Radio Pembrokeshire is an

Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2003, ...

station that broadcasts to Pembrokeshire. It is owned and operated by

Nation Broadcasting Nation Broadcasting is a British media company headquartered in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It currently owns and operates twelve Independent Local Radio stations across the United Kingdom. History Originally known as Town and Country Broa ...

and broadcasts on 102.5 and 107.5 FM and DAB from studios near the St Hilary transmitter in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

. The station plays chart music from the 1980s to the present day, alongside local news, travel and community information. As of June 2023, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 19,000, according to

RAJAR Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and RadioCentre. RAJAR's predecessor was call ...

History

Radio Pembrokeshire was founded by Keri Jones and Stephen Cole as ''Haven FM'', a RSL station which carried out a 30-day trial broadcast to the Pembroke, Pembroke Dock and

Neyland Neyland is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Cleddau and the upstream end of the Milford Haven estuary. The Cleddau Bridge carrying the A477 links Pembroke Dock with Neyland. Etymology The name of the town is ...

areas during the summer of 1999. Based at a small studio at Bethany Chapel, the station returned for a further trial period in November and December 1999 – and encouraged listeners to lobby the

Radio Authority Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

to license a permanent local radio station. Two further RSL broadcasts took place in 2000 – by the end of the year, Haven FM launched its bid to secure a countywide licence for the whole of Pembrokeshire. Two further groups, More FM and

Real Radio Real Radio was a network of five regional radio stations broadcasting to North East England, North West England, Scotland, Wales and Yorkshire. Each station broadcast a mix of local and networked programming. On Tuesday 6 May 2014, the statio ...

, also applied for the licence. In November 2001, Haven FM was awarded an eight-year licence. The station was renamed Radio Pembrokeshire following a pre-launch competition to find a new station name. Originally intended to broadcast from studios in

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

, a lack of suitable premises led to the station setting up studios at the Old School Estate in Narberth, around nine miles to the east of Haverfordwest and near the border with neighbouring Carmarthenshire. Radio Pembrokeshire began broadcasting on Sunday 14 July 2002, broadcasting on 102.5 FM from the Haverfordwest transmitter near

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

with low power relay stations in

Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two p ...

and

Tenby Tenby ( cy, Dinbych-y-pysgod, lit=fortlet of the fish) is both a walled seaside town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the western side of Carmarthen Bay, and a local government community. Notable features include of sandy beaches and the Pembroke ...

, broadcasting on 107.5 FM. Nearly two years after the launch of Radio Pembrokeshire, the station's Narberth studios became home to a second local station,

Radio Carmarthenshire Radio Carmarthenshire is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Carmarthenshire. It is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting and broadcasts on 97.1 and 97.5 FM from studios near the St Hilary transmitter in the Vale of Glamorga ...

, followed in March 2010 by

Radio Ceredigion ''Radio Ceredigion'' () was an Independent Local Radio station that was broadcast to Ceredigion. It was broadcast across the county on 96.6, 97.4 and 103.3 FM. On May 31, 2019, the station became a relay of Nation Radio Wales. History From its ...

. In August 2006, the station was sold to

Town and Country Broadcasting Nation Broadcasting is a British media company headquartered in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It currently owns and operates twelve Independent Local Radio stations across the United Kingdom. History Originally known as Town and Country Broa ...

(now Nation Broadcasting.) In September 2016, Nation Broadcasting announced plans to relocate Radio Pembrokeshire and its two neighbouring counties services from the Narberth studios to studios near the St Hilary transmitter on the outskirts of

Cowbridge Cowbridge ( cy, Y Bont-faen) is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff. The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council. A Cowbridge electoral ward exists for ...

. The station switched broadcasting to the St Hilary studios at 10am on Tuesday 22 November 2016.

Programming

The majority of Radio Pembrokeshire's output is produced and broadcast from Nation Broadcasting's St Hilary studios. Some programming and presenters are shared with sister stations

and Bridge FM.Radio Pembrokeshire public file
April 2022 Presenter-led shows air from 6am to 7pm on weekdays, 8am to 6pm on Saturdays and 6am to 10pm on Sundays. A weekly hour-long Welsh language music programme on Sunday evenings, shared with Radio Carmarthenshire.

News

Local news bulletins air hourly from 6am – 7pm on weekdays and 7am – 1pm at weekends with headlines on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime. National news bulletins from

Sky News Radio Sky News Radio is the radio arm of Sky News, owned by Sky UK. It has been operating since June 1999, providing a news bulletin service for UK commercial radio stations operators across the UK and for a number of English-speaking radio stations aro ...

air hourly at other times.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Radio stations in Wales Pembrokeshire Radio stations established in 2002 Nation Broadcasting