BBC Radio Leicester becomes the first local radio network

Image: The Postmaster General, the Rt. Hon. Edward Short, and the Lord Mayor of Leicester, Alderman Sir Mark Henig open the country's first Local Radio Station on 8/11/1967.

Radio Leicester went on air on 8 November 1967. The station was the pioneer in the BBC's experimental local radio network, the first of 8, broadcasting on VHF. It was joined later in the month by Sheffield and Merseyside. Local radio was very much the brainchild of Frank Gillard - the former war reporter turned Director of Radio - who saw it as a chance to present "the running serial story of local life in all its aspects".

Radio Leicester opened with speeches from the Postmaster General and the Lord Mayor of Leicester. Following a preview of forthcoming programmes, came Insight: The Fire Service, For Children, The Leicester Scene, At Your Request, Termtime – about education in the area - and then, before the news and weather, highlights of the Lord Mayor's Lunch. The significance of the launch was underlined by the fact that the listings were featured in the national press.

Local radio stations overcame suspicions that their content was purely trivial, proving their worth in their response to regional weather stories. The government put the experiment on a permanent footing in 1969, and gave permission to expand the number of stations. Today there are 40 BBC local radio stations serving England.