A NEW radio station has been launched in west Dorset.

Lyme Bay Radio will be broadcasting online from The Hub in Church Street, Lyme regis.

A room in the back of building has been converted into a studio.

The radio station is the brainchild of Simon and Tracey West and Chris Tipping of Lyme Regis Development Trust and has been two years in the making.

Mr West said: “Back in 2018 Tracey and I met Chris Tipping the CEO of Lyme Regis Development Trust.

“We were talking about where we first met, which was at a hospital radio station and Chris said he would love for Lyme Regis to have its own station, so we worked towards making it a reality.

“It was financially difficult to find the right funding, however, the National Lottery came through with an Awards For All grant of £8,800 which enabled us to remodel the back room of The Hub into a studio and fit it with equipment to go on air as an internet radio station.”

The radio station also received generous donations from the Lyme Regis Carnival committee, Palmers Brewery and the Rotary Club of Lyme Regis.

The official launch of Lyme Bay Radio was held last Sunday (March 1) at The Hub.

Mr West said: “We launched the station at midday. There was a big countdown from the presenters and visitors, there must have been around 100 people in the hall.

“The response over the last few days has been fantastic – we've had a lot of engagement and requests from people – it has been overwhelming.”

Mr West added: “In Lyme Regis we get very poor radio reception. We only get around four channels at most, so we felt we needed something to bring the community together.

“More than 30 people have put themselves forward to become presenters and many of them are now being trained.”

Chris Tipping, CEO of Lyme Regis Development Trust, said: “To be honest the last two years have been a rollercoaster, but the trust have been amazing, they bought into the concept and have backed it ever since.

“It wasn’t a hard sell for them in the end. We wanted to put our name back on the map with something, and this was perfect.

“I have been overwhelmed from the response from local people, which has been anything from people telling us they’ve been listening to engagement on social media.

“And the number of people putting themselves forward to present shows has been incredible and it’s quite nerve-racking, it’s not an easy thing to do.”

You can listen to Lyme Bay Radio via its website – www.lymebayradio.com