A COMMUNITY radio station which connects different communities celebrated its 15th birthday this week.

Castledown FM, located at The Wellington Academy between Ludgershall and Tidworth, is 100 per cent run by a dedicated team of more than 60 volunteers, and prides itself on connecting people across the area, in particular bringing the civilian and military communities.

What started as a small community radio station in a wooden cabin in the school’s grounds, is now a much larger operation, with its own building at the campus and a huge variety of shows, ranging from church services, to classical music, and K-Pop to a Nepalese language programme.

Kelly Ashby-Jackson, communications director, told the Advertiser: “I think the main thing for the station at present, is to bring together civilian and military communities. Donna and I are army wives, but we work in civilian schools, so we are real advocates for that [integration].

“We have got so many regiments moving into the area and as an army wife moving here I thought, where am I? What is there for me to do? What is there for my children? How can I make some friends?”

Presenter Donna Burns added: “For me, it was very daunting. I moved to Perham Down and there was nothing there.

“A lot of people around here are ex-military who returned to settle here. People end up staying and laying roots here.”

She continued: “With Covid, a lot of people were staying at home or they lived on their own, so being able to communicate with people via the radio was especially important. It’s nice and comforting to know that there is someone out there who’s thinking of you. Our biggest thing is making connections with people.”

Castledown FM is Of-com regulated and is available to listen to across two FM stations, with the team hoping to soon obtain a third to expand its reach. It is a 24-hour station, with live programming usually between 6am and midnight.

Kelly said: “I have been here for eight years, and since I started the amount of people has gone through the roof! And we are always welcoming more.

“As well as the light and fun, we touch on a lot of touchy subjects, a lot of poignant subjects.”

Talking about how the station has maintained its success for 15 years, with a current 3.5 million listeners online alone, Donna added: “As the world changes, we change with it. We can’t just rely on our listeners from 15 years ago, we have the young ones coming through and the youngsters don’t listen to as much radio so it’s about finding what they are interested in.”

For more information about Castledown FM, visit their new website at: https://castledownfm.com/