Basingstoke is getting set for the start of a brand new online radio station with imminent launch of radiobasingstoke.com at 1pm on Wednesday 1st May.

Radio Basingstoke is set to give north Hampshire bands and artists of all genres a new and unique opportunity to showcase their work online around the globe.

Bands and artists are being invited to have the chance of having a half-hour programme dedicated to their work on a show hosted by Radio Basingstoke’s Station Manager, Lee Williams, who will interview the artists and play their promotional CD’s on air. The programme will air three times over a two week period at different times of the day.

The CD will also feature as their “Artist of the Week” on a new website to be launched soon.

Radio Basingstoke is a joint venture by local music management company Astrid Music Management and Public Relations consultancy Headline Promotions Press & PR, will play music of all genres round the clock and,
whilst there will be some presenters, there will be less chatter and more music.

Though the radio station is funded by commercials, these will be kept to three minute segments each half hour.

Station Manager, Lee Williams said:

Radio Basingstoke is a community radio station, at the heart of our local community, and support of local artists is part of our mission. During our early days, until such time as we obtain sponsorship for some programmes, we will ask for a contribution of £200 from our featured artists. Once we obtain commercial sponsorship then there will be no charge!

Artists wishing to showcase their work can submit details by e-mail to john@radiobasingstoke.com

Asked if he was confident of the future of Internet radio, Williams said:

A recent report claimed that internet radio has hit the mainstream. More than 8 million people in the UK listen to web-based radio services every week and nearly 2 million download podcasts on a weekly basis, according to a survey that suggests internet radio has hit the mainstream.

Commissioned by the industry’s audience research body Rajar, the Ipsos Mori survey last autumn found that more than 12 million people have listened to the radio online and 8.1 million listen every week either through live streaming or “listen again” services.

Ipsos Mori found that 75% of users do not listen to less live radio as a result of listening again online, with 50% tuning into new shows as a result.

For Radio Basingstoke, this is good news. Williams (pictured with John Hicks, MD of Headline Promotions, Press & PR) said:

This survey proves what we in the radio industry already knew! We are looking forward to the forthcoming launch of Radio Basingstoke on 1st May and this news is very positive for us.

Tasked more about the use of “community” in their mission statement, Williams explained that two local schools, Bishop Challoner RC School and Costello
Technology College, are working on weekly shows produced by groups of students. In addition, local presenters will be featured and there will be
extensive “what’s on” coverage, through the website and on-air programming. Further, local job opportunities will be featured to help jobseekers.

There are also opportunities for the general public to become involved. These range from being able to text requests to the station (0787 401 6433) through to
volunteering to master their new MySpace presence at www.myspace.com/radiobasingstoke.

In particular, the station will heavily feature news of what is happening
in the local community so anyone with an upcoming event is asked to e-mail full details to events@radiobasingstoke.com.

For a radio station for north Hampshire, the name Radio Basingstoke was an obvious choice. Williams discloses though that it was actually a close run
thing with “Amazingstoke” until it was found that an enterprising author has already registered amazingstoke dotcom. However, he was happy for the
station to adopt it as part of their logo which will soon be displayed prominently around the district.

This is not the first time Williams and Hicks have collaborated. They are co-founders of the award-winning CMR Nashville Radio, Europe’s leading country music radio station.

Radio Basingstoke will be found on www.radiobasingstoke.com through your PC, internet radio and many popular mobile phones.

Another rise in traffic for quarter one of 2008 for Basingstoke Business News with well over 2000 unique visitors looking at nearly 5000 pages.

This shows and increase of 16% up on quarter four of 2007 and a year on year increase of 2400%. You can see more stats here.

Thanks to everyone that has supported this project. Please keep the stories flowing in and the traffic should continue to increase.

By adding features to the website, such as the Basingstoke Business directory, we have seen a marked increase in traffic over the past month, with February 2008 reaching our best traffic ever - meaning more people are seeing the news in Basingstoke.

Bearing in mind this is a very specific geographical website, the search engines referrals are coming in thick and fast. This is also partly to the breadth of stories we are being sent. That said, the more we get, the better the traffic.

Traffic for February reached is highest with 825 unique visitors looking at 1805 pages of information.

Most of which is being driven from search engines - people could be finding you through this website.

About these figures

These figures are taken from in-page tracking, rather than taken from Hits or Log Stats. This means the visitors are real people. They do not include any regular contributors - we discard those visits.

Please keep the news coming - this is the main part of the website and will continue to drive traffic. If you are a Basingstoke business, based in Hook, Tadley, out to Whitchurch, etc. please e-mail us your press releases and help build even more value, which we can all share as the Basingstoke Business Community.

Thanks, Craig

Our free business to business directory for Basingstoke has now been adapted to allow 01189 numbers for Tadley businesses after a request from a reader.

This means that you can now add your Tadley-based business to the directory. All listings are still manually checked to ensure locality.

Tuesday 22 January - North Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry Lunch
12.15 - 14.00

With the environment becoming an increasingly important issue, why not go along to Chineham Park and learn more about the Energy Efficiency Solutions available to SME’s with a guest speaker from CEN (Creative Environment Networks).

Discover how MEPC Chineham Park is developing the next generation of buildings that address the sustainability agenda.

Venue: MEPC South 60, Crockford Lane Chineham Park Basingstoke RG24 8QZ

Contact: Marian Bennett 01256 352275

Visit the NHCCI website for more information

Plans to keep Basingstoke buoyant have been given a big boost with the announcement of £5 million in government funding to help solve the borough’s infrastructure issues and support major projects to improve the town centre and its commercial heart.

This week the Government has announced £1,726,709 in New Growth Point funding for Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in 2008/2009 and indicated that this would be followed by an addition £3,170,188 in the following two years.

The funding is part of £732 million announced for New Growth Points nationally. Basingstoke was named as one of 29 New Growth Points across the country in October last year, recognising that it needed financial support for growth as it is one of the key drivers in the south east’s economy.

The money will help to support the council’s proposals for the future of the borough, which include:

• The regeneration of one of Basingstoke’s key commercial areas, Basing View, as a 21st Century economic hub
• The creation of an integrated transport network
• Working with key national economic and educational bodies, including the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and universities, to develop a ‘learning campus’. This would bring together further ‘vocational’ style training with higher education degrees and state of the art research.
• Providing a wide range of housing that meets the needs of all the community through the on-going development of large housing sites and brownfield regeneration
• Continuing to develop shopping, leisure and cultural facilities making Basingstoke a great place to live, work and visit
• Maintaining and enhancing the built and natural environment and urban public spaces

It will also help fund work being carried out by the borough council, with key partners, to develop solutions to water quality issues, especially the treatment of waste water, and manage the pressures on the strategic road network, as well as better understanding the long-term economic opportunities for the town.

Cabinet Member for Economic and Educational Development Cllr Andrew Finney said:

This is government backing for our ambition to maximise the potential of Basingstoke and Deane, through planned growth. This funding will help us achieve our vision of a prosperous borough where business can flourish and where people can live in decent homes in well-planned developments.

Via The Basingstoke Gazette (Monday 3rd December) the winners from last weeks Inspire 07 Business Awards are:

• Business of the year - Daisy’s Dairy
• E-Business of The Year - What’s On 4 Little Ones
• Young Entrepreneur of the year - Peter Sherwood and Steve Malone of Infosec Technologies
• Exporter of The Year - Vectair
• Rural Business of the year - Hampshire Cheeses
• Sustainable Business of the year - Greenhouse Graphics

You can see a video about the event on the Gazette website.

We are pleased to announce that we now have our free business to business directory for the Basingstoke & Deane area live and working.

It is there for all local businesses to add their details, a short profile and a link to their website. As it is hand edited, we approve each entry to keep the website relevant but as a business owner in Basingstoke and the 01256 telephone region, there are benefits for you for adding your business.

• It’s free.
• It is relevant to the business community in Basingstoke.
• It may deliver traffic to your business website as our web pages are search engine optimised.
• You entry will generate a relevant web link to your website, which is good for your own search engine optimisation.

Why not add your business now?

Yes, good business people of Basingstoke, we have created a Facebook Group for all you Social Networkers…

The Basingstoke Business Facebook Group. Why not join?

From 30 October 2007, new legislation will be coming into force affecting the way commercial waste is dealt with.

It will mean that all businesses will have to pre-treat their commercial waste prior to sending it to landfill. The rules form part of the Landfill Directive which is already having a significant and positive impact on how waste is managed. These new rules are designed to increase the amount of waste that is recycled and recovered and reduce the potentially polluting emissions from landfills.

What will this mean for your business?

You will need to review how your business manages its waste and it would be beneficial to speak to your waste management contractor about this new legislation and its’ requirements.

All businesses that have a contract with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council will not be affected by this legislation as the waste is currently incinerated. Find out if your waste is sent to landfill. If it isn’t, then these new rules shouldn’t affect our business.

If your waste is sent to landfill, find out how else you could manage your waste. The way waste in managed in Britain is changing and in many cases there are other more nvironmentally friendly options available, for example, recycling.

If you decide to keep sending your waste to landfill, find out if it is treated first. Much of the waste that businesses produce is already treated before it is sent to landfill. If this is the case then no further treatment is necessary.

If your waste is not currently being treated, you will need to decide on the most appropriate way to meet the requirements of the new legislation. Recycling is one option and to help businesses start a recycling scheme the council is producing a Business Recycling Guide. It will include lots of useful information for your business, including case studies from businesses in the borough that are already operating a recycling system.

The guide is going to be delivered to all businesses in October.

For further information on the new legislation, please visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk/landfilldirective