Compass FM was 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 serving
Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...
,
Cleethorpes
Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, England with a population of 38,372 in 2020. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry, then devel ...
and
Immingham
Immingham is a town, civil parish and ward in the North East Lincolnshire unitary authority of England. It is situated on the south-west bank of the Humber Estuary, and is north-west from Grimsby.
The region was relatively unpopulated and und ...
. Last owned by
Bauer Radio
Bauer Media Audio UK is a UK-based radio division of the Bauer Media Group.
History
In early 2008, German magazine publisher Bauer bought the radio division of British company Emap, which had been established as East Midland Allied Press in ...
, the station broadcast from 2001 to 2020, when it was subsumed by
Greatest Hits Radio
Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer.
Overview
The network launched on 5 January 2015 as the "Bauer City 2 Network", and rebranded on 7 January 2019 due to the success of Radi ...
, as part of its
Yorkshire region.
Licence application
Thre
applicationswere received by 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 transmit ...
by 5 September 2000, which also included the proposed Haven FM and Southbank FM, having been firs
advertisedin May 2000. The licence for the station was awarded on 24 November 2000.
Format
Compass FM sat within its sister station's (
Lincs FM
Lincs FM is an Independent Local Radio radio station serving Lincolnshire and Newark in Nottinghamshire. The station is owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio Network.
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of ...
) TSA (Total Service Area), and the station's format reflected this.
Programming
Compass FM provided 24/7 programming, some of which was automated (where the presenter's links between the records are pre-recorded).
Transmitter information

The 96.4
FM signal, now used by Greatest Hits Radio, comes from a low-powere
transmittera
Bevan Flatsin East Marsh in north Grimsby near the
A180. Thi
transmitteralso has
Bauer Humberside.
Awards
Compass FM was the
NTL Commercial Radio Station of the Year in 2003 (under 300,000 TSA).
Merger with Greatest Hits Radio
On 27 May 2020, it was announced that Compass FM, among other stations acquired when Bauer purchased the
Lincs FM Group
The Lincs FM Group was the parent company of several Independent Local Radio (ILR) stations. As of Q2 2019 the group had a combined audience of 524,000. It was based in Lincolnshire, in the UK.
History
The Lincs FM Group was formed in the earl ...
, would join Bauer's
Greatest Hits Radio
Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer.
Overview
The network launched on 5 January 2015 as the "Bauer City 2 Network", and rebranded on 7 January 2019 due to the success of Radi ...
network.
In September 2020, the station rebranded as
Greatest Hits Radio
Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer.
Overview
The network launched on 5 January 2015 as the "Bauer City 2 Network", and rebranded on 7 January 2019 due to the success of Radi ...
and merged with several other local stations. The station's local breakfast show was replaced by a regional drivetime show. Localised news bulletins, traffic updates and advertising were retained.
[Most of acquired Bauer stations to become Greatest Hits Radio](_blank)
Stuart Clarkson, Radio Today, 27 May 2020
References
External links
*
Media UKJinglesReception map
{{coord missing, Lincolnshire
Borough of North East Lincolnshire
Radio stations in Lincolnshire
Mass media in Grimsby
Bauer Radio
Radio stations established in 2001
Radio stations disestablished in 2020
Classic hits radio stations
Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom