Regeneration & Renewal,
4 January 2008
Scheme: Enterprise Radio, Barking and Dagenham, east London.
Objective: To help create an enterprise culture and boost local economic growth.
Funding: £10,000 from local partnership Barking and Dagenham Enterprise to set up the project and cover initial running costs. School Action for Enterprise Radio, a firm that provides radio training schemes to schools, provides the DJs and the use of its radio studio.
Staff: Four paid DJs.
An online radio station has been set up to try to boost enterprise in an east London borough.
Enterprise Radio, which was launched in mid-November, broadcasts 24 hours a day. From 9am to 4pm on weekdays it offers a live mix of news, views, local information and music. The rest of the time it broadcasts recorded material collated by its DJs, its own interviews, pieces put together by local groups and programmes provided by BBC Essex.
The station is run from a studio in Southend owned by School Action for Enterprise (Safe) Radio and is funded by local partnership Barking and Dagenham Enterprise.
BDE was set up to run Barking's Local Enterprise Growth Initiative programme, a government scheme under which councils can win funding for innovative ways of increasing enterprise in deprived communities.
The online radio wants to put an enterprise message across to a younger audience, he says. "The aim is to get into the hearts and minds of young people."
With a team of four presenters running the station, Safe Radio is also keen to encourage and help local schools and community groups to produce and broadcast their own shows.
Andrew Randall, director of Safe Radio, says the station is seeking more funding to allow it to continue to operate in the long term. At present, he says, bodies such as the local chamber of commerce and government small business agency the Enterprise Directorate are given free advertising on Enterprise Radio, but next year the station may start to charge for their advertisements.
- For more information, visit www.saferadio.co.uk
- Contact us. Do you know of any interesting projects launched within the last six weeks? If so, contact Herpreet Kaur Grewal on herpreet.grewal@haymarket.com.
