A sense of shock has greeted the news that Tulip Radio is to close tomorrow (Tuesday) after 15 years on the air.
The station announced the news today, just 24 hours before it goes off air at midday. It blames a dearth of volunteer staff with the requisite knowledge and time.
In a statement, Tulip Radio said: “For some time it has become increasingly difficult to find technical staff with musical knowledge to deal with all issues that affect our radio station; additionally we are finding that the commitment to present regular daily shows during normal working hours has become an impossible task for many of our presenters.”
Business manager Jan Whitbourn said: “The decision to close the station was an extremely difficult one.
“Those who know me will be aware that I value greatly the community involvement and hugely enjoy the events we organise and attend.
“People have a massive misconception about Tulip Radio and assume that as it’s a community radio station it’s funded privately or by the council and thus we don’t have to charge for our services. The reality is that, whilst our presenters are all volunteers, like any other business we do have to pay all our bills and at times this has also been a real challenge.”
The station, based in The Crescent, first broadcast from its original site at Springfields in 2001 and director Chris Carter said there were so many people to thank including local businesses and the “wonderful” volunteer presenters.
He added: “We would like to especially thank Ian Canham, from Broadgate Homes, who are the only sponsor to have been with us all the way from day one. Ian’s support and advice has been invaluable and has been a huge comfort at times.”
Tulip Radio has organised many local events including the Flower Queen competition, The Pride of South Holland Awards (in conjunction with The Voice) and the popular school choir competition, as well as appearing at galas such as Pinchbeck Carnival.
Jan said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed organising and creating events and become completely immersed in each one we are involved with; this I will continue to do under the Tulip Events Management banner. I would ask any organisations or businesses who are planning an event to get in touch to see whether we can help.”
One of the station’s many former presenters, John Baker, was saddened by the sudden news. He did a three-year stretch on an indie/rock show on Friday nights, finishing in 2011.
He said: “I was really happy to play local acts such as Verax, Meg McPartlin and others – I used to get quite a few CDs sent in.
“Not only that, but every so often I could use my contacts to cover ‘news’ stories.
“I remember one night when I was manning the desk on my own and while the songs were playing I was in touch with press officers to find out when the power was coming back on – there’d been an electricity cut and about a third of Spalding was in darkness. People were texting me and listening from their car radios. The power came on about five minutes before my show ended!”
He said the many youngsters who had gained confidence through spending time at Tulips Radio’s studios would also be saddened by the news.
“I was delighted to take part and loved to say that I was part of it, although of course Jan and Chris were the driving forces and I hope they don’t feel anything other than pride in what they achieved.
“People will look back on the station with fondness and remember its strong support for all things Spalding, which is a pretty good legacy for any station to leave behind.”
Tulip Radio will be distributing its surplus funds to local good causes and disposing of its broadcast equipment.
