BBC Southern Counties Radio

BBC Southern Counties Radio

BrightonandGuildford
Broadcast area	SurreyandSussex
Frequency	FM:95.0 MHz (Newhaven) FM: 95.1 MHz (Horsham) FM: 95.3 MHz (BrightonandWorthing) FM: 104.0 MHz (ReigateandCrawley) FM: 104.5 MHz (EastandWest Sussex,includingEastbourne) FM: 104.6 MHz (Guildford) FM: 104.8 MHz (Chichester) AM:1161 kHz (East Sussex) AM: 1368 kHz (Reigate and Crawley) AM: 1485 kHz (Southern West Sussex) DAB:10B (NOW Sussex Coast)
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	Local news, talk and music
Ownership
Owner	BBC Local Radio, BBC South, BBC South East
History
First air date	1 August 1994
Links
Website	BBC Southern Counties Radio

BBC Southern Counties Radio(BBC SCR) was theBBC Local Radioservice for theEnglishcountiesofSurreyandSussex.The station also covered a large part of north-eastHampshire.It was the first BBC local radio station to introduce an all-speech format. It broadcast from studios inBrightonandGuildfordonFMandAM,and onDABon theNOW Sussex Coastmultiplex.

History

The station was formed by the merger ofBBC Radio SussexandBBC Radio Surrey.It began on 1 August 1994.

BBC Radio Sussex had originally been founded on 14 February 1968 asBBC Radio Brighton,broadcasting from studios in Marlborough Place.Des Lynamwas one of the original presenters. It expanded to cover the whole ofSussexin October 1983.

BBC Radio Surrey had a chequered history. Once planned as a stand-alone radio station, it eventually launched on 14 November 1991 as a limited opt-out service of BBC Radio Sussex, broadcasting from newly built studios on the campus of theUniversity of SurreyinGuildford.However it was never able to build a substantial audience over its two years on air.

The two stations were merged in January 1994 and moved into the Guildford studios; a bone of contention for manyBrightonresidents who felt they were being deprived of the local station they had enjoyed since 1968. Their campaign to bring the station back to Brighton was to succeed twelve years later.

Initially called BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey, the station relaunched with the name BBC Southern Counties Radio on 1 August 1994. It became the firstBBC local radiostation to adopt an all-speech format, with the broadcast slogan "all talk all the time". Presenters includedGordon Astley,Tommy Boyd,Peter Heaton-Jones,Al Clarke, Alison Taylor and Eric Dixon; however there were to be numerous presenter and schedule changes over the following three years.

The next revamp occurred on 1 September 1997, when the station reverted to a more traditional mix of talk and music, and introduced new presenters such as Chris Ashley,John Radford,Giles Dilnot,Bill BuckleyandSimon Bates,who presented the Sunday morning show.

Further changes followed, including the departure in 2005 of Brighton Breakfast Show presenterJoAnne Goodwho left to work atBBC London 94.9and was replaced by Sarah Gorrell. Good also left her Saturday morning show and was replaced by Brighton comedianStephen Grant.Tommy Boyd was recruited, initially to present an adult-style programme on Saturday evenings.

The station was relaunched in April 2006. Its headquarters were relocated from Guildford to Brighton, and the station was referred to on air as "The New Sound of Sussex and Surrey". Four of the presenters, Bill Buckley, John Radford, Ed Douglas and Dominic Busby left the station shortly before the relaunch of 2006. Three presenters were recruited and started broadcasting on the station on 3 April 2006, the day of the relaunch: Gordon Astley was taken on to present daily shows, just as he had done in the 1990s; Fred Marden was recruited to present the Surrey breakfast show; and one-time Radio Sussex sports reporter Richard Lindfield also rejoined. By early February 2009, all three had left the station and the designation "The New Sound of Sussex and Surrey" was no longer being used on air by presenters.

BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey relaunch

BBC SCR becameBBC SussexandBBC Surreyon 30 March 2009. Though the two stations broadcast on different frequencies, the infrastructure and management teams remained unaffected.

Brighton Festival and Fringe

Increasingly, in its latter years, BBC SCR worked to provide extensive and interactive coverage of theBrighton FestivalandFringe.Aside from dedicating a daily hour-long show toBrighton's festivals, it also provided in-depth internet coverage, including reviews, features and video clips.

Split programming

From September 1997, there were separate news services forSussexandSurrey,and separate breakfast shows for both counties, using a split frequency system. Until the April 2006 changes, a separate service forBrighton,HoveandWorthingwas also provided. A one-hour drivetime programme and Saturday breakfast show for Surrey were introduced at this point - however the Surrey output was now only available to listeners in the west of the county, on 104.6FM.The 104.0 FM frequency, which covers parts of both East Surrey and the north ofWest Sussexand previously carried the Surrey programming, was switched to carry the Sussex output. The reasoning behind this was to give listeners inCrawleyandEast Grinsteada more relevant service, at the expense of those in East Surrey where audience figures have been in decline, but from 16 October 2006, 104.0 FM reverted to the Surrey output. In addition, to reaffirm its commitment to Surrey listeners, the Surrey drivetime programme was increased from one to three hours.

There were also separate sports shows on Saturday afternoon, allowing listeners in north-eastHampshireand Surrey could listen to live commentaries from the local Conference teams,Aldershot Town,WokingandCrawley Town,whilst listeners in Sussex could listen toBrighton's games.

Notable on-air staff

• Gordon Astley
• Simon Bates
• Tommy Boyd
• Bill Buckley
• Giles Dilnot
• JoAnne Good
• Stephen Grant
• Peter Heaton-Jones
• Adrian Love
• John Radford
• Paul Ross

Top Gear

On Wednesday 26 April 2006,Top GearpresentersJeremy Clarkson,James MayandRichard Hammondpresented the drivetime show from the Brighton studio.The feature was broadcast in the second episode ofSeries 8on 14 May 2006.

Networked and simulcast programming

Evening programming throughout the week was networked with counterpartBBC local radiostations in the south and south east (namelyRadio Solent,Radio Berkshire,Radio OxfordandRadio Kent). During the station's downtime, SCR simulcastedBBC Radio 5 Liveprogramming includingUp All Night,Morning Reportsand the Stephen Nolan show.