Ferndale Community Radio - Plymouth

Initially comprised of a small number of volunteer staff, FCR has had to expand to meet the needs of the community during the Covid pandemic; now, with a volunteer staff of twenty-five and multiple studios, on air twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, Ferndale Community Radio provide local traffic, weather and news, great entertainment and friendly chatter, easing some of the loneliness felt by those in seclusion, locally and world-wide. At the start of the Covid pandemic, FCR had just the one studio, in the community hub; at present, with the financial help of the presenters themselves and a £1000 National Lottery Community Fund grant to buy equipment and the relevant licenses, FCR now has nine ‘micro-studios’ set up in presenters’ homes, allowing FCR to be broadcast continuously. A mix of live shows and replays, Ferndale Community Radio has steadily expanded during lockdown, with the recent addition, following the departure of Radio Plymouth, of a live breakfast show, starting at 7am, to provide the local community with traffic, weather and news updates.