| Broadcast area | Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire |
|---|---|
| Slogan | The radio station JUST for Erewash |
| Frequency | 96.8 FM |
| First air date | 6th March 2010 |
| Format | Adult Contemporary |
| Owner | Erewash Sound CIC |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | ErewashSound.com |
Erewash Sound is a community radio station broadcasting to the Borough of Erewash in Derbyshire, including Ilkeston, West Hallam, Long Eaton, Borrowash and surrounding areas.
Following a short-term RSL broadcast in the summer of 2005, the station has broadcast via the Internet since 2007. In April 2008, the station was awarded a five-year community license by OFCOM and launched on 96.8FM on Saturday 6 March 2010 at 9am.
The station is run by local volunteers from across the borough and broadcasts from studios at Bennerley Business & Enterprise College in Cotmanhay.
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The founding members of Erewash Sound first came together in 1997 and were involved in delivering six short-term 28-day RSL broadcasts as Pride FM in Derby between 1997 and 2002. In late 1994, the station brand Erewash Sound was launched and a 28-day RSL broadcast, supported by the area's local councillors and MP, took place in the summer of 2005. Following the success and popularity of the RSL broadcast, plans were made to apply for a full-time community radio licence as soon as the opportunity arose. In the meantime, the station began broadcasting via the Internet from January 2007[1] with its "At The Weekend" service dedicated to providing local news, sport and information alongside presenter-led music shows.
In October 2007, OFCOM invited applications for community licenses from stations across the East Midlands. The Erewash Sound application was submitted and was successfully accepted in April 2008,[2] with OFCOM granting the station a five-year license to broadcast to the borough of Erewash on FM.The station continued with its online service until February 2010 before launching its full-time service online and on 96.8FM on Saturday 6 March 2010 at 9am. A launch day party was held for the station at Ilkeston Co-op in Ilkeston town centre with popular local-born actor Robert Lindsay as special guest.[3]
The station commemorated its first anniversary of broadcasting on FM by returning to the Co-op Store in Ilkeston on Saturday 5 March 2011 for a special celebratory event.[4]
The Erewash Sound studios are based at Bennerley Business and Enterprise College, in Cotmanhay, Ilkeston. Since the station's FM launch in March 2010, the studio was sited in the former Headmaster's Study in B Block at the college. Over the weekend of 29/30 January 2011, the station moved into its new specially built studio complex within the College's new Media Centre. The first show from the new studio was broadcast at 7am on Monday 31 January 2011.
Erewash Sound is committed to providing news and information of direct interest to its local audience. Local and national news is provided on the hour with additional dedicated local news and sports programmes every weekend. Each of the station's mainstream shows also features details of local community events and initiatives plus general conversation on the local issues affecting people in the borough.
The station's music policy[5] offers a wide variety of music to suit all tastes from the 1960s to present day. In addition, the station schedule[6] also includes a specialist music show each evening ranging from country music to rock.
Erewash Sound aims to involve the local community as much as possible in its programming and is proud of its on on-air team of presenters who come from around the local area and have a wide variety of backgrounds and experience.
The station's current regular presenters include:
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Previous regular presenters on the station include:
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Erewash Sound attend a number of local events each year throughout the Erewash borough. The station's outside broadcast van is fully equipped to provide PA facilities for outdoor events and also enables the station to broadcast programming live from outside locations.
Among the locations and events attended by the station's outside broadcast team in 2010 were Ilkeston and Long Eaton town centres, Ilkeston Community Hospital's fun day, the Ilkeston Mid Summer Happening, the Erewash Triathlon and Earth Day 2010 events in Long Eaton plus several live broadcasts from the Co-operative Department Store in Ilkeston.
More live outside broadcasts are planned by the station in 2011.