Durham FM was an Independent Local Radio

Independent Local Radio

Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. The same name is used for Independent Local Radio in Ireland.-Development of ILR:...

 station based in Durham

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

, County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

History

Since its launch in 2005, Durham FM has been owned and operated by TLRC.

In December 2008, Durham FM submitted an application to OFCOM

Ofcom

Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...

 to co-locate with sister station, Sun FM

Sun FM

Sun FM is a radio station serving the City of Sunderland and also available in Tyne and Wear, northern parts of County Durham in England. It broadcasts on the frequency 103.4 MHz and plays a mix of contemporary and classic popular music alongside local news, travel and covered ground breaking...

 in Sunderland

City of Sunderland

The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...

. Following a consultation, the majority of responses were against the idea.

In July 2009, OFCOM give permission to re-name Durham FM to Alpha Durham, and sister station Minster Northallerton to Alpha Northallerton. All programmes on would be shared, except for a local breakfast show and four hour show on Saturday and Sunday, each made locally. Previously, TLRC asked for Ofcom approval to move Durham FM further north to Sunderland to share to Sun FM, but a decision was delayed by the regulator.

Instead, the three stations became part of UKRD's Star brand and the station's frequencies are now used to broadcast Star Radio North East

Star Radio North East

Star Radio North East is a radio station serving County Durham and North Yorkshire.-History:...

 which was formed when UKRD merged the services of Durham FM with Alpha Radio and Minster Northallerton

Minster Northallerton

Minster Northallerton was an Independent Local Radio station based in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England.-History:Prior to launch, Minster Northallerton was originally known as BTN FM, after the principal towns of the area - Bedale, Thirsk and Northallerton...

. Until recently, a daily local breakfast show was produced for the former Durham FM area.

Ex-presenters

• Peter Grant
• Craig Andrews
• Steve Phillips
• Vic Ribbands
• Chris Hakin
• Dicky Ord
  Richard Ord
  Richard Ord is a former English professional footballer best known for his time with Sunderland....
  
  

• Dave 'Ceefax' Fenwick
• Geoff Longstaff
• Mike Jinx
• Marie Gardiner
• Mike Nicholson
• Kyle Wilkinson

• Les Gunn
• Mike Patterson
• Pete Clough
• Mat Page
• Tim West
• Sarah Knapper

Ex-Newsreaders

• Julie Howe (News Editor)
• Louise Bostock
• Emily Bull
• Ed Turner

External links

• Media UK entry for Durham FM's rajar figures prior to September 2009
• A blog about the mergers of Durham FM, Alpha Radio and Minster Northallerton