There will be radio silence after Mothers Day 2021, as Stone Radio hang up their microphones and close down after 4 years in operation.
The community-run radio station, Stone Radio, have confirmed that they are set to close and will be hosting a special show to mark the occasion on 14 March, Mothering Sunday.
The online radio station began broadcasting and delivering a diverse range of programming and local content back in 2017.
Initially, the station started broadcasting at Stone Railway Station before moving to alternative premises. It was due to move back to the canal town into a specially built studio by the volunteer team at Hill and Swift’s former garage on Crown Street; however, the pandemic and financial difficulties delayed the move.
Cliff Goodwin, station director and resident of Stone, said:
“We were really pleased to be able to bring Stone Radio to life. It’s always been an ambition of mine to see a community radio station in the town that means so much to me.
“We are all really disappointed that Stone Radio is having to close. The team, and especially my fellow director Paul Dean, have put an enormous amount of time and effort into the station.
“However, we are living through incredibly difficult times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and it’s become unviable to keep the station running.”
Paul Dean added:
“There have been many positives from working on the station, and we’ve all made some great friends.
“We can’t wait until we’re able to meet up again and have a drink together. It’s not been the same running the station virtually for much of the past year; community radio is about the people.
“It is really sad to see it come to an end, but it’s been a fantastic project to work.
“Many of our volunteer radio presenters had never been in a radio studio before, let alone present their own show. It’s been a real learning curve for them and I’m pleased that it was something we’ve been able to offer to the residents of Stone.”
To mark the station’s closure, Stone Radio will be running a final day of programming this Sunday, 14th March and will be ending with a special closure show hosted by Paul and Cliff. The pair have been staples of the station’s popular Breakfast show on a Sunday morning.
During the two-hour special programme, Paul and Cliff will be phoning presenters and the radio station’s team members to have a final talk with them on air.
The full schedule for 14 March is:
8 am – 10 am: Breakfast
10 am – 12 pm: The Red Thread
12 pm – 1 pm: Talbie’s Time Machine
1 pm – 2 pm: Nikki T
2 pm – 4 pm: The Indie Show
4 pm – 6 pm: Animal
6 pm – 8 pm: The Teatime Titterers
8 pm – 10 pm: Closedown Show
Stone Radio can be listened to on Stoneradio.co.uk, and there’s also access to a ‘Listen Again’ feature to listen to all previous shows again.
On a final note, Cliff added:
“We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the station; including businesses that have sponsored our shows, Keele University for allowing students to help redesign and relaunch our website, the Stone Town Council for grants that have supported the station to continue, to the artists and contributors who have featured on our shows, to our listeners for tuning in and of course, to the team of volunteers who have helped Stone Radio be the station it is.
