ANYONE itching to get on the airwaves will be pleased to know they now have the chance to be heard from Mokau to Patea.

Access radio is set to hit Taranaki using 104.4FM, a frequency recently awarded to the Taranaki Community Trust.

The trust was one of eight groups nationally to receive a non- commercial radio licence, which it plans to use for music and community-based radio shows.

Trust manager Daniel Keighley said the trust had been in the hunt for a frequency after the Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki station The Most was chucked off the airwaves, leaving many community groups and individuals without a voice.

"Everyone will have a chance to use it," he said.

"Access radio is really important for communities. There is nothing like it in Taranaki."

Mr Keighley said although The Most had found a new frequency, the region still needed a purely community-based station."

"It will be access community-based radio -- with fantastic music of course," he said.

There is still no name for the fledgling station but Mr Keighley said the trust had big plans and was in consultation with a well- known radio personality, whose identity he would keep to himself for now.

Funding for the station would come from Creative New Zealand, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the trust -- which assists with events such as the Parihaka Peace Festival and Patea's Paepae in the Park.

Manager of broadcasting agencies for the ministry, Rick Julian, said the allocation of licences provided opportunities for a wider range of local content and involvement.

via Redorbit.com