Aaron Renfree

Lincoln City Radio has two months to find a new home after their landlord agreed to sell their studio and office.

The community radio station has been broadcasting for five years from Commerce House on Outer Circle Road, but the owners, Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, agreed to sell the building and move to newer premises next door.

Negotiations for Lincoln City Radio to co-locate with the Chamber ended abruptly with the radio station now looking for a new studio.

The station has just two months to find a new accommodation with enough space to house two studios and an office with 24 hour access.

Chairman of Lincoln City Radio, Mike Johnson said: “To receive the news last week that we are unable to relocate into the Chamber’s new offices was devastating for our 50 plus volunteers.

“To be faced with having to find a new home in virtually eight weeks is going to be an extremely difficult task,” he said.

Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce declined to comment after being contacted by The Lincolnite for a statement.

Lincoln MP Karl McCartney said: “Lincoln City Radio is a fantastic community radio station here in Lincoln and it is valued greatly not just by myself as the local Member of Parliament, but by many residents and businesses in our city.

“I very much hope Lincoln City Radio will be successful in their search for an alternative location and accommodation in light of the Chamber of Commerce’s impending move,” he said.

The entire staff are volunteers and the station is funded by limited advertising and public subscription, along with financial support from Cooke-Connell Fundraisers, Rotary, The Running Imp, Round Table, The Lions and Waitrose.

If you are able to help, you can call Tony Wilkins on 07468 564 817 or email Mike Johnson at [email protected].

Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire has secured much-needed lottery funding for a new World War One project.

The organisation, which is part of Lincolnshire County Council and working in partnership with West Lindsey District Council, has received a £423,500 grant for their new project ‘Lincolnshire in World War One: Bastion in the Air’.

The project will begin in 2017 and run until 2020 and will highlight the importance of Lincolnshire in the defence of the country and the development of aviation in World War One.

The Heritage Lottery Fund grant will allow the project to include a depiction of a World War One airfield that will have flying replica fighter aircrafts from the period, within a hangar on an operational RAF station in 2018.

There will also be an exhibition held at The Collection in Lincoln focused on the technical and social advances that such an important hub in military arms production brought to the county.

Travelling exhibitions at community centres and village halls throughout Lincolnshire are planned to deal with specific themes to local areas and to teach what their particular contribution was.

Dave Harrigan and Phil Bonner, of Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire, said: “We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support. 

“We have a story here from a century ago, much of which is not widely known, which will be of huge interest not only to the people of Lincolnshire but also those wider afield as well.”

Councillor Stuart Tweedale, Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Our links with aviation here in Lincolnshire are so important to our heritage.

“I’m thrilled that we’ve been successful in getting support for such an exciting project which I’m sure will be a huge draw for both local people and visitors to the county too.”

Councillor Roger Patterson, West Lindsey District Council, said: “West Lindsey District Council is very pleased to support this fantastic heritage project.

“The fact that the Heritage Lottery Fund also supports this is a testament to the value of passing on the heritage of aviation in Lincolnshire to local, national and international visitors.”