Dearne 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 2 ...

station serving

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. The station was folded into

Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire Greatest Hits Radio (GHR) is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK. It currently includes 18 local and regional radio stations operating over 50 FM and DAB licences in England, Scotl ...

, as part of a rebrand, on 1 September 2020.

History

The station was based at Zenith Park on Whaley Road,

Barugh Green Barugh Green (locally pronounced as Bark Green or occasionally mis-pronounced as Bart Green) is a semi-rural commuter village in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. The village falls within the Barnsley Metropolita ...

, in the north-west of

. As a result of cost cutting, Dearne FM co-located with sister stations

Trax FM Trax FM was an Independent Local Radio station serving Doncaster in South Yorkshire and the Bassetlaw district of north Nottinghamshire. The station was folded into Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire, as part of a rebrand, on 1 September 2020. Hi ...

Rother FM Rother FM was an Independent Local Radio station serving the English town of Rotherham. The station was on air from 2006 until it was closed in 2020 by owners Bauer so that the frequency could be used to broadcast Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshi ...

and Ridings FM at studios on White Rose Way in

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

. Five other companies competed for Barnsley's FM radio licence.

Transmitters

The station was broadcast on 102.0 FM near Ardsley) in Barnsley and the

Dearne Valley The Dearne Valley () is an area of South Yorkshire, England, along the River Dearne. It encompasses the towns of Wombwell, Wath-upon-Dearne, Swinton, Conisbrough and Mexborough, the large villages of Ardsley, Bolton on Dearne, Goldthorpe ...

, and on 97.1 FM
near
Hoylandswaine close to the A628 and A629 roundabout) for

Penistone Penistone ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 13,270 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in ...

on ''Hunger Hill''. The Ardsley transmitter also broadcast

Hallam FM Hits Radio South Yorkshire, formerly Hallam FM, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Sheffield, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire and Chesterfiel ...

on 102.9 FM, with whom Dearne FM mainly competed. The 102 FM signal is more powerful than 97.1 FM, which is an off-air relay of 102 FM.

Programming

Dearne FM appealed to a family audience playing a mix of current chart hits and the best songs from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and today combined with local news, information and competitions.

External links

*
Applications for the Barnsley FM radio licence

{{coord, 53.55072, N, 1.41275, W, type:landmark_source:enwiki, display=title Radio stations in Yorkshire Mass media in Barnsley Radio stations established in 2003 Radio stations disestablished in 2020 Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom Bauer Radio Greatest Hits Radio