Park Radio ‘blown away’ by fundraiser amount for new base

A community radio station’s director has said he is “blown away” by the response of supporters after thousands of pounds has been raised for its hunt to find a new headquarters.

Park Radio, based at Diss Youth and Community Centre in Shelfanger Road, has been tasked with finding new premises as the town council, which owns the building, is trying to decide what to do with the site.

Due to the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in its roof, the authority is now looking at options including a £400,000 roof repair or possibly demolishing the building.

The station, that covers the likes of Diss, Eye and Harleston, set up a fund-raiser on August 6, with a target of £5,000 to help its relocation.

Just over two weeks in and it has already raised more than £3,000.

James Grint, the station’s director, said: “All of us here are just blown away by the response of our amazing listeners in the Waveney Valley.

“At the start of this my colleague Matt Smith asked ‘what happens if we do not get more than a couple of hundred pounds donated?’ I replied, ‘well, the Waveney Valley will have spoken and we are not as much of people’s lives as we thought’.

“But the fact we have hit this massive amount in the first couple of weeks says a huge amount about how Park Radio is valued, respected and loved as a key community asset.”

The search to find a new site is still ongoing, but Mr Grint said they have been so uplifted by the support.

“Just a massive thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has donated, offered to volunteer, come up with fund-raising ideas or has shared our fund-raising page,” he added. “It just means so much.”

To donate to the campaign, go online to gofundme.com/parkradio.