Radio for Southend-on-Sea
Information on radio stations serving Southend, and other radio broadcasting topics
Southend Radio Stations:
Below, you'll find a list of the radio stations broadcasting to the town of Southend, or from the town of Southend:
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Martin Day hosts the station's breakfast show ("Martin, Su and the Morning
Crew") from 6 'til 10am. Between September 1981 and October 2004, the
radio station broadcast from studios underneath Clifftown Road just off Southend High Street. Heart Essex
now broadcasts from studios in Glebe Road, Chelmsford
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BBC
Essex - BBC local radio for the county of Essex started in November
1986. Based in studios in New London Road in Chelmsford, the station has
a satellite studio for Southend close to the Palace Theatre in Westcliff.Past and present presenters: Ray Clark, Dave Monk, Etholle George, Steve Scruton, John Hayes, Roger Buxton, Tim 'Timbo' Lloyd, Etholle Pegrum, Simon Baldock and Liz Mullen. Listen on: 95.3FM (Southend), DAB digital radio Website: www.bbc.co.uk/england/essex/ |
Southend Radio - Launched in March 2008, this local station broadcasts on 105.1FM from studios next to Adventure Island on Southend Seafront. The studios also serve Chelmsford RadioPresenters include: Mike Porter, Tracie Young, James O'Neill, Ben Payne, Tracy Cooper, Nick Hull and Adrian Fox. More on Southend Radio below. Listen on: 105.1FM (Southend) |
Southend Hospital Radio. From its launch in 1977 up until 2005, the station was known as Thameside Hospital Radio, but has now changed its name. The station broadcasts from Southend University Hospital via
an internal cable system, and provides music, news and entertainment
weekday evenings and at weekends. The station is a registered charity, and
is staffed by volunteers. How to listen: From the wards at Southend University Hospital Links: Southend Hospital Radio | Thameside Radio History |
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Other stations
Run a Southend-based Internet radio station or podcast? Let us know |
More radio choice for Essex
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A radio station for Southend:
Southend-on-Sea got its own radio station in March 2008, and the process started back in 2005... Here's a summary of what happened:
March 2008 - Southend Radio Launches: Southend Radio launched on 28th March 2008 at 8am, from custom-built studios close to the Three Shells Restaurant on the seafront. The Programme Manager is James O’Neill (formerly from Kick FM in Berkshire). Southend Radio started test transmitting on the 5th of March 2008 with wave sound effects.

Southend Radio's Studio Complex - As of August 2007
April 2006 - Licence awarded: The Southend FM licence was awarded to 'Southend Radio Ltd'. See the OfCom announcement. Here's what was public about the winning bid:
- Southend Radio Ltd - Philip Miller, Chief Executive of Adventure Island is behind this station, with locally-known radio presenter Peter Holmes as a Director. The station plans to offer music from the 60's to today, broadcasting from studios at Southend's Adventure Island theme park. Major shareholder is Stockvale Group (Adventure Island, Sealife Centre and Mercury FM Watford). The Tindle Radio Group (with a number of stations including Dream 100) withdrew their support for the station.
Four applications were received when applications closed on the 12th January 2006. Here's some information on the unsuccessful applicants:
Estuary FM
- Backed by LMC (London Media Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sunrise Radio), the station has former Southend East MP Sir Teddy Taylor as the chairman. Estuary FM has conducted a number of special event stations in the area in previous years. They wanted to offer news, information, entertainment and a mix of classic and contemporary music. Estuary FM site - Radio Futures Limited (Seacoast Sound) - The station planned to target the over-45 age group, and would have been based in the former Essex Radio studio complex in Clifftown Road, Southend. Behind the station were John Massey (Chairman), Gary Dingwall (formerly of Essex Radio and Classic FM), as well as veteran ex-BBC Radio 2 broadcaster David Hamilton.
- Radio UK Holdings Ltd. (Diamond 105 FM) - Aimed to provide a rock station aimed at 18-54 year olds. Names behind this bid included Tim Schoonmaker (founder of the EMAP radio group) and Paul Chantler (former Programme Director for the Essex Radio Group). Radio Uk Holdings Ltd is owned by global investment bank Macquarie Bank Ltd
October 2005 - Licence Advertised: On 6th October 2005, OfCom, the government body
in charge of UK radio, opened submissions for parties interested
in running a Southend-based radio station. Potential bidders had three months to prepare their bid for a 12 year licence to broadcast. The station will
cover Southend, and may include parts of Canvey Island, South Benfleet, Rochford,
Rayleigh and Shoeburyness. The Southend FM station will broadcast on 105.1 MHz, with an ERP of 500 watts. The
announcement can be found on the OfCom
site
To discuss radio in Southend-on-Sea, please visit our forum - we'd welcome your views!
Other handy local radio links:
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Southend Radio Course: South Essex College
has an on-site radio studio and runs a three-week 'Introduction to Radio' course on a Saturday morning - ideal for anyone looking to learn a little more about what goes on behind the scenes at a local radio station. More details: Southend Radio Course
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Information on receiving
DAB digital radio in Essex:
Essex DAB
- More on radio in the
county: Radio stations in Essex
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Live outside Essex? Listen in to Essex radio stations on the Internet
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What about TV in Southend? Try our Digital TV in Southend-on-Sea page
- More on Southend-on-Sea? See our Southend Info or Visiting Southend pages.
Home | Southend info | News | Weather | Travel | Pics | Links| Forum

Heart Essex (was Essex FM) - The commercial radio station serving Essex is "Heart" -
Many will remember the days when Essex Radio was "somewhere special",
with presenters including Jon Scragg, Terry Davis, Dave Gregory, Keith
Rogers, and local legend Tim "Timbo" Lloyd.
BBC
Essex - BBC local radio for the county of Essex started in November
1986. Based in studios in New London Road in Chelmsford, the station has
a satellite studio for Southend close to the Palace Theatre in Westcliff.
Southend Radio -
Southend Hospital Radio. From its launch in 1977 up until 2005, the station was known as 