Bishop's radio welcome

The Bishop of Lichfield, The Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill has welcomed the news that cuts into local radio by the BBC will not be as deep as first thought.

The Bishop said the decision was 'good news' and 'a great relief'.

This follows on from the Church of England also welcoming the BBC Trust’s decision to impose much smaller cuts to BBC Local Radio than it originally proposed.

In a submission to the BBC review in December the CofE described the local radio network as one of the ‘Crown Jewels’ of the BBC and stressed the importance of local radio to the community, both in times of crisis or seasonal emergencies, and on a daily basis.

Said the Bishop:

'It is good news and a great relief that the BBC cost-saving review has concluded that Local Radio shouldn’t be treated as badly as originally proposed.

'BBC Local Radio, like the Church of England in some ways, is a really important part of building local communities, and it promotes a sense of belonging and supporting good work.

'Many ministers in our diocese have great experiences working together with the staff of BBC Radio Stoke, BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC Radio Derby & BBC Radio WM.

'I’m still disappointed of course that the cuts will go ahead, and they will have severe consequences on local arts programming; Arts – especially music on local radio in the evenings – are such a vital part of how we express ourselves and share deeper feelings and emotions and truths about life that it would be really sad to lose them.”

Notes for editors:

For the Bishop's radio Mp3 audio clip click here

For the full national announcement from the CofE click here.