would include, for example, the following (whether they occurred in the UK or any other country): any unspent criminal conviction, any undischarged insolvency and/or bankruptcy orders, any disqualification from being a director of a limited company, and any adverse findings made by Ofcom (or its predecessor broadcast regulators), any other regulatory authority and/or any court or tribunal in respect of any regulatory matters. None Do you confirm, to the best of your knowledge and belief, that: • The applicant is not a disqualified person in relation to the licence by virtue of the provisions of section 143 (5) of the Broadcasting Act 1996 (relating to political objects); • The applicant is not otherwise a disqualified person in relation to the licence by virtue of Part II of Schedule 2 to the Broadcasting Act 1990 or any other rule prohibiting its holding the licence; • No director, member or other person involved directly or indirectly in the management of the applicant group is the subject of a disqualification order as defined by section 145 (1) of the Broadcasting Act 1996; • No person (body corporate or individual) involved in the application has been convicted within the past five years of an unauthorised broadcasting offence and that the applicant will do all it can to ensure that no person (body corporate or individual) so convicted will be concerned in the provision of the service, the making of programmes included in it, or the operation of the radio station if the applicant is granted a licence; and • Any matters which might influence Ofcom's judgement as to whether the directors or members of the applicant group are fit and proper persons to participate in a radio licence have been made to Ofcom. Applicants should note that Ofcom reserves the right to revoke a licence if at any time any material statement made is found to be false and to have been made by the applicant or any member or officer thereof knowing it to be false, and that in the circumstances of section 144 of the Broadcasting Act 1996, the provision of false information or the withholding of relevant information with the intention of misleading Ofcom could incur a criminal conviction and a disqualification from the holding of a licence.  Please tick this box to confirm that the applicant agrees with the above statements. Please tick the boxes below to indicate which additional documentation is included as part of this application. We are not willing to accept additional information with this application, other than that set out below:

Memorandum & Articles of Association Certificate of Incorporation Application Payment (UK £ 600.00) non-returnable Photographs of the transmitter mast / building and aerial location.

I hereby apply to Ofcom for the grant of a community radio licence and declare that the information given in this application and any additional documentation is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, correct.

Mr AHMED SIDAT (Name of person)

Director (Title or position in the applicant group)

25/10/2016 (Date)