Public File

What is the purpose of this Public File?

Each UK commercial radio station has a licence commitment in terms of the general nature of its service and what music and local content it will provide. This commitment is specified in the Station Format document published by the industry regulator Ofcom.

Each station is also required to maintain a Public File that gives listeners clear information about the specific ways in which the station meets it format commitments and serves its community of listeners.

This document is Radio Wester Ross Public File. Please contact us if you have any queries about the content of this file.

News Bulletins

We broadcast local news bulletins at least once an hour during our live local programming on weekday mornings and afternoons, and Saturday mornings. We also carry hourly bulletins of national and international news from national providers during weekday daytime hours.

The nominal times of our regular bulletins are:

Monday to Friday

Local news: 07:02, 07.30, 08:02, 08:30, 17:02, 18:02
National news: Hourly on the hour between 07:00 and 19:00 inclusive

Saturday

Local news: 08:02, 09:02, 10:02
National news: Hourly on the hour between 08:00 and 11:00 inclusive

Sunday

No news service

Recent News

To view typical local news stories from Radio Wester Ross click here.

The News Team

Our current regular News Team consists of Ron Cole (duty editor), Gordon Butler, Ann Simpson & Gail Bellamy.

For help with any queries about broadcast bulletins or news policy, contact the Station Manager using the contact details on this website.

The Programme Schedule

We broadcast at least 30 hours per week of locally-originated programmes, plus up to 30 additional hours per week produced elsewehere in the Highlands and Islands and other Celtic/Gaelic diaspora areas (for example traditional Scottish music on a Saturday evening, Gaelic programmes from Cape Breton, and occasional programmes produced on Lewis).

At other times when we are not broadcasting locally-originated material, we relay 'sustaining services' from other providers. These are generally music-led stations, aimed at a general adult audience (eg Smooth Scotland).

To view our current programme schedule click here.

Automation & local programming

Radio stations will often make use of computer-controlled automated programme generation of music programmes without live presenters. We have recently introduced some automation outside of our current live hours in order that the station can finally produce all programming in house and on a local level.

Our regular breakfast and drivetime weekday shows, and Saturday and Sunday morning shows are always presented live from our studio in Gairloch. Other locally-produced or commissioned shows may be played out from pre-recordings according to presenter availability and editing requirements.

Local events & good causes we support

Radio Wester Ross is a non-profit voluntary organisation and a registered Scottish Charity (SC049942), so the extent of our direct fundraising for other bodies is limited. However we support other good causes and fundraisers in the area with general publicity, What's On information, and interviews offering the chance for more information and news from these organisations to be broadcast. We provide substantial publicity for a major local annual charitable event, the Great Wilderness Challenge, and also assisted with its production of an outside broadcast for the 2023 event. We broadcast appeals from the Disasters Emergency Committee which coordinates major appeals through commercial radio stations.

Coverage Highlights

Radio Wester Ross participates in, and provides radio coverage of, local events, such as the Gairloch Highland Gathering, Ullapool creel tree and Christmas lights switch on and other events. We also cover events and activities by local schools, societies, public services and tourism operators. These include interviews with representatives of a wide range of community organisations, agencies operating in the area and visitors.

Music Playlist

Radio Wester Ross operates an extensive library of Adult Contemporary (A/C) music and allows presenters free choice when presenting live programmes and specialist output, within certain parameters. In addition, for current releases an 'A-list' is prepared for presenters' use.

The mix is wide and is intended to reflect the diverse range of backgrounds and tastes of the local community.

Other programmes in the evening and at weekends are themed to more specific genres and topics, and among these there are programmes devoted to individual genres such as Celtic, Country, Folk or specific artists.

To give you a feel for the range of music we play in our live peak time shows programmes, here is a sample from a couple of hours in 2024

The Format document

This is the document published by Ofcom which specifies the formats that Two Lochs Radio is expected to follow. You can find it on the Ofcom website at http://static.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/html/radio-stations/analogue/al100640ba1twolochsradio.htm.

We also provide programme service to the Lochbroom FM area, and this document specifies the format for broadcasts in the Lochbroom area http://static.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/html/radio-stations/analogue/al100667ba3lochbroomfm.htm.

Ofcom Localness Guidelines

Ofcom issues Guidelines defining what it terms "localness" for the local radio stations it licenses. You can read them on the Ofcom website at this address: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/information-for-industry/radio-broadcasters/localness.

Contact Us

Details of how to get in touch with Radio Wester Ross are contained within this website.

How to Complain

If you want to make a complaint about something you have heard on the station, or something you understand the station is planning to do, in the first instance please raise the matter with the Station Manager using the details on this website.

If you are not satisfied with our response and wish to take the matter further, you can contact the regulator Ofcom on 0300 123 3333 or via the contact page on the Ofcom website.