Farron calls on public to 'have their say' on BBC Radio Cumbria

Cumbrian MP, Tim Farron, is today calling on residents across the South Lakes and Cumbria to have their say on the future of BBC Radio Cumbria and to express their objections to proposals to make drastic cuts to it services.

As part of the BBC's commitment to 'Delivering Quality First' the BBC Trust launched a formal consultation in October to give the public the chance to make their opinions about the future of the BBC heard.

Under the proposed cuts, BBC Radio Cumbria will have its budget cut by 20% compared with an average of 12% across all other local radio stations in England. This amounts to a loss of 9.4 FTE (full time equivalent) posts. Because of the budget saving this represents, the National Union of Journalists believes that it is likely that 12 or 13 members of staff could lose their jobs - around a third of the station's workforce. The station would also lose at least 50 hours of local programming every week as it is forced to share more programming with other local radio stations.

Tim is calling on everyone across South Lakeland and Cumbria to protect the future of BBC Radio Cumbria and the services it provides by responding to the BBC Trust's consultation with their reasons why they believe BBC local radio to be protected.

Commenting this afternoon Tim said: "BBC Radio Cumbria provides an invaluable service to our community - we rely on it for our news, comment, entertainment, travel and weather information. Our county would be lost without the vital up-to-date information it has provided residents during terrible events such as the Cumbria floods, the Grayrigg crash and the Foot and Mouth disaster that were all delivered with a deep understanding and love for the community they serve.

"This public consultation is an opportunity for residents across the South Lakes and Cumbria to make their voices heard and to get involved in the fight to save our much loved BBC local radio station. So I'm asking everyone to cares about BBC Radio Cumbria to send in their responses and show the BBC Trust just how valued Radio Cumbria is"