John White

A Bedlington-based community radio station has been given the go-ahead to begin broadcasting on FM and on-line. Ofcom, the government's broadcasting authority has granted "˜Synergy' a 28-day licence to go on air as from Saturday March 3. The licence will enable the station to broadcast to thousands of households throughout south east Northumberland. For organisers South Northumberland Radio Group, news that its licence application had been approved comes after nearly four years of fund-raising to build and equip a professional grade studio in readiness for the broadcast. Group chairman Colin Heathcote said: "We're absolutely thrilled to be given this opportunity to provide a genuinely accessible community radio station for the area. "We have raised some £20,000 from councils and local and national funders such as the Community Foundation, Bernicia, the Co-op and the Big Lottery Fund as well as personal donations from supporters and group members. "The group has been very fortunate in having some magnificent volunteers and local contractors who've helped convert the former British Gas showroom in Bedlington's Front Street East into a studio. "We've arranged a "˜meet and greet' session at the studio on Monday February 6 at 6.30pm to talk to volunteers about programming and we're looking forward to hearing from local groups and organisations who want to use Synergy to promote their services and activities." Listeners will be able to tune into "˜Synergy' on 87.7FM or on-line: www.synergyradio.co.uk