A community radio station in High Wycombe is hoping to overtake the BBC as the town's first choice.
Wycombe Sound, which has been on the airwaves since November 2013, is a hyperlocal radio station which has big ambitions for the future.
And as the BBC has recently announced hundreds of redundancies across its own local radio network, Wycombe Sound hopes to be able to offer something different for listeners.
Based on Bridge Street in the centre of High Wycombe, the community station provides a full programme across seven days a week.
Presenter Colin, who also works for Sky Sports radio and spent ten years working in local radio, grew up in Wycombe and said the station offers a platform for the community.
He said: "It is really nice being able to cover local issues that people are worried about or impacted by as well as good news stories from charities."
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The controversial move led to rumours that several local BBC stations could use syndicated material to fill in the gaps, a move that Wycombe Sound’s managerial director, Chris Phillips, believes could help community radio.
Mr Phillips, who previously worked at BBC Berkshire, told the Free Press: “There are reports that the BBC is cutting back and certainly, they will be syndicating from about two in the afternoon we understand on weekdays and in the evening and weekends.
“And with us being in community radio, we could indeed take over and be the local service for the community.
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“It’s obviously a very sad situation to be in but the BBC has to decide where it spends its money, and I think this is a positive thing for all community radio stations.
“We update people from what the council, Thames Valley Police and interview as many people as possible along with charity news as well.
“If they want to come in and talk about their events, this is an opportunity to pick up on that.
“We can tell the community what is going on and we want to share what they have to say.”
On the goals for Wycombe Sound in what is their 10th year, Chris continued: “We plan to grow on news output and have more speech-based slots than music as we want to extend our coverage.
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“Of course, we cover Wycombe but online we can be heard all over the world.
“So I would like to see more presenters so that the mid-morning and afternoon shows are covered every day along with more varied output.”
Wycombe Sound is currently looking for volunteers and aspiring presenters to join its network. To find out more, email contact@wycombesound.org.uk.
- To listen to Wycombe Sound, visit https://wycombesound.org.uk.
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