LOCAL RADIO LICENCE: COVERAGE BRIEF
WIGAN
1. This licence is being offered for the provision of an Independent Local Radio
service on the FM (VHF) waveband. The licence is offered for the use, from a
single transmission site, of a single frequency on this waveband. Applicants
should prepare their coverage proposals on this basis.
2. The closing-date for applications for this licence is Tuesday, 5 March, 1996.
Completed application forms must reach the Chief Executive of the Radio
Authority, at Holbrook House, 14 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5DG, by
14.00 on that date.
3. This coverage brief provides information specific to the advertised licence for
Wigan. Intending applicants must study, in conjunction with this brief, the Notes
of Guidance for Local Licence Applicants, available from the Authority's Head
of Development, which provides general information on the submission of a
licence application and the requirements of an ILR service. Applications must be
submitted on a standard Application Form (Issue 9), also available from the
Head of Development.
4. This licence is offered for a service designed to cover the following area:
The town of Wigan and the surrounding area.
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Coverage, as defined in the Authority’s guidance document ‘Coverage: Planning
Policy, Definitions and Assessment’, will be determined by the successful
applicant's choice of transmission site, and the transmission parameters approved.
Assuming the use of the site and characteristics described below, the Authority
expects that coverage should include St. Helens, Skelmersdale, Standish, Leigh
and Ashton-in-Makerfield. Parts of Ormskirk, Adlington, Atherton and Newton-
le-Willows may also be served. Generally on FM, there may be localised
deficiencies in coverage in certain pockets within the licence area, due to terrain
factors.
5. The Authority anticipates that, if using the site and aerial characteristics detailed
below, it is likely that this service would achieve coverage of an area with an
adult (aged 15+) population of around 510,000. Applicants could base their
financial proposals on this approximate level of potential population coverage, but
should note that this figure will be dependent upon the choice of transmission site,
and the transmitter characteristics approved for use.
6. An FM frequency is being cleared for provisional use at an existing transmission
site, but one which is not at present used for broadcasting purposes. Details of
this site are as follows:
Location: Billinge Hill
National Grid reference: SD 523 016
Total maximum effective 100 Watts (50 Watts horizontal
radiated power: polarisation + 50 Watts vertical
polarisation)
Aerial pattern: See attached template
Aerial height: 200m above sea level
Frequency: 102.4 MHz
Site operator: NTL (formerly DTels)
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Use of this site would be subject to agreement with the site operator. Applicants
must note that, although clearing a frequency with the DTI Radiocommunications
Agency for use at this site, the Radio Authority has not ascertained whether there
are any practical constraints or cost implications in using this site or in
implementing the aerial characteristics noted above. It will be for applicants
themselves, if they wish to propose use of the Billinge Hill site, to discuss these
aspects with the site operator.
7. It is for applicants to decide whether to seek to make use of the site described
above, or to propose an alternative site of their own choosing, without prejudice
to their application. If the successful applicant proposes use of a suitable site
other than Billinge Hill, the Authority will seek clearance for transmission
characteristics appropriate for that site. Applicants who wish to propose an
alternative site must note carefully the points outlined in paragraphs 3.5-3.6 of the
'Notes of Guidance for Local Licence Applicants', and in addition should
recognise that the submission of an alternative proposal for approval and
clearance is a process that may take several months to complete, and that an
outcome that is wholly satisfactory to the successful applicant cannot be
guaranteed. A more comprehensive account is provided in the 'Notes on
Approval Procedures for Sites and Frequencies', one of the supplementary
documents listed in the Foreword to the 'Notes of Guidance', available on
payment of a £10 fee for the complete set of documents. Applicants intending to
propose an alternative site are strongly advised to obtain and study this.
8. The licensee will be responsible for its own transmission facilities, and will be
free to decide whom to appoint for the supply, construction and maintenance of its
transmission system and equipment. This will be the case whether the successful
applicant chooses to locate the transmitter at the site described above or at an
alternative site. Applicants should, however, note that the BBC is currently
prohibited from providing transmission services, other than access to a site, to
ILR licensees.
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Application fee
9. The application fee payable for this licence, which is expected to be a category C
licence (adult population of between 400,000 and 1.0 million), is £625.
Date of licence advertisement: Tuesday, 5 December, 1995.
Formal notice of advertisement placed in the 'Wigan Observer' of that date, and in the 'St.
Helens Reporter' of Wednesday, 6 December.
Issued by the Radio Authority, Holbrook House, 14 Great Queen Street, London WC2B
5DG, tel. 0171-430 2724.