Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

BBC announces plans to expand local radio offering

BBC Broadcasting House in London (Aaron Chown/PA)
BBC Broadcasting House in London (Aaron Chown/PA)

The BBC has announced plans to increase its radio output in the north of England and the Midlands over the winter months.

The corporation is launching three temporary local radio services in Bradford, Wolverhampton and Sunderland with a view to expanding the scheme further if successful.

Each location will be focused on serving a “very local audience” and will distribute content online and through broadcast where possible.

BBC Director General
Tim Davie, director-general of the BBC (Andrew Milligan/PA)

The BBC hopes the new services will cater to parts of the country where people have used its services less.

The announcement comes as part of the broadcaster’s coverage plans for the winter.

A BBC spokesman said: “We’re going to pilot temporary services for Bradford, Sunderland and Wolverhampton in line with our aim to do more for audiences in parts of the country where people use the BBC less than people who live elsewhere.

“The focus will be on local news and information. We have a number of ideas around what this output will be and how it will be delivered. We’ll provide further details in due course.”

Earlier this year, the BBC announced a shake-up of regional TV news and local radio in England, including axing some 450 jobs.

The winter plan also includes a special Bitesize offer for teachers and students covering each of the four nation’s national curricula until the Easter holidays on TV and online.

On New Year’s Eve, a live entertainment show called The Big New Year’s In will run throughout the evening featuring famous faces and a concert.

BBC director-general Tim Davie said: “At a time that is challenging for individuals and every family, the BBC plays a unique role in putting a smile on people’s faces, in helping children with their education, connecting people in local communities, and providing some much needed escapism.

“We are incredibly proud to be going the extra mile this Christmas.”