New Hereford station unlikely to feature Bulls

The new commercial radio station for Herefordshire, confirmed by OFCOM earlier today, is unlikely to cover Hereford United any more than the exsisting stations do at present.

The station which could be up and running next year is owned by Laser Broadcasting who already own Sunshine 855 and Classic Hits 954, both of whom can be heard in much of Herefordshire.

The owners of the new station, currently calling themselves Herefordshire & Monmouthshire Classic Hits Ltd and based at 5 Belgravia Gardens in Hereford,
are Laser Broadcasting Ltd, Hereford Local Radio Ltd and Monmouth Local Radio Ltd.

The station says will provide 'a distinctive speech and music led radio station for Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, with local news and information.'

One local commentator has already suggested that 'Ofcom has made a huge mistake, and cannot possibly argue that it is committed to localness in local radio'

The other applicant for the licence was Town and Country Broadcasting who offered greater local content with more emphasis on sport including Hereford United.

The situation leaves BBC Hereford and Worcester as the only station to cover the Bulls in any depth.

UPDATE: Drewe Lacey, chairman of Monmouth Local Radio Ltd one of the backers of Laser Broadcasting, has been linked to problems with the FSCS.

These days he is managing director of Alchemy Wealth Management. But in 2004 one of his former companies was one of 16 firms declared in default by the The Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

The company was Panchille Holdings Ltd, formerly known as Drewe Lacey Investment Management Limited and Drew Lacey (Holdings) Limited, Ross-on-Wye.

Declaring a firm in default opens the way for anyone who has lost money, as a result of dealings with such a firm, to make a claim for compensation to FSCS.

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