Cuillin fm Community Radio

A local community radio station in Skye & Lochalsh had long been recognised as a potential means to tackle rural isolation, and Cuillin FM came into being in 1995 when the station first went on air for a pilot RSL period. This was followed by a second trial broadcast during the Local Mod in 1998. Both of these pilots demonstrated both the need and support for the project. In 2002 the group was finally awarded a 12-year broadcasting licence by the Radio Authority (now called OfCom).

Cuillin FM was formed as a voluntary committee, with Skye & Lochalsh CVO as the main driving force, providing support and administration, applying for funding and organising training. Funding bids were prepared to support a temporary studio, the building of a new studio, the costs of installation, transmitter masts and the equipment needed to run the community radio station from a portacabin in Portree. Funding in excess of £130,000 was raised from the Community Fund and LEADER+, and a new studio has now been completed beside the temporary one at the top of Stormyhill

As part of the Radio Authority application, questionnaires were distributed to 750 people in Portree, Kyle, Staffin and Broadford. 62% of these were completed and returned and the results showed not only a strong community support for the establishment of a community radio station in Skye & Lochalsh, but also listener preferences for programme content and scheduling.

Successes

Cuillin FM (on 106.2) finally was officially launched on July 3rd 2004 with guests including The Battlefield Band and Ali Abassi. A team of approx. 40 volunteers is involved in presenting programmes in Gaelic and English and the group has the support of over 60 members. Live breakfast shows are broadcast Monday to Friday from 7.30 to 9.00 and include local issues and interviews as well as music. The station then gives itself over to a sustaining service to keep the broadcasting going until 3pm when they go live again from Portree until midnight – Monday to Friday. On Saturdays there are programmes from the studio which start at 11am and go through until midnight and then on Sunday from 9am until 11pm. Listeners can tune in to a variety of music from country to hard rock to Scottish Dance, features, bi-lingual and information programmes, including forthcoming community events.

At first, this frequency only covered Portree and some surrounding districts. However, after a hard battle with regulatory offices and site management, the station managed to erect another transmitter at Skriag in 2007 and now covers a wide range on 102.7fm. This means that over 90% of the island receives the station along with the Outer Isles and a great chunk of the mainland from Gairloch to Cluanie Dam.

In the early part of 2008, the radio station went live on the World Wide Web, with streaming that now entices up to approx 6,000 listeners every month. This is one of the great moments in Cuillin FM’s history, as they are now transmitting to ex-pats and people living abroad who still have relatives in this country. The response to this has been overwhelming.

In 2008 the Friday Big Breakfast Show won the prestigious Thomas Prag Award for the best piece of broadcasting in the Highlands and then, later in the year, the station won the Maurice Nicholl Award of the Rotary Club of Portree & District which is given in recognition of outstanding achievement to local communities.

With plans afoot to be broadcasting from the station 24/7 – this is an exciting time for Cuillin FM and they are forever on the lookout for new presenters and people to help in the background with other matters that are essential to the upkeep and the continuation of Skye and Lochalsh’s local radio station. If you would like to help in any way then go to their web site and all the information you require is on the relevant pages.