Coast Radio 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. Coast Radio* *A frequency allocated by Ofcom will be used in place of ‘FM’ 2. Community to be served Guidance Notes Define the community or communities you are proposing It is a legislative requirement that a service is intended to serve. Drawing from various sources of data (e.g. from primarily to serve one or more communities (whether or the Office of Population, Census and Survey) and in not it also serves other members of the public) and we relation to your proposed coverage area, please determine need to understand who comprises that community or the size of the population concerned and the make-up of communities. The target community will also be the population as a whole, along with any relevant socio- specified in the licence, if this application is successful. economic information that would support your application. The legislation defines a ‘community’ as: people who live (Please tell us the sources of the information you provide.) or work or undergo education or training in a particular Answer in fewer than 300 words: area or locality, or people who have one or more interests or characteristics in common. Coast Radio* (currently operating as Radio Larne) is an Internet-based station streaming music to listeners in Larne and wider afield from its studio premises at 5 Inver Road, Larne, County Antrim BT40 3BW. The award of an FM community radio license would allow Coast Radio* to provide a more accessible community radio service to the population of the Larne area. This area includes coastal villages to the North such as Ballygally, Glenarm and possibly Carnlough. Coast Radio* also intends to reach communities based in the south such as the Glynn, Magheramorne and Ballycarry. The most recent census information is from 2011 and data on the Larne Local Government District (LGD) from the Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service, as compiled by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, suggests that the population of the Larne LGD on 30 June 2015 was 32,385 with 49% male and 51% female. Population growth between 2005-2015 was 3.5%, just under half the population growth for Northern Ireland, which was 7.2% for the same period. A total of 19% of the population were aged over 65 years (compared to a Northern Ireland average of 15.8%) and 62.5% were aged between 16 and 65, and 18.5% aged under 16. 20% of the population of Larne were identified as income deprived while 12% were identified as employment deprived. While rates of deprivation vary across the LGD there are some communities in particular need of support. For example, the Ballyloran ward is classed in the top 10-20% most deprived areas in Northern Ireland. Coast Radio* seeks to deliver a positive social-economic impact in its local community by supporting the recently published Northern Ireland Executive’s draft Programme for Government framework 2016-2021 and its outcomes, indicators and measures including economic, social welfare, public safety, diversity and cultural ambitions. 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 better serve the target community, and where it is technically Coast Radio community radio licence application form possible. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/10 1459/community-radio-future-licensing-technical-policy- statement.pdf Coast Radio* intends to provide an effective and diverse community radio service to the borough of Larne and rural areas along the coast from Carnlough in the North to Ballycarry in the South. Feedback from current listeners to Coast Radio*’s Internet service (Radio Larne) indicates a strong interest in services not only to the central Larne District but also for a service that includes villages as far south as Magheramorne and Ballycarry, and to the northern villages of Glenarm and Carnlough. Glenarm and Carnlough currently do not have any community FM radio service. Therefore, major local events such as the Dalriada Festival, an annual cross-community, week-long series of events, does not benefit from community FM radio. Initial analysis has indicated that 3 transmitters will be required to overcome the difficult terrain of the East Antrim coastal and cover the suggested communities. There are 3 sites currently under consideration. The first site at Ballylumford would provide coverage over the southern region of Coast Radio*’s area and is as far east as can be accommodated, providing coverage of Larne town itself and the villages on Larne Lough. This would also extend the coverage of the community FM radio station into the Craigyhill housing estate. The second proposed site will be located on Ballygally head and covers the middle portion of the proposed community FM radio station’s coverage. The suggested site fills in the remainder of Craigyhill as well as providing a service to the communities of Drains Bay, Ballygally and Cairncastle The third site is located on the Straidkilly road between Glenarm and Carnlough. This transmitter is the most challenging, as providing content to this site will require the use of Internet connectivity, but we believe the rewards of making these villages feel more included within the borough outweigh the costs and technical challenges incurred. We fully appreciate that multiple transmitters are only granted in exceptional circumstances and our preferred option would be to be granted a licence for all three. Rollout across the Coast Radio* area could be staged as awareness of the benefits of this local community radio station grows. If this is not possible, then our next preferred option would be the main site at Ballylumford along with the Ballygally site. Our least preferred option is of course a single transmitter to serve the eastern side of the town and Larne lough. If the proposed sites are not acceptable to Ofcom then Coast Radio* is exploring other possible radio transmitter sites and these include transmitting from the station’s Inver Road site at Larne Football Club and an industrial site in the Ballyhampton area. Programmes and programme output: Definitions: Studio location: The studio from which the service will be broadcast should be located within the licensed area. Locally-produced: Locally-produced output is output made and broadcast from within the service’s licensed coverage area. (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: output that is first produced for and transmitted by the service, and excludes output that was transmitted elsewhere before. Original output can be live or voice-tracked. Repeat broadcasts of original output do not count towards the minimum requirement. 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. 1 Community radio application form 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 Question A asks you to describe your programme service. providing a service that would: Question B relates to how your output will serve the tastes (i) cater for the tastes and interests of members of its and interests of your target community. target community or communities (or for any particular tastes and interests in those communities); Question C is about how your service will broaden the range of local (non-BBC) services available in your area. (ii) broaden the range of programmes available on non- BBC local services (commercial and community Later in this form you will be asked to draft your own ‘key stations) to members of the relevant community or commitments’. This will form the basis of your licence and communities; is what Ofcom will judge you against. It should include a summary of your proposed programme output as set out (iii) broaden the overall range of such non-BBC local below and reflect your commitment to cater for relevant services provided in the area concerned; and tastes and interests, to broaden the range of relevant (iv) have a distinct nature, or provide distinct content, programmes and services and to provide a service with a from any non-BBC local services with which it would distinct nature and content as set out in the Guidance Notes overlap. in the column opposite. Ofcom is required to consider the extent to which an applicant’s proposals will cater for the tastes and interests of members of its target community or communities.