RadioReverb 97.2FM needs a new home to stay on air past December

RadioReverb^1,2,3,4,5,6, the city’s volunteer-run community station on 97.2FM, says it could close by the end of the year. Rising rent and charges at its home in Brighton Open Market have made staying there unaffordable, and it needs to find another home.

“We’re approaching 20 years of full time broadcasting but with spiralling rent and service charges at Brighton Open Market, our future is in jeopardy,” RadioReverb’s Melita Dennett and Geoffrey Bowden said in a statement on the station’s website.

They said the station is “anticipating closing by the end of the year” unless it can move. They also sounded hopeful: “We operate on less than £20,000 a year so we’re determined to ride this through, and are confident that our supporters will rally round to take us into 2027 and beyond.”

RadioReverb first went on air with a two-week trial licence during the Brighton Festival in 2004 and won a full-time licence in 2007. It now broadcasts on 97.2FM, DAB+ and online. It carries no adverts and is run entirely by volunteers, with around 60 programme makers, all from Brighton & Hove.

The schedule includes a monthly show made by and for people with learning disabilities from the charity Carousel, and shows made by refugees and asylum seekers, by the Italian community and by people living with HIV. There’s also a Brighton & Hove Albion show, a programme on local food and drink, coverage of the city’s festivals and a lot of local music.

The station runs on donations from listeners and small sponsorships from local businesses. You can give from £1 on its website, by card or PayPal. Businesses can sponsor a show, with weekly or monthly presenter endorsements and on-air trails. Its station sponsor is Wave Community Bank.