Presenters get first view of new studios in Barons Quay

NEWS

Radio Northwich’s relocation to Barons Quay moves a step closer, as all the presenters had a first visit to the station’s new studios.

The internet radio station has occupied second floor space above Omnia on the High street since its launch in May 2018. Radio Northwich broadcasts 24 hours each day and will shortly begin streaming from its brand new studio in Barons Square. The stations new home incorporates two studios, a reception area and a small retail section.

The autumn programme schedule, to be published later this week, will include live shows covering music from across the genres and the decades, presented by its 30+ locally based presenters. New for the autumn is the station’s “Northwich Now” current affairs show and a brand new Saturday Sports Show aimed at promoting all the local sports clubs in the area.

The move to Barons Quay was announced earlier this year after agreement was reached with Cheshire West and Cheshire Council to lease the unit adjacent to Asda and Sports Direct.

“This has been a challenging project due, in the main, to the interruption to the schedule of works caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, but we are now ready to press ahead with the next stage of the station’s development”, said John Thompson, partner responsible for Sales & Marketing. “Our aim is to become the beating heart of Mid-Cheshire, providing listeners with an excellent choice of music, local information and interviews”.

The station’s compliance partner, Alan Large advised “initially, the new studio won’t be open to members of the public, until the building is covid19 compliant. However the public will be able to interact with the station’s presenters using a QR code affixed to the studio window, which will allow listeners to easily scan music requests and dedications to the presenters”

“Our main priority at the moment is to successfully complete the transition from the High Street without disrupting programming and then we will quickly work towards welcoming studio guests and the public to the new facility” added Kim Smith, partner responsible for Social Media and Programming.

Since lockdown was introduced, access to the existing studio was restricted so that presenters didn’t come into direct contact with each other and most daily shows have been broadcast remotely from various locations across Cheshire. Andy Dale, Technical Partner said “This did present logistical and financial challenges which have been overcome, but the move now allows us to return to a bigger and better schedule of live presented programmes.”

Radio Northwich broadcasts 24 hours a day on www.radionorthwich.co.uk or on the Amazon Alexa smartspeaker, smartphone, smart TV and also on the Radio Garden app.