About Us
Up Close Radio is an Internet based community radio station, set up specifically to genuinely serve the community of Torridge & North Devon. We can be heard through your smart speaker or our website every day with all the best in local features, news, travel and good music.
We are different from other stations both online and on-air and you will notice that in our programming. We're not chasing listening figures or advertisers and so the editorial decisions that are made purely on our underlying ethos - to provide community programming to and by the varied and unique communities within our editorial area of Torridge & North Devon. The station now has nearly 40 members who donate their time and resources to running the station from its local studio. Each member brings with them their own on-air personality and skills. This means that our programmes are not formatted within very tight speech and music parameters. As a result it allows for variety, entertainment and new ideas to flourish.
Up Close Radio is mainly a talk based station with shows covering local news, events, arts and sports. We aim to provide an entertaining, distinctive, eclectic mix alternative to existing radio stations in both words and music. We are committed to giving local communities a voice, provide education and training for schools, colleges and other bodies and support local voluntary organisations. We are continuously working towards expanding our links with these organisations.
Behind the station is a great team of almost 40 volunteers who put together live programmes and work behind the scenes to deliver over 40 hours of live, locally focused, output each week. The aim is to double this over the next year and we are always looking for members of the community to join our team.
The station is completely community funded, being under the wing of local theatre company Up Close Theatre, which is a registered charity.
Our History
The station was initially set up as Soundwave Radio during the 2020 lockdown when the need for up to date local information became even more important than ever, initially with a view to broadcast just a few hours a week. It has grown from the enthusiasm of a small group of people in Bideford who believe a really local radio station will strengthen the sense of community and make their locality a better place. Their aim is to make it an entertaining, helpful, companionable and accessible station for those living in Torridge and North Devon.
Since December 2020, the station has been broadcasting on the internet 24 hours a day, developing and implementing community programmes. Based at the heart of the community, in the centre of Bideford, it is committed to being a voice for local people, providing education and training in all aspects of broadcasting, supporting local voluntary bodies and helping local businesses.
In December 2023, we took the decision to rebrand the station to Up Close Radio. This was primarily to bring the station branding in to line with the branding of the charity that owns and runs it, Up Close Theatre
Funds to support the station, were to come from ticket sales of performances from the theatre company and sponsorship for the station. In the current economic situation both these revenue streams have dried up due to lack of funds available from local businesses and restrictions on performances.
We are therefore looking to raise a sum of £5000 which will cover the costs of running the station for the next 10 -12 months in order that we can then obtain future funds as the economic outlook improves.
All our presenters are local volunteers, many of whom have had no previous broadcasting experience and nobody is paid a salary. We would therefore be extremely grateful if you could support us during his particular period and thank you for any contribution you can make whether big or small.