Darlington’s community radio station moves into town centre

A volunteer-run community radio station serving Darlington has moved into a new broadcasting base in the town’s centre.

Darlo Radio, established in 2017, has joined Darlington’s Business Central to facilitate its business growth and bring the community together by giving people a voice to discuss local issues.

The online station, which is run on a not-for-profit basis, is the brainchild of Programme Director Phil Osborne who has over ten years of experience in the radio broadcasting industry.

After previously operating the business from a home-based studio, Mr Osborne believes the move to the business centre is highly significant for the station’s growth.

He said: “The station has been growing at such a rate that we had to move into a professional set up and Business Central works perfectly for us.

“There’s a friendly atmosphere in the building and nothing is a problem for their staff, which is very important as I’ll be bringing notable guests into the building and I need them to feel at ease before going on air.

“It’s also an impressive building to look at so I’m looking forward to inviting guests here.”

As part of its social responsibility, Darlo Radio will allow charities and community groups to advertise on the station for free but limited companies must pay to advertise. However, all profits will be reinvested back into the station to help it develop and carry on giving back to the community.

Mr Osborne continued: “We aim to offer something completely different. We are the only station actually based in Darlington and we will be making sure the local community has a voice.”

“As the station develops, we want to make it part of the area’s fabric. The way we can do that is to ensure we offer programming of interest to the area and all those who live in it.”

Going forward, Mr Osborne is aiming to recruit volunteer presenters of all experience levels – but is also looking for those with programme ideas to get in touch via email at [email protected].

Full training will be given to all presenters on a one-to-one basis, opening up the opportunity for people to move into radio broadcasting with little or no experience and be mentored by radio professionals.

To listen to Darlo Radio, please visit their website at https://darloradio.comor for mobile users: download the TuneIn app for either Android or Apple devices to listen.

To find out more about Darlo Radio, contact the studio on 01325 734856, email Mr Osborne: [email protected] follow the station on Facebook @darloradio and Twitter @darlo_radio.