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FromeFM is a non-profit
community radio station Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...
in
Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town, about south of Bath, is the largest in the Mendip d ...
,
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
, England. It is run by Frome Community Productions
CIC CIC may refer to: Organizations Canada * Cadet Instructors Cadre, a part of the Canadian Armed Forces * Canadian Infantry Corps, renamed in 1947 to Royal Canadian Infantry Corps * Canadian International Council * Canadian Islamic Congress * Chemi ...
and produced by over 80 volunteers. It broadcasts around 65 new programmes per month 24/7 online and on 96.6 MHz FM. FromeFM provides niche music programmes; Frome focussed debates and reportage; sustained support for and coverage of the work of community groups; and radio for children.


History

Frome FM started life as a small project back in 2005 at
Frome Community College Frome Community College, styled as Frome College, is a comprehensive school in Frome, Somerset, England for students aged 13 to 18. Approximately 1,200 were enrolled in December 2021, within the Three-tier education, three tier system. Students' ...
. It was resurrected in 2007 by Phil Moakes who, with the help of a small team of volunteers, produced and created varied radio programmes both online and on FM with a restricted service licence and broadcast from the attic of the Cheese and Grain. In May 2008, FromeFM was established by Frome Community Productions CIC and moved into premises at The Old Fire Station where the station underwent significant upgrades with the help of fundraisers and sponsors. In September 2009, FromeFM launched FFM – streaming service for mobile phones – to enable listeners to tune in whilst on the move. In 2012, Frome FM was granted a permanent licence by
Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
to broadcast on 96.6 FM from a transmitter placed on top of the Memorial Theatre a short distance away. A launch event was attended by many local celebrities including actor
Mark McGann Mark Anthony McGann (born 12 July 1961) is an English actor. Early life He attended the De La Salle Grammar School, Liverpool. Mark's father Joe was a Royal Naval Commando who died in 1984, and his mother Clare was a teacher. His three bro ...
, folk singer
Cara Dillon Cara Elizabeth Dillon (born 21 July 1975, in Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish folk singer. In 1995, she joined the folk supergroup Equation and signed a record deal with Warners Music Group. After leaving t ...
and musician
Sam Lakeman Samuel Charles Lakeman (born 6 November 1975) is an English musician, songwriter, and producer and co-owner of Charcoal Records. Lakeman was brought up in the village of Buckland Monachorum, near Yelverton, Devon, United Kingdom, with his bro ...
. In December 2016 FromeFM moved into temporary accommodation into one of the old prison cells at The Old Police House, also in Christchurch Street West. In April 2017, the station was awarded a 5-year extension to its license from Ofcom and moved its studios again to join local community groups and Frome Town Council in the newly refurbished Town Hall on Christchurch Street West. The studio space was created within a large room on the first floor of the building, from where the team of volunteer producers and presenters now broadcasts.


Outside broadcasts

*Frome Question Time – A series of Question Time style events relating to local issues in the down such as the Saxonvale development, 20 mph speed limits and free schools. *Frome Half Marathon – Frome's first 10K and Half marathon road races attracted around 700 entrants. FromeFM's coverage included an interview with one of the event sponsors, a chat with one of the designated charities who benefited from the money raised and on the spot reportage from the start/finish. * 2012 Olympic torch Relay – The first outside broadcast on 96.6 MHz FM came during test transmissions when the 2012 Olympic flame was carried through the town. There were contributions from the outgoing mayor of Frome, Nick White, a commentary from David Heath MP and interviews with some of the children who turned out to wave flags. *2016 Frome Carnival. Live coverage of the Children's Carnival procession as it wound its way along Christchurch Street West. *2017 - live relay of first Frome Town Council Town Matters meeting from the new Town Hall. *General Election hustings, May 2017. Live coverage of all-party hustings from Frome Town Football Club via microwave links to the studios at the Town Hall.


Frome Festival

FromeFM provides extensive coverage of the
Frome Festival The Frome Festival is festival of music and culture held annually in Frome, Somerset, England since 2000. Martin Bax, a former mayor of the town, conceived the Frome Festival and ran it from its inaugural occurrence in 2000 until 2007, for whic ...
events each July with daily breakfast shows and outside broadcasts promoting the day's events with features, reviews and interviews about Festival activities and participants.


References

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External links


Official website
Frome Community radio stations in the United Kingdom Radio stations in Somerset