First air date Thursday, 1 July, 1993 | Format Classic Hits | |
Broadcast area Mid Wales, western Shropshire, north western Herefordshire (approximately; signal is prominent in some areas of North East Wales) Frequency 756 kHz AM/397 metres Medium Wave Band Owner Murfin Music International/Community Co-Operative Website | ||
Radio Hafren was a local commercial radio station in the United Kingdom, serving Mid Wales and the English border counties and broadcasting on 756 AM and 102.1 FM. It was officially launched on Christmas Day 2010 after its bid to take over the licence of Radio Maldwyn was accepted on 15 December 2010, initially broadcasting on only 756 AM.
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On 11 August 2014, at 10:21am Radio Hafren starting broadcasting on 102.1 FM to the two largest population centers (Newtown and Welshpool) in its coverage area, using a frequency allocated in 2011. On Wednesday 11 February 2015 Radio Hafren closed down because it was financially unviable.
Origins of the station as Radio Maldwyn
Radio Maldwyn - The Magic 756 was a local commercial radio station serving Mid Wales and the English border counties, with a transmitter site is based a few miles outside of Newtown, Powys.
The station began broadcasting at 07.56 am on Thursday, 1 July 1993. The original Station Manager and Programme Controller was John Barnes, the original Sales Manager was Lisa Price.
Live programmes initially ran between 0700 - 1900, with the Supergold service from the Chiltern Radio Network overnight. The station increased local hours to 2100 a few months after going on air. Maldwyn was the only station outside the Chiltern-owned stations that made full use of the automation service available on Supergold to insert local news, commercials and features within network programming. Maldwyn broadcast the Network News service provided by Chiltern Radio before switching to IRN when Network News closed.
Originally a local station formed as a community co-operative, Radio Maldwyn became a Limited Company in the late 1990s, with original shareholders having 51% of the new company and 49% owned by Murfin Music International, owners of Sunshine 855 in Ludlow, South Shropshire and Sunshine FM in Hereford and Monmouth.
It was decided that in November 2010 the station was to close; it was replaced by Radio Hafren.
Operations from 2010 to 2015
Based in Newtown, Powys, in the primarily rural setting of Mid Wales, the stations 756 AM Frequency had an extensive broadcasting range including parts of North Wales, Shropshire, Cheshire, and Worcestershire. Between Midnight and 2am, the output switched to a selection of programmes featuring new and unsigned artists from the internet only station Celtica Radio.