A new local radio station will launch aimed at South Manchester and Cheshire next week with various DJs who were previously heard on other stations in the region set to be among its line-up.
Happy Radio will initially be available online before arriving on the local DAB network later in the year. It has been co-founded by Darren Proctor who - like several of the new station's DJs - was previously heard on Manchester's former main commercial pop station Piccadilly Key 103, as well as other Bauer-owned stations in the area.
Other former Key 103 DJs joining Happy Radio include Spence MacDonald and Steve Penk. Meanwhile, Chelsea Norris, another former Key 103 presenter who more recently hosted the breakfast show on BBC Manchester, will be part of the weekend line up.
Says Proctor of the new venture: “Looking back over the last 25 years of my career, some of the most fun and rewarding times were when the radio stations focussed on being hyper local, connecting with our audience to not only make the listener feel that they were part of the radio family but also creating huge interest from local businesses wanting to be part of it".
“After everything the world has gone through over the past two years", he goes on, "we need a local radio station which is going to lift our spirits and play great music with well known presenters”.
Most local radio stations in the UK have ultimately been swallowed up by one of the national radio networks, of course, mainly those operated by Global and Bauer. In this part of the world, that most recently happened with the acquisition of Stockport-based Imagine Radio last year, which became part of Bauer's Greatest Hits Radio network.