Mayor of Alton launches Wey Valley Radio’s new studio at Alton Assembly Rooms

Alton’s community radio station, Wey Valley Radio, is broadcasting live from its new studio at the Alton Assembly Rooms, the building where the station relaunched as a community radio station in 2017.

The Town Mayor of Alton, Councillor Barbara Tansey, went on air with Wey Valley Radio’s David Way on Friday 18 September to officially open the new studios and mark the station’s first live broadcast from its new home.
Volunteers completed the move over the August bank holiday weekend, switching the station’s broadcast systems across to the High Street venue on the night of Saturday 29 August. Engineers have been working hard to get all systems up and running, and the studio fit-out is now complete.

Listeners can hear Wey Valley Radio on 101.1 FM, on DAB+ across East Hampshire and online at www.weyvalleyradio.uk.

A building woven through the station’s history

The Assembly Rooms have run through the station’s story from the beginning. The building featured in local newspaper coverage when Wey Valley 102 first went on air in 1992, and it hosted the launch of the station as a community radio service in 2017. The move brings Wey Valley Radio back into the centre of Alton, alongside the many local groups that use the venue.

Mark Carter, who has recently returned to the Wey Valley Radio board and was a director when the station launched as a community service in 2017, said: “I was in the Assembly Rooms when we launched as a community station in 2017, so coming back here feels like a proper full circle moment. It puts us in the heart of Alton, which is exactly where a station like ours should be, and it gives our volunteers a home they can be proud of.”

The Assembly Rooms are owned by Alton Town Council and managed by Dementia-Friendly Alton.

Councillor Barbara Tansey, Town Mayor of Alton, said: “It is a pleasure to open these new studios. The Assembly Rooms are very special to the people of Alton, and it is fitting that the town’s own radio station should be broadcasting from the heart of the town. Wey Valley Radio is run by local volunteers for local people, and I wish them every success in their new home.”

The team behind the move

The station has paid tribute to the engineers who carried out the move: Thomas Way, Mike Sanders and David Simmons. Between them they relocated the station to the Assembly Rooms, rebuilt its IT systems and built the new studio, all while keeping Wey Valley Radio on air throughout.

Debbie Parr, one of the Trustees for Dementia-Friendly Alton, was also at the launch. She said: “We are delighted to welcome Wey Valley Radio to the Assembly Rooms. This building is at its best when it is busy and full of local voices, and having the town’s own radio station based here is something the whole community can enjoy.”

See inside at the Alton Volunteer Festival

The public will have the chance to see inside the new studio at the Alton Volunteer Festival on Wednesday 23 September, held at the Assembly Rooms from 10am to 3pm. Organised by Dementia-Friendly Alton and East Hampshire District Council, which is funding the event, the free drop-in day brings together local organisations looking for volunteers, with refreshments provided.

Wey Valley Radio will have a stand at the festival and will be running tours of the new studio through the day.

The station is run entirely by around 35 volunteers and is keen to hear from anyone who would like to get involved, on air or behind the scenes.

Julie Cottrell, director and presenter at Wey Valley Radio, said: “You do not need any experience to volunteer with us. We need presenters, but we also need people who can help with news, events, social media, engineering and everything else that keeps a station on air. Come and see the studio on the day and have a chat with us.”