Colne Radio is a community-based radio station. We offer music, news and views presented by local people, for local communities in places as Colchester, Brightlingsea, St. Osyth, Rowhedge, and Alresford. We broadcast 24 hours a day every day.
We are run entirely by volunteers from our small studio in the Brook Street business centre in Wivenhoe.
We have a great team of presenters and volunteers who all work together to create the unique voice of Colne Radio.
We are proud of our local content; this includes regular interviews, produced by local volunteers, about the work of the area’s voluntary organisations.
Approximately 200,000 people live in Colchester and its surrounding towns and villages. It is one of the fastest growing areas in the country.
Colne Radio History
Colne Radio began life in April 2011 as Radio Wivenhoe broadcasting on the internet. Its founder, Jerry Davis, started it in his back bedroom, By 2014 it had grown to having some 50 people involved in it.
In February 2014, it changed its name from Radio Wivenhoe to Colne Radio.
In April 2017, Colne Radio was awarded a licence by Ofcom to begin broadcasting on radio on FM channel 106.6 and, following a crowd-funding campaign and grants from local organisations as King Coel’s Kittens to raise money to pay for the necessary equipment, it began broadcasting to the towns and villages around Colchester, Brightlingsea and Wivenhoe.
Colne Radio Aims
We want to give local communities and organisations an opportunity to be heard.
Our primary aim is to reflect and promote the diverse communities along the River Colne and to use broadcasting on both the radio and through the internet to improve social cohesion of the area. We aim to do this by delivering a rich content of local news of potential interest to people living in these communities. This means involving many different organisations of both a public and voluntary nature to create awareness of our station as a medium to get their messages out to the public.
Because of the nature of our target region, Colne Radio is determined to remain th e radio station for everyone. To fulfill that aim, we broadcast an easy listening service during the day with more specialised programmes, targeting different audiences, over the weekends and in the evenings.
We are proud of our local content, which we believe is one of our main achievements so far. This includes regular interviews, produced by local volunteers, about the work of the area’s voluntary organisations.
Colin Hill
Radio Wivenhoe
Alresford Fun Day
Founder, Jerry Davis (right)
Fm Switch On
Colne Radio 106.6FM