Lyme Bay Radio is a community station broadcasting over the Internet from The Hub in Lyme Regis, on LymeBayRadio.com.
It’s a not-for-profit community station, created under the wing of the Lyme Regis Development Trust by its CEO and Programme Controller, Chris Tipping and Station Manager, Simon West.
From Sunday 1st March, it will be broadcasting a mix of live, pre-recorded and syndicated content, 24 hours a day.
The residents of Lyme Regis have always struggled to get good quality FM signal. Even if the station had a mast at the top of the hill, there would still be pockets of the town that would undoubtedly experience problems tuning in. Additionally, OFCOM issue licenses to broadcast on FM, periodically and the South West were granted a few in 2018. It’s not possible to find out when or where OFCOM are planning to issue licenses in the future, so the easiest, most cost effective, expedient and efficient way to broadcast to the local community, is via the Internet.
The Content
The station’s primary remit is to entertain and enlighten listeners who have a passion for this incredibly beautiful part of the world. Our broadcasts will carry points of interest to anyone in Lyme Bay, from Start Point in the West, to Portland in the East. It will also endeavour to keep communities in and around Lyme Regis, apprised of seasonal events that affect them and also, any breaking local, national and international news.
We will of course be licensed by PRS and PPL and we hope to have a ‘Listen Again’ feature, in due course.
About Simon West:
Simon has been involved in hospital and community radio for over 16 years. As a presenter on Taunton Hospital Radio (Apple AM) he took on the role of Chair in 2011 and with the strong team, took the radio station to being a full community radio station, Apple FM, delivering over 96 hours of live or as-live content every week. They had a great presence at live events in the area, including the Taunton Flower Show and their talented team of volunteer presenters did an outstanding job of painting visual pictures of what was going on, for remote listeners to enjoy.
As Station Manager, Simon oversees all aspects of the station, from volunteer recruitment to ensuring that the output is up to the standards we require. Simon is also co-founder and a core part of the charity The Word Forest Organisation, he runs the website development company, Swan Developments and is chair of the One Planet Working Group.
About Chris Tipping:
Chris was a DJ in a Manchester gay nightclub and is an enthusiastic fan of radio. As Programme Controller, Chris will ensure we have a wide and diverse range of programmes in our schedule, hopefully something to suit all tastes.
He will be responsible for keeping the online schedule of shows up to date, noting any seasonal additions and making sure they’re reported in the blog. He’s also looking forward to firming up the plans for outside broadcast coverage. Lyme has such a vibrant social calendar and if Lyme Bay Radio are physically able to provide a live feed from the event back to the listeners, he’ll make sure it happens.
Chris is also CEO of the Lyme Regis Development Trust based in The Hub, next door to the studio. LRDT was set up in 1998 to promote the economic and social well-being of the town and its environs and Lyme Bay Radio is a perfect addition to its community assets.
About Tracey West:
Tracey is an author and broadcaster on sustainable living. She has been an interviewee on all media on environmental matters since the late 90’s (BBC local, national, international, commercial and talk radio) and as a regular presenter, trainer and producer at Apple AM, FM and community radio between 2006-12. She has anchored and presented occasional special OBs, since then.
She has written and co-presented/produced PSAs and several long-running programmes with Simon West, including Midnight Meditations, Spiritual Journey and Eco-Matters.
Tracey is a passionate advocate for volunteering in the community but has a day job too, as co-founder, CEO and fundraiser of the international reforestation charity, The Word Forest Organisation. She has been a speaker, MC, chair and stand up performance poet and puts her journalistic hat on whenever opportunities arise (women’s issues, domestic violence, environmentalism, Third Sector etc).
