Silk 106.9 is 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 broadcasting to the town of Macclesfield

Macclesfield

Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...

 as well as parts of Cheshire East

Cheshire East

Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.The borough was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in...

. It is an FM

FM broadcasting

FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...

 station broadcasting at 106.9 FM. Towns in the Silk region includes Congleton

Congleton

Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Dane, to the west of the Macclesfield Canal and 21 miles south of Manchester. It has a population of 25,750.-History:The first settlements in...

, Knutsford

Knutsford

Knutsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in North West England...

, Sandbach

Sandbach

Sandbach is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements; Sandbach itself, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock....

 and Wilmslow

Wilmslow

-Economy:Wilmslow is well known, like Alderley Edge, for having many famous residents, notably footballers, stars of Coronation Street and rich North West businessmen. The town is part of the so-called Golden Triangle in the north west together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury...

. It was part of The Local Radio Company, before being sold to Dee 106.3

Dee 106.3

Dee 106.3 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the city of Chester. It has its studios at 2 Chantry Court in Chester. The transmitter is on top of the Steam Mill building in Chester city centre, next to the Shropshire Union Canal and reaches much of Flintshire.It was the first...

 in 2009, who renamed the station from its original "106.9 Silk FM".

The station's first broadcast was on 26 May 1998 with guest Sammy McIlroy

Sammy McIlroy

Samuel Baxter "Sammy" McIlroy is a former Northern Ireland international footballer whose clubs included Manchester United....

, then manager of the Macclesfield Town

Macclesfield Town F.C.

Macclesfield Town Football Club is an English football team. The club was formed in 1874 and is based in the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire. The team play its home games at the 6,355 capacity Moss Rose stadium...

 football club. It broadcasts a mix of current and classic hits and local news and sport.

Past presenters have included Nick Wright, Jeff Cooper, Guy Morris, Paul Allen and Trevor Thomas.

The station is now run completely locally 24 hours a day from its studios based on Moss Lane in the town, having dropped the Big Top 40 show in July 2010 - one of the final 'networked' shows on the station.

Community

The station awards the title School of the Week to schools within its broadcast area. Perhaps the most important awards it gives are the "Local Hero awards" which have been awarded since the stations inception.

The annual Cheshire Show

Cheshire Show

The Cheshire Show is a big county agricultural show currently held on 2 days in June each year on land west of Flittogate Lane in the Tabley area in Cheshire, England....

is one of the highlights in the Silk calendar, of which the station offers extensive coverage.

Awards

In 2008, having been short-listed for the award in the previous year, Silk won Radio Station of the Year (under 300,000) at the Sony Radio Awards. It is again short-listed for the 2009 award.

In 2006, 2007 and 2008, Silk was named Radio Academy North West Station of the Year.

Current presenter line up

Breakfast - Andy Bailey

Mid Mornings - Phil Rodgers

Drivetime - Andy Clewes

Evenings (Mon-Thurs) - Kiesha Spence
(Fridays - Feel Good Friday with Sophie Yates)

Weekends - Nick Arkell, Mark Blackman (The Saviour of North West Radio), Charlie Marlow, Sophie Yates, James Lister, Dave Chipman, Simon Davies