Lantern FM
Encyclopedia
Heart North Devon was an Independent Local Radio
station in North Devon
.
on 96.2FM, and a relay station to cover the Ilfracombe
area on 97.3FM. Both frequencies broadcast the same output.
Originally owned by a consortium of local businessmen and businesswomen, Orchard Media (the owners of Somerset's Orchard FM
) purchased the station during the mid 1990s,
GWR Group purchased the group in 1999 and later merged with the Capital Radio Group to form GCap Media. In November 2005, it was announced that GCap's local radio stations in the South West, including Lantern FM, were to be sold, as they lay outside the company's primary target area. However, no acceptable offer was made for the stations, and the sale was abandoned. GCap was itself later taken over by Global Radio
.
Initially broadcasting from studios in Bideford
, the station moved in 2000 to studios in Roundswell Business Park in Barnstaple
, where the station's breakfast and drivetime shows were produced until its closure. Lantern FM was rebranded on 23 March 2009 as part of Global Radio's Heart Network
. By this time, the majority of the station's programming was networked from the Heart Network's main studios in Leicester Square, London.
and Heart South Devon as part of plans to reduce the Heart network of stations from 33 to 16. The new regional station, Heart Devon
, began broadcasting from Exeter on 27 August 2010.
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 in North Devon
North Devon
North Devon is the northern part of the English county of Devon. It is also the name of a local government district in Devon. Its council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth...
.
Technical
The station broadcast from two locations: its main transmitter at Huntshaw CrossHuntshaw Cross transmitting station
Huntshaw Cross transmitting station is a telecommunications facility serving North Devonincluding the towns of Barnstaple and South Molton. It broadcasts television, radio and mobile telephone services. It is located on the B3232 road at Huntshaw, Great Torrington. Grid reference SS527220. The mast...
on 96.2FM, and a relay station to cover the Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England with a small harbour, surrounded by cliffs.The parish stretches along the coast from 'The Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and 4 miles along The Torrs to Lee Bay toward the west...
area on 97.3FM. Both frequencies broadcast the same output.
History
The station was originally known as Lantern Radio, taking its name from the local coastline, known as "the Lantern Coast" - smugglers would lure ships onto the rocks of the North Devon coast with lanterns, causing the ships to run aground and thus be able to be plundered.Originally owned by a consortium of local businessmen and businesswomen, Orchard Media (the owners of Somerset's Orchard FM
Orchard FM
Heart Somerset was an Independent Local Radio station serving Somerset, England. Originally owned by Orchard Media Ltd, the company was purchased by GWR Group in 1999, and who subsequently became GCap Media in 2005...
) purchased the station during the mid 1990s,
GWR Group purchased the group in 1999 and later merged with the Capital Radio Group to form GCap Media. In November 2005, it was announced that GCap's local radio stations in the South West, including Lantern FM, were to be sold, as they lay outside the company's primary target area. However, no acceptable offer was made for the stations, and the sale was abandoned. GCap was itself later taken over by Global Radio
Global Radio
Global Radio UK Ltd. is a British commercial radio company, the largest in the country following acquisitions of Chrysalis Radio and GCap Media.The company's Chief Executive Officer is Stephen Miron, while the Group Chairman is Charles Allen...
.
Initially broadcasting from studios in Bideford
Bideford
Bideford is a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is also the main town of the Torridge local government district.-History:...
, the station moved in 2000 to studios in Roundswell Business Park in Barnstaple
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...
, where the station's breakfast and drivetime shows were produced until its closure. Lantern FM was rebranded on 23 March 2009 as part of Global Radio's Heart Network
Heart Network
Heart is a radio network of 17 adult contemporary independent local radio stations in central & southern England and north Wales. Each station broadcasts local breakfast and drive time shows and simulcasts network programming at all other times...
. By this time, the majority of the station's programming was networked from the Heart Network's main studios in Leicester Square, London.
Network restructuring
On 21 June 2010, Global Radio announced plans to close Heart North Devon and merge the station with Heart Plymouth, Heart Exeter and Heart TorbayHeart Exeter and Heart Torbay
Heart Exeter and Heart Torbay were part of the Heart Network of commercial local radio stations operated by Global Radio in the United Kingdom. The stations were launched on 23 March 2009, and replaced Gemini FM, which was the previous commercial radio station for the Exeter and Torbay areas in...
and Heart South Devon as part of plans to reduce the Heart network of stations from 33 to 16. The new regional station, Heart Devon
Heart Devon
Heart Devon is a Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Devon. The station began broadcasting on Friday 27 August 2010 as a result of a merger between Heart Exeter and Heart Torbay , Heart Plymouth , Heart North Devon and Heart South Devon .-History:The regional station...
, began broadcasting from Exeter on 27 August 2010.
Past presenters
- John Autton
- Ian Brass (BBC Radio DevonBBC Radio DevonBBC Radio Devon is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Devon. It began transmissions on 17 January 1983, replacing a previous breakfast show for Devon and Cornwall broadcast on the local frequencies of Radio 4....
) - James Chapple
- John Brocks
- Alan Dunn (South Hams RadioSouth Hams RadioHeart South Devon was an Independent Local Radio station serving the South Hams area of Devon, England. The station began broadcasting on 1 December 1999 and until its closure, was run as a joint venture between UKRD Group and Global Radio.-History:On Monday 23 March 2009, South Hams Radio became...
) - Guy Fenton
- Jonathan Fido (3TR FM3TR FM3TR FM was a radio station based in the ancient market town of Warminster, Wiltshire, United Kingdom. It broadcasted on 107.5 FM to the West Wiltshire, East Somerset and surrounding area, and online via Internet streaming...
) - Dave Gould (Pirate FMPirate FMPirate FM is one of the Independent Local Radio stations for Cornwall, playing a range of music from the 1960's to the present day.-Background:...
) - Joe Hellier (Exeter FMExeter FM-About:Exeter FM is a locally focused radio station for Exeter and the surrounding area that is designed to appeal to a broad range of adult listeners, particularly those aged 35–54, with a full service of comprehensive news and local information, engaging speech features and conversation and a...
) - Paul Hopps Hopper
- Tim Ley (Atlantic FMAtlantic FMAtlantic FM, is a radio station based in and serving Cornwall, United Kingdom. The station, owned by Atlantic Broadcasting Ltd, began broadcasting on July 6, 2006 at 0730 BST, and is broadcast from St Agnes...
) - Jon White (Plymouth FM)
- Robert D'Ovideo
- Elaine Abberlaine-Moore
- Fred Marden
- Keith Oliver
- Robbie Ryan
- Susan Suse Rolfe
- Gordon Somerville
- Ian Starling (Exeter FMExeter FM-About:Exeter FM is a locally focused radio station for Exeter and the surrounding area that is designed to appeal to a broad range of adult listeners, particularly those aged 35–54, with a full service of comprehensive news and local information, engaging speech features and conversation and a...
& Palm FM) - Tony Townsend (Pirate FMPirate FMPirate FM is one of the Independent Local Radio stations for Cornwall, playing a range of music from the 1960's to the present day.-Background:...
) - Lee Wardle (Bath FMBath FMBath FM was a local independent radio station based at the former Weston railway station in Bath, England. The station was launched in November 1999 and closed on 24 March 2010.The station broadcast to an area with a population of 104,000...
) - Matt Young (Gemini FM)
- Andy Garland (BBC Radio KentBBC Radio KentBBC Radio Kent is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Kent.It broadcasts on FM on 96.7 , 97.6 and 104.2 also 774 and 1602 MW and DAB.- History :The radio station was launched in 1970 under the name of BBC Radio Medway, originally only serving the...
) - Martin King
- Mike Harwood
- Geoff Gillet
External links
- History of local radio in Devon
- Huntshaw Cross mast
- Details of Lantern FM from Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator
- The station's format, as mandated by its broadcasting licence (MS Word DocumentMicrosoft WordMicrosoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
)