BBC English RegionsAnnual Review 2005-2006

Contents

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2 Foreword by the Governor for the English Regions

3 The English National Forum and the Advisory Councils

4-7 Review of Performance

8 Commitments to Audiences

9 Overview from the Controller

10 What’s new in England?

11 Compliance and Complaints

12 People

13 Television

14-15 The Ruby Television Awards 2005

16-17 A day in the life of Local Television

18 New Media

19 BBC Local Radio

20-21 The Frank Gillard Awards

22 Sport

23 Network Partnerships

24 Connecting Communities

25 Technology

26-27 The BBC Listens

28 Charitable Appeals

29 Facts & Figures for English Regions 2005-2006

30-31 Awards 2005-2006

32 Getting in Touch

Purpose,Vision and ValuesOur purposeOur purpose is to enrich people’s lives with programmes and services that inform,educate and entertain.

Our visionOur vision is to be the most trusted and creative community broadcaster in the country, serving a widely diverse range of urban and rural communities.

Our values• Trust is the foundation of the BBC: we are

independent, impartial and honest.

• Audiences are at the heart of everything we do.

• We take pride in delivering quality and value for money.

• Creativity is the lifeblood of our organisation.

• We respect each other and celebrate our diversity so that everyone can give their best.

• We are one BBC: great things happen whenwe work together.

Foreword by the Governor for the English Regions

In addition to their annual cycle ofprogramme and service review, the AdvisoryCouncils and English National Forum spent asignificant amount of their time during theyear contributing to the debate on the futureof the BBC’s governance and accountabilityunder the new BBC Trust.

The Forum welcomed the draft wording ofthe new Royal Charter with its recognition of the national identity of England and thecreation of a new Audience Council forEngland as its successor. At the same time,it noted the importance of safeguarding thediversity of regions and localities within theBBC Trust’s structures for England.

Among the accountability activities whichtook place during the year was a round of 38 BBC Local Radio phone-ins with councilchairs and members.The Forum alsoresponded to the government’s Green Paperon the future of the BBC and its Charterprovisions. In September, representatives fromthe Forum and the National BroadcastingCouncils met at the first UK-councils’conference in Cardiff, and members alsoparticipated with the National BroadcastingCouncils in a briefing on their work forofficials from the Department of Culture,Media & Sport, in January 2006.

Members took part in two BBC consultations:on the last set of pan-BBC objectives prior tothe introduction of the new Royal Charterand Service Licences, and on complaintshandling by the Board of Governors.

Finally, all councils were briefed on proposedchanges to the accountability structure underthe new Charter, and a working party establishedto agree recommendations.These informedthe Board of Governors’ decision in April2006 on the new accountability structure inEngland, as illustrated below. Under the newstructure, the Local Advisory Councils are tobe replaced with Local Audience Forumsconsisting of public events aimed at attractingmore people including those from hard-to-reach groups, but still reported on to theregional councils.

The English National Forumand the Advisory Councils

The English National Forum is an independent body ofadvisers which meets fourtimes a year. Its members aredrawn from the BBC’s 50Regional and Local AdvisoryCouncils across England,whose 530 volunteers reflectthe views of licence feepayers in their area.

The Forum reports regularly to the BBCBoard of Governors on local and regionalperformance and advises the Governors onissues arising from the feedback of theadvisory councils. It contributes to theGovernors’ review of the BBC’s overallperformance and helps the Governors setBBC objectives, taking into account the needsand interests of audiences throughout England.

Regional Chairs Advisory Council

Sue Kelly North East & Cumbria

Bernie Steed OBE South West

Sue Pomeroy West

David Pryer South East

Jacqui Francis West Midlands

Julie Panagarry North West

Annette Priestley South

Amarjit Gill East Midlands

Dr Dwain Neil London

Clarke Willis East

Elizabeth Peacock Yorkshire

Edward (Ted) Wright Yorkshire & Lincolnshire

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As I come to the end of my appointment asGovernor with special responsibility for theEnglish Regions having served two terms ofoffice, it seems a fitting time to look back andsee what’s happened over the past eight years.

There has been a sea change in this multi-million pound, multi-centre business, driven bythe desire to achieve greater localness and toconnect more deeply with local licence feepayers around the country. In my travelsaround the 50 or so BBC sites in England,I have noticed a new confidence emergingamongst the 3,000 strong staff who deliverlocal services in the BBC Local Radio stations,Where I Live local websites, and the regionaltelevision centres.

Each year has seen the launch of new, localservices in response to audience demand, andeach year their popularity has built so that inmany cases, it is those local and regionalservices which are winning the highestaudiences and achieving recognition for theirpublic value both inside and outside the BBC.

Network partnerships are thriving, buildingon the impact of wide-ranging series such asSpringwatch,The British Isles: A Natural History,Coast,Who Do You Think You Are? and Nationon Film – series which our advisory councilshave not only praised but described as uniqueto the BBC.When I first took up office, nosuch partnerships existed, nor were there anynetwork commissions to BBC English Regions.

The more traditional role of BBC EnglishRegions, as one of the BBC’s main traininggrounds for new talent, has grown apace andgained a fresh momentum with theestablishment of the Nations & Regions bestpractice centre, SON&R, in Bristol. One ofthe results has been an increasedprofessionalism, demonstrated in the numberof industry awards won, and the highstandards set in the BBC’s own Ruby andGillard Awards, for regional television andEnglish Local Radio respectively.

But most of all there has been a desire toengage directly with audiences which I havesupported whole-heartedly. A whole range of initiatives including the Open Centres andBBC Buses, the Where I Live sites, the Rootspartnership with Arts Council England, andthis year, the Local Television pilot, have builtnew relationships with people across England.

All of these share one thing – a celebrationof everything that is best in our multi-cultural society.

It has been one of my aims during my time atthe BBC to foster a debate on what it meansto be English today and I have delighted inthe paradoxical nature of the BBC’s services,offering a rich mix of programming fordiverse audiences and bringing the countrytogether at momentous times in the life ofthe nation.

I hand the continuing debate on to mysuccessor and commend the enthusiasm,dedication, and professionalism of the staffunder the inspired leadership of Andy Griffee.It is his clear vision which has guided BBCEnglish Regions through unprecedentedgrowth and recently, the impact of job cutsand the new priorities under the CreativeFutures initiative.

Finally, I would like to bid farewell to themany friends I have made in the BBC and to the 530 advisory council memberswho have so graciously supported me in myrole with their knowledge of BBC servicesand frank feedback.

I will continue to watch and wonder at theprogress of this great organisation and wish it well in its unique role of bringing peopletogether across England, across the UK andaround the world.

1: LEFT TO RIGHT: Garden designer Penny Smith, presenter AndyGarland, and Sally Dowler celebrate winning Most Creative Gardenat the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2005.The garden wasdesigned in memory of Millie Dowler, who was murdered in 2002.

2: LEFT TO RIGHT: Dwain Neil, Julie Pangarry and Bernie Steedpresented the ENF Annual Report in April 2006 to the Board ofGovernors at TV Centre, London.

3: Presenters of BBC Radio Cumbria released five hundred balloons from Carlisle Castle in August 2005 to launch a week of programmes, called Voices, exploring the way people speakaround the UK.

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Ranjit Sondhi - CBE

Board of Governors, to end 2006 The BBC Trust 2007

English National Forum Audience Council for England,enshrined in the Royal Charter

Regional Advisory Councils Regional Audience Councils

Local Audience Councils replaced by Local Audience Forums

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Gaps in reception continued, for bothanalogue and digital, and some reservationswere expressed over the funding for digitalswitchover, partly through the licence fee.

Network news’ judgements were occasionallyquestioned and there was felt to be littlereflection of the regions in network drama.Network factual programmes celebratingBritain were praised, with the notableexception of Trafalgar Day.The GeneralElection coverage lacked representation ofthe smaller political parties, and as in previousyears, football was felt to dominate sports’coverage across the whole of BBC.

While councils across England were able toidentify where they were having an impact onlocal and regional services, the Forum foundlittle evidence of impact of the accountabilitybodies on network output. Diversity ofmembership was at its highest level to dateand councils were confident that they werewell able to reflect BBC audiences; theyrecognised the difficulties in connecting morewith the young and other hard-to-reachgroups, and felt that a balance had to be struckbetween continued engagement with coreaudiences and efforts to connect with others.

Looking ahead, councils expressedreservations about the scale of the BBC’saspirations under what is likely to be amodest licence fee settlement. Maintainingthe quality of current, core services will bemore important than expanding services andover-stretching people and resources.

News & Current AffairsThe quality and impact of BBC Newsremained high. Councils approved theattempts to extend reach by varying style toappeal to different parts of the audience,from BBC One’s 6pm News to Radio One.Doubts were expressed around value formoney and the BBC’s ambitions when severalreporters were sent to cover major stories,for example Hurricane Katrina.

The coverage of some of the year’s big newsstories raised several questions.There wereserious concerns over privacy and ethics inthe coverage of the London bombings in July, but the trust-worthiness of the reportingand its accuracy were not in doubt.The reporting of Hurricane Katrina hadvolume and depth; not so the reporting ofthe devastating Mumbai floods which wascursory by comparison.

The 6.30pm regional news programmeswere noticeably improving in reach andimpact, and a number had achieved widergeographical coverage; Dorset was a rare exception.

Now in its third year, Inside Out was highlyvalued by councils, regularly featuring adiverse and informative range of stories withgood geographical spread.There was a bigappetite for more regional output of this kind, including more follow-ups and all-year-round transmission.

Much discussion had centred on the newweather graphics, particularly in the morerural and coastal regions where it was feltquality and authority had suffered through aloss of detail and unclear graphics’ style;improvements in presentation and contentwere noted during the year.

PoliticsThe Politics Show met its remit ‘to bringpolitics from Downing Street to your street’.Councils acknowledged that its aim to beaccessible and of appeal to a wide audiencecame at the expense of depth.

It was felt that the impact of the regional opt-out could be increased by extending itscurrent 20 minutes, and by more holding toaccount of the many quangos, their Chairsand Chief Executives, who control so large apart of the public purse.The debate overhow hard politicians should be pressed ininterview continued.

The launch of Politics England on BBC Parliamentwas valued in increasing the amount ofinformative and entertaining output from theregions on the networks but it was felt to betoo lightweight for a dedicated politics’ audience.With the right resourcing it could develop realweight and hold decision makers to account.

Political reporting in general continued to be robust, with the BBC’s much valuedindependence and balance in evidence.On General Election coverage, however, aminority felt the BBC had pandered to thegovernment’s agenda and failed to widen thedebate; and there had been little coverage of thesmaller parties.

FactualPicture of Britain and Coast were applauded ashigh quality, uniquely BBC series.The regionalPicture of Britain programmes had not resonatedin the same way and there was confusion overthe brief which differed from the networkprogrammes; however in some regions, notablythe West, East Midlands and West Midlands, thepassion of the local presenters made a hugeimpact on viewers.

Reach for Coast was affected by the twice weeklytransmissions which councils felt had not beenflagged clearly enough in trails and TV listings.

A number of councils expresseddisappointment at the lack of networkcoverage from Portsmouth on 28 June to markTrafalgar Day 200, and at the subsequentexplanation of competing network demandsincluding coverage of Wimbledon.

Poor promotion reduced the impact ofprogrammes such as Voices, described as animportant and valuable project which only theBBC could tackle, People’s War, and Nation onFilm, which was absorbing and powerful.Councils were pleased to learn that similar BBCarchive material was to be made available in thenew Creative Archive. Seven Man-made Wonderswas valued as a further regional strand.

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Review of Performance

SummaryThe English National Forum, representing the50 advisory councils in England, noted theController’s report of performance againstthe year’s objectives and the Statement ofProgramme Policy at their March 2006meeting.They were pleased to see that alltargets had been achieved and that the 25 per cent independent production quota had been exceeded, reaching 28 per centacross 2006.

In the comparison of performance against last year’s objectives, the following pointswere made:

• Greater impact for regional television andBBC Local Radio through increase inamount of local and specialist programming;further progress hampered by conflictingfunding priorities in wider BBC.

• Impact of Local Television pilot in the WestMidlands, particularly among smallcommunity groups.

• Proposed changes to accountabilitystructure aimed at improving contact withaudience groups including the hard-to-reach.

• Political and current affairs’ programmeslaunched to positive reception in twounder-served regions (East Midlands andSouth East).

• Funding choices in English Regions limitfurther expansion in newest region ofYorkshire & Lincolnshire.

More generally, the English National Forumwelcomed new, more local services across allplatforms, on radio, television and online, andcongratulated the BBC on maintaining thehigh quality of output despite efficiencysavings and job uncertainties.

They identified a big appetite for moreregional programming and services includingbuses but felt that there was generally poorpromotion of regional factual output, both ontelevision and radio.

Objective OneMake services attractive to audiences:

• Early evening regional news -increase reach up to 24 per cent.

• BBC Local Radio - reach of at least20 per cent.

• Website growth - to exceed that ofbbc.co.uk

• Appreciation Index for local opt-outprogrammes to match or exceed thenetwork average for their genre.

Objective TwoDeliver impact both in English Regions’own programming and through pan-BBC initiatives.

Objective ThreeImplement the Value for MoneyReview to reduce overheads andincrease production efficiency.

Objective FourPilot a Local Television service in the West Midlands.

Objective FiveReshape external relationships.

Objective SixLaunch two new Politics Shows,in the East Midlands and South East regions.

Objective SevenContinue to implement the diversity strategy.

1: Babita Sharma and co-presenter Joel Mapp in BBC Jersey’s new studio.

2: BBC Southern Counties Radio Presenter John Lees has hisoversized image on the side of the buses of Brighton and Hove, as part of a campaign on local characters who take the bus to work.

3:Tabetha Painten is a community content producer onShropshire Local TV.

4: Eamonn O’Neil is co-presenter of BBC Radio Manchester’s The Two Fatlads.

ABOVE: BBC Radio Berkshire’s Andrew Peach chats to a different kind of royalty among the crowds gathered for the Royal Wedding at Windsor in April, 2005.

Last year’s objectives for BBC English Regions

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ABOVE: One of the participants in the Luton Carnival in May 2006 displays her costume.The event was covered by BBC Three Counties Radio.

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Buses & Open CentresThose councils in areas with buses and opencentres noted their impact on local communitiesand saw them as a key part of the BBC’s publicservice offering. Other councils pressed fortheir regions to be equally supplied.

Local Television PilotThe West Midlands RAC reviewed the pilot,currently underway in the five counties of theWest Midlands, for the first time in March2006. Members valued the community aspectmore highly than news which they felt wasgenerally better covered on BBC Local Radio,both through speed of response and depth.Overall, the council believed this unique servicelooked likely to represent good use of thelicence fee.

Social ActionChildren in Need:There was no arguing withthe impact of the campaign and programme asa money-raiser but despite improvements thisyear, the content compared poorly with ComicRelief. Councils would like to have seen agreater focus on where the money went, andmore regional content.

Comic Relief:This was the best year yet. Impactcould be improved for younger viewers withan earlier start, perhaps within children’sprogrammes; and it was felt that a greaterdiversity among participants would have drivenup reach. Its appeal was to the young ratherthan older viewers.

OutreachOver 80 events including open days, outsidebroadcasts and community events wereattended by council members who soughtfeedback from local people, often based onquestionnaires around consumption of BBC services.

Several councils have expressed their interestin developing this activity in a more structuredway as the plans around the new Trust’saccountability strategy develop.

Rural IssuesA number of councils had shared concerns onbehalf of rural licence payers.

These included digital distribution, particularlyin Cumbria, scheduled as the first region(within the Borders designation) for analogueswitchoff, and Cornwall and Devon, scheduledas the second; infrequent portrayal on nationaland regional television; and low understandingby largely urban-based television reporters ofthe significant contribution to the economy bycountry-dwellers and industries, most notablythe food industry.

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Review of Performance

Drama & EntertainmentNorth East & Cumbria RAC welcomed thereturn of 55 Degrees North, set in part oftheir region, and noted the positive impact ofthe region’s portrayal on network television.This was one of the few examples during theyear of regional portrayal. All councils hadpraise for Dr Who, which had become a rareopportunity to view with all the family.

SportFootball still dominated all BBC coverageparticularly on television, at the expense ofother sport including most notably cricketand women’s. Female presenters were still in short supply, especially in local and regional services. Councils considered thatthis was the time for the BBC to take thelead and vary its offering to achieve greaterimpact and value for the fans of all sports.The loss of major sports rights was disappointingbut councils acknowledged the value formoney priority.

Councils recognised the unique nature of theBBC Local Radio sports service: it was a fineexample of public service broadcasting,providing match commentaries on local teamsand conveying the passion of its presenterseven to the non-sports fan.

BBC Local RadioLocal Advisory Councils described the impactof the service on its core audience as high in the face of fierce competition fromindependent radio.

Schedules were delivering a good mix ofnational and local news, information andentertainment. Quality and impact hadimproved through the provision of more localoutput including split programmes, opt-outsand minority interest programming.

Reach and impact were significantly extendedat times of local emergencies, for example the Buncefield oil depot fire; however there was some dissatisfaction at thecontinuation of shared evening programmeswhich reduced impact through a loss of localness.

Maintaining that ‘local’ flavour was felt to bekey to the identity of BBC Local Radio.

The many specialist programmes for different parts of the community, includingminority languages, sexual orientation, ethnicgroups, and specialist music tastes, werepraised, and the launch of a new radio stationfor Coventry and Warwickshire, previouslyserved by BBC WM, was welcomed.

Reach was of concern to 12 Local AdvisoryCouncils whose stations remained unavailableeither on digital multiplexes or even on FM,as in Somerset; a further five stations sufferedfrom patchy FM coverage. Reach also sufferedthrough analogue and digital receptiondifficulties in all parts of Essex, around London(for example Berkshire), and parts of theChannel Islands, Cornwall, Devon and Cumbria.

bbc.co.ukThe Where I Live network of 44 sites grew inreach during the year, appealing to largersections of the audience in addition to the 16 to 35 year olds at whom they wereoriginally targeted; more could be done forolder people and minority ethnic groups.

Interactive Services & Public Engagement

1: Ray Stubbs (left) presents Steven Gerrard with Footballer ofthe Year award at the BBC North West Sports Awards 2005.

2: Geraldine McCullagh manages the Big Screen inChamberlain Square, Birmingham.The screen is live 24 hours a day, seven days a week, showing content fromthe BBC, as well as short films, interactive games andcoverage of big national events.

3: Sally Taylor of BBC South Today reports live from the top of Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower, which opened inOctober, 2005.

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ABOVE: BBC Radio Jersey supported Remembrance Day atthe Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal HQ at Portelet Hotel.

1: Journalists Lesley Young and Paul Scoins of BBC Three Counties Radio at Luton Airport.

2:Visitors to BBC Leicester Open Centre learnabout digital cameras.

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This year’s Statement of Programme Policy for BBC English Regions sets out howmanagement is planning to meet audienceneeds during the year, based on the BBC’s six Public Purposes. It will form the basis of management reporting at regular intervals over the year to ensure that thecommitments are being met. A summary is given below.

The full document can be accessed atwww.bbc.co.uk/info/statements2006

1. Reflecting the UK’s nations,regions and communitiesThis year we will:

• Continue to develop our local TV pilot,launched in December 2005, testing outformats, content and technology and aimingto provide up to 50 local services on fullroll-out, subject to approval.

• Continue to develop our proposals for four more local radio stations based in Somerset, Dorset, Cheshire and Bradford, and work on gaining approval and securing property and technologyready for the launch of Somerset and Dorset.

Measurable commitments

• At least 230,000 hours of local radio output.

• Less than 2.5% of this will be repeats.

• At least 3,500 hours of regional TV news.

• At least 250 original hours of local andregional television non-news programming,including current affairs.

• The speech content of BBC Local Radiowill average at least 60% in core hours,and 100% at the breakfast peak.

2. Sustaining citizenship andcivil society Specifically this year we will:

• Strengthen our links with the CommunityMedia Association – primarily through a training partnership.

• Further roll out our Junior Footballweb initiative, which offers support forchildren’s sport and promotes IT skills in families.

• Support BBC Sport’s Your Gameinitiative, which aims to promote sport in disadvantaged and marginalised communities.

3. Stimulating creativity andcultural excellence

This year we will:

• Extend our Roots partnership with the Arts Council for a further year.

• Further develop audio and videostorytelling projects from our listeners and viewers.

• Run sports awards events across England celebrating the best of local and community talent.

4. Building digital BritainThis year we will:

• Use our Local TV pilot as a portal to draw in audiences to the BBC’s wider digital offering.

• Continue to use our buses and opencentres to demystify new technology and provide a supportive environment for those starting to cross the digital divide.

5. Promoting education and learningThis year we will:

• Provide relevant and engaging local content for pan-BBC projects that foster learning such as Breathing Placesand RaW.

• Offer high-quality work experience,with a particular focus on developing an interest in the media amongst ethnicminority communities.

• Add two new buses, in Surrey/Sussex and Somerset.

6. Bringing the world to theUK and the UK to the world

Specifically this year we will:

• Develop the links that local radio built up with BBC World Service over 2005’s Africa season.

Key priorities for 2006/2007• To successfully conclude our pilot of

Local TV in the West Midlands and begin to assess the way forward for the potential roll out of the service to other areas.

• To work towards launching new local radio stations in Dorset and Somerset.

Statutory commitmentsBBC English Regions has no statutorycommitments but works with BBC television and radio networks and interactive services to provide content for audiences in England and throughout the UK.

Commitments to Audiences2006-2007

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1:Young reporters practise their interviewing skills as part of Blast,the BBC’s Young Reporter Scheme.

2: Local musicians celebrate Diwali as part of BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire’sfirst World Music Festival.

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Overview from the Controller

For many people that area is often containedin no more than a fourteen mile radius. Lifeis local and the BBC is well placed to be themost trusted and creative local broadcasterin every corner of this country at the end ofthe next decade - even in a world of almostlimitless choice.

Just look at how we have ended this year.The previous year's unprecedented cleansweep, with every BBC regional eveningnews programme attracting more viewersthan its ITV competitor, has been maintainedfor a further 12 months.The 6.30pm newsprogrammes remain a cornerstone of theBBC One schedule, often attracting thehighest audiences on the channel (afterEastEnders) and relishing their combinedposition as the most watched national orregional news programme in the country -on the BBC or commercial television.

Our weekly television services - particularlyInside Out and The Politics Show - have gonefrom strength to strength with new editionsbeing launched in the South East and EastMidlands regions.

Our local radio audience figures have remainedrock steady, attracting one in five of thepopulation each week in spite of a huge andcontinuing increase in the number of ILR(Independent Local Radio) stations.Moreover, in spite of many more attractionsfor people's time, the average 11.5 weeklyhours per listener have also stayed the same.

And our local online sites ended the yearbeing used by more than ten millionindividuals in a month, attracting aphenomenal 112 million page impressions.

It's an impressive story of real achievement that has been complementedby real innovation.

More than a third of a million people hadface to face contact with the BBC by visitingour buses or open centres and most recently,50,000 people turned up for our familyhistory days when BBC Local Radio joinedforces with the BBC Two series Who Do YouThink You Are? Initiatives like this areincreasingly using BBC English Regions to giveadded depth to big pan-BBC projects.Whenwe do this, we strengthen the BBC'srelationship with licence fee payers who arestimulated to get up off the sofa and dosomething which really enriches their lives.

We are also using new technology to gathera richer variety of voices in our programmes.This ranges from an exciting pilot scheme atBBC Radio Lincolnshire in which every singlemember of staff and many members of thepublic can capture high quality audio andsend it back to the station over the mobilephone network, to our new Local TV pilot inthe West Midlands.This was launched ontime and on budget to assess the level ofinterest in an on-demand television news andinformation service which is as local as localradio.With the pilot ending in August 2006,the launch team has risen to the challenge ofusing completely new technology and newways of working to deliver a brand new typeof service. Results at the time of writing areencouraging and we will take forward a caseto roll the service out across the UK.

If approved, I am convinced that it will helpto build a new plural local television industryin every part of this country.

This is just one of many ideas we have toensure we are as relevant and successful inten years’ time as we are today. It will takehuge energy, commitment and considerableresources but we owe it to licence feepayers to avoid standing still whilst deliveringvalue for money.

It has also been a year of tough managementchallenges.The reduction of our workforceby nearly ten per cent has caused a lot ofdisquiet amongst our dedicated staff.

I remain confident that we can deliver thesesavings with sensitivity and minimum pain.And I am also confident that they areabsolutely necessary if we are to find thefunding to deliver the new services which will be so essential to our future.

As our services converge onto mobiledevices which can receive video, audio andtext or as television and radio merge withcomputers, we have a real advantage in ourlong history of providing television, radio andonline.

We have the enormous advantage ofproviding these services universally across thecountry to rural and urban areas alike. Andwe have the real advantage of contributing toa BBC brand which is still trusted around theworld and uniquely delivers global, nationaland local services.

But all these advantages must continue to beearned in the high approval and high take-upof our audiences.That should never be takenfor granted. And as anyone reading the detailof this annual review will realise, we are along way from doing that.

Andy Griffee -Controller BBC English Regions

What will the BBC's local services look like in ten years time? It's almost impossible to answer this question given theextraordinary pace of technological development in thebroadcasting industry. Our audiences will receive ourprogrammes and services in completely new ways on deviceswhich are still undreamt of.They will demand them at timeswhich are convenient to them.They will want them in audio,video, text….or all three together. But they will want them.If there is one thing of which I am certain, the demand forinformation about the area in which we live, work and play will become stronger than ever.

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Compliance and Complaints

Compliance and Complaints• BBC English Regions’ new compliance and

complaints procedure appears to beworking well. At the start of the year,complaints handled within the regions andlogged by BBC Information were morethan 90 per cent inside the ten-dayturnaround target and in step with theBBC-wide figure.

• In the 12 months to April 2006, theEditorial Complaints Unit investigated 20complaints about BBC English Regions,most commonly concerning harm to anindividual or organisation, undue on-airpromotion and bias.Two, involving BBCRadio WM and Spotlight, were upheld andthree, involving London News, BBC RadioCornwall and BBC Radio Stoke, werepartly upheld.The remaining 14 were notupheld and for one there was no finding.

• Complaints upheld or partly upheld byOfcom involving BBC English Regions outputrose and two required on-air adjudicationsto be broadcast.The regulator investigated23 complaints. None of the 18 complaintsabout standards was upheld. Of fivefairness/privacy complaints, involving SouthEast Today and Inside Out West Midlands, twoof unfair treatment were partly upheld andone of privacy against BBC Three CountiesRadio was pending at the time of writing.

• The BBC successfully defended a libelaction arising from a Points West report in May 2004. It was brought by MarionHenry, a senior NHS manager, whom aformer employee at Western GeneralHospital had accused of being involved inthe manipulation of hospital waiting lists to meet NHS targets. In summary, thejudge found Henry was aware of waitinglist manipulation, permitted it to take place and was involved in a cover up.

The BBC West health correspondent,Matthew Hill was described as havingpursued the story with vigour, integrity and professionalism.

Freedom of Information• The BBC, along with all public bodies

in the UK, is subject to the Freedom ofInformation Act 2000 but only ‘in respect of information held for purposes otherthan those of journalism, art or literature’.This derogation means that only certainnon-programming information held by theBBC is covered by the Act but thepresumption is that as much information as possible will be published in the interestsof transparency and openness.

• Under the Act, the BBC has to maintain a Publication Scheme which makesinformation readily available. It is alsoobliged to respond to anyone wantingaccess to other information within 20 days.

• BBC English Regions received a total of 16 Freedom of Information requestsduring the year plus one resolved appeal to the Information Commissioner.Subjects included appointment to theadvisory councils, spend on public art, localradio presenter changes, advisory councilminutes, and the costs of the move fromPebble Mill to the Mailbox in Birmingham.

• A phased programme of publication of full advisory council minutes was agreedby the Board of Governors in mid 2005,with the first set of English National Forumminutes being published in January 2006followed by Regional and Local AdvisoryCouncil minutes.

1: Presenter Annie Othen welcomed guests to the official opening of BBC Coventry & Warwickshire’sOpen Centre in May 2005.

2: ‘TV Just Got More Local’ – the logo for Local Television.

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The White Paper and Charter Review• The proposals for the new BBC Trust

as set out in the government White Paper and draft Charter &Agreement published in March 2006included the creation of Service Licencesfor each of the BBC’s distinct services.

• The Service Licences will provide a clear,published basis for performance reviewby the BBC Trust.

• While the Board of Governors cannotdetermine how the Trust will operate,some preparatory work is being carried out by the Governors during thecurrent Charter period so that the Trust is able to provide robust governanceof the BBC from the outset of the new Charter.

Out of London PlansIn Building Public Value the BBC publiclycommitted itself to meeting three targetsduring the next Charter period:

• increasing its total spending in the Nations & Regions by around 35 per centto more than £1billion;

• locating half of all the BBC’s public servicestaff outside London; and

• moving a fifth of all commissioning decisions(by value) outside London.

The BBC’s Out of London strategy is driven by a desire to spend the licence fee more equitably and effectively across the UK, reflect more accurately the diversity of our audiences, and open doors to new talent.

There are several further key elements, including:

• increasing network production from the Nations from 11 per cent to 17 per cent, and creating a new role of ControllerNetwork Production to spearhead this growth;

• increasing the proportion of networktelevision drama made outside Londonfrom 30 to 50 per cent; and

• putting commissioning executives for keygenres into centres such as Bristol(Documentaries), Birmingham (Daytime),Manchester (Comedy) and Glasgow(Entertainment).

• the proposal to move key departments,channels and networks from London toGreater Manchester, as a major plank of the BBC’s vision for the future includingBBC Children’s (CBBC and CBeebies);BBC Children’s Learning, including BBC Jam; BBC Children’s Radio; BBC Sport;BBC Radio Five Live and BBC Five LiveSports Extra; and BBC New Media andTechnology including Research &Development.

A recommendation for a preferred site inManchester is to be put to the BBC'sExecutive and Board of Governors insummer 2006 with the final decision on themove resting with the Board of Governorswho fully support the strategy and have givethe green light to the development stage ofthe project – while stressing that they willtake into account affordability and value formoney for licence fee payers in making thefinal decision on the move.

BBC Coventry &Warwickshire• The first brand new BBC Local Radio

station for a decade, BBC Coventry &Warwickshire, became a full stand-aloneradio service in September 2005. From the vibrant new premises in Coventry city centre, over 110 hours of localprogramming are broadcast every week.

• The Open Centre has welcomed over30,000 visitors since May 2005 and offers a range of creative, multi-media tastercourses. A number of key partnershipshave been made with local trainingproviders including Creative Partnershipsand Arts Council England.

• A network of four radio correspondents isbased in libraries across Warwickshiregathering content from communitiesaround their patches and demonstratingthe more local and public face of the BBC.

• Performance of the associated Where I Live website has grown and this year weekly page impressions have topped 200,000.

• The station is also part of the LocalTelevision pilot which has generated anumber of key partnerships with variouscommunities in terms of generating content.

Isle of Man• We are developing a better service for

the Isle of Man which has traditionally feltunderserved by the BBC. Elements includea new partnership with Manx Radio - theisland's key public service broadcaster - and the appointment, later this year, of two staff based on the island and workingto BBC outlets.

What’s new in England?

LEFT:The BBC’s Director-GeneralMark Thompson opens the new BBC Oxford centre.

TV Just Got More Local

People• It has been a challenging year for staff in

BBC English Regions, with the Division facingover 250 job closures as part of the BBC'sValue for Money programme.The aim hasbeen to minimise the impact on front linestaff and to avoid compulsory redundancies,and work is continuing with the tradeunions to implement the plans.This hasbeen a difficult time which has requiredconsiderable flexibility and support from allBBC English Regions’ staff including themanagement teams around the country.

• However, the year has also broughtconsiderable opportunities for all ourteams. The Local Television pilot in theWest Midlands led to the creation of morethan 40 new jobs for the life of the ninemonth project and this has given manypeople a real opportunity to develop theirskills and get involved in a highly creativeand exciting project.

Diversity•Throughout this period, the drive to

ensure that our workforce reflects theaudience it serves continued.There hasbeen good progress in increasing thenumber of staff from minority ethnicgroups as well as the disabled. Key to this is the implementation of our RecruitmentOutreach Strategy and, with our EnglishRegions Diversity Forum, we continue todrive through a variety of initiatives andprojects as well community employmentprojects, for example PATH Yorkshire, toensure greater staff diversity.

Valuing Our Staff• We continue to focus on the development

of our teams and, in particular, on ourstandards of journalism. Using the BBC'snew Journalism College, hundreds of ourstaff have received updated training in legal and editorial issues. Using the SON&RCentre, staff continue to attend eventswhere they share best practice withcolleagues across the business.We are also ensuring that our managers receivemanagement training through the BBC'sLeadership Programme.

SON&R - Sharing Opportunitiesacross Nations & Regions• The SON&R Centres in Bristol and

Newcastle are designed to inspire andstimulate journalists from across the BBC’sNations & Regions.They provide creativeenvironments for groups of people who dothe same job but might not have met, andwho can come together to share anddiscuss new ideas to enhance television,radio and online services for viewers and listeners.

• During the year 2,422 staff passed throughthe Bristol centre, 1,883 of them from BBC English Regions, and a total of 157events was organised.

• Highlights included Technology Days, whichbrought the first look at uPod televisiontransmission vehicles (uPod is a remotelycontrolled satellite uplink system) wireless cameras, and handheld radiobroadcasting devices.

• Fifty 16 to 21 year olds working for Blast,the BBC’s Young Reporter Scheme whichgives young people the chance toexperience what it’s like to work for theBBC, spent the weekend at SON&R.

• SON&R hosted the Lords’ BroadcastingCommittee gathering information for theGreen Paper, supported the cross-platformlaunch of Springwatch and hosted the roll-out to dozens of managers and users ofthe content management system forhandling all of the content on the Where I Live websites.

•The centre ran several targeted days, onreporting a pandemic, secret filming, usingthe Freedom of Information Act, and an in-depth analysis of how we coped with the bigstories of last summer, including the LondonBombs and the Buncefield oil depot fire. Italso ran an event for the entire postgraduatedepartment of Cardiff University on The Changing Face of BBC Journalism.

• Support was also given for the newpartnership with Manx Radio by arrangingtraining on the Isle of Man and invitationsto journalists from the station to the Bristol Centre.

•The SON&R Centre in Newcastle ran six,three-week Video Journalism courses,training 117 BBC journalists, and last July itheld a European VJ Conference whichincluded delegates from the BBC, Belgium,Germany,The Netherlands and Sweden toshare best practice.

•Thirty-five video journalists were trained forthe launch of the Local TV pilot in theWest Midlands.

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People

• Audiences around the country have showntheir appreciation for the BBC's continuingefforts to provide high quality, locallyrelevant news, which tell the stories thatcapture their concerns, focus on the issueswhich matter to them, and on occasion,inspire them to action. Regions have workedhard to deepen the relationship with theaudience during 2005 - in particular throughstrong and original journalism.

• It has been a good year for the earlyevening regional news programmes.Reach stands at 29 per cent, down 1.2 percent year on year (BARB February 2006)and remains above ITV reach in everyregion. All BBC regions are now ahead ofITV for share (except for the North East,where the BBC and ITV are level). Overall,BBC English Regions’ share is 28 per centwith ITV at 20 per cent.

• The Politics Show regional opt outsections have had an average share of 13.4 per cent in the political year so far(BARB February 2006) and an averageaudience of just under 900,000.This isstable on last year's figures but appetite for regional politics appears to have fallen in some of the northern regionswhich were previously among thestrongest-performing.

• Inside Out has performed strongly,building on last year's figures. Its mostrecent series average is 16.6 per cent withoverall audiences of over three million,due in part to better performances in the North.

• Audience appreciation in England has been encouraging.The BBC English Regions series Hands on Nature was thesecond most appreciated programme on

BBC Two in the first week of February.Our reputation with the BBC networks has developed, with Seven Man MadeWonders running as 12 regional opts,going out on BBC Two. Our work on pan-BBC projects has added significantvalue.The family history days set up byBBC Local Radio stations to supportWho Do You Think You Are? saw nearly50,000 people attending.

•The independent production quota for2006 is forecast to be 28 per cent.

• Highlights in original journalism andprogramming for the last 12 monthsinclude:

- Inside Out North East which ran a full half-hour in October on the financial stateof Gateshead's Baltic.The programme wasnominated for a Ruby Award.

- An Inside Out South West exclusive on speed cameras revealed potential errors in the speed reading mechanism in one of the most common mobile speedcameras used by police forces throughoutthe UK.The film was re-versioned forLondon, the South and the West,attracting a joint audience of more than 1.3 million and significant press andbroadcast coverage.

- Inside Out South transmitted a special half-hour on degree standards in October.The story was picked up by the Todayprogramme and The Sunday Times andachieved the highest audience of the serieswith just over half a million viewers.

- The North East Region broadcast a specialPolitics Show about quangos, supplementedby information requested under the

Freedom of Information Act. It establishedthat while all major parties want to seequangos cut or made more accountable,none agrees on which should disappear.

- The Media Guardian acknowledged BBC East Midlands Today’s adept use of the Freedom of Information Act inresearching its exclusive about knives in schools.

- A pilot for a new ‘scoops and hunches’unit in the East Region, designed to produce more original journalism, focusedon the extraordinary suicide rate amongstable lads in Newmarket.

- Through the work of Midlands Today’sHome Affairs Correspondent Peter Wilson,the one Guantanamo Bay relative preparedto talk about the release of the detaineeswas persuaded to visit BBC Birmingham towatch live footage of the plane landing andprovide commentary for regional andnetwork outlets.

- BBC North West Region ran a powerfulexclusive with the mother of AnthonyWalker in which she said that when she first saw his killers she wanted tomother them.

1: Blast reporters Dionne and Claire atthe SON&R Centre in Bristol.

2: Long-time radio presenters TonyWadsworth and Julie Meyer areregulars on BBC Radio Leicester.

3: Jodie Fielder from BBC Radio Kentwas one of the English Regionsreporters at the CommonwealthGames in Melbourne in March.

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21: Brady Haran is a video journalist

for BBC Birmingham's new LocalTV pilot. For more information see pages 16 - 17.

2: Radio Stoke’s Janine Machin andRadio Leeds’ Eno Eruotor celebratethe BBC Local Radio PresenterTeam’s victory on the BBCprogramme Test the Nation.The special edition quiz linked into the BBC’s new adult literacycampaign RaW.

3: Look North presenter Carol Maliafound herself upstaged whenlightning broke over Newcastle city centre in September, 2005.

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Television

DEFINITIONS:

- WEEKLY REACH:The number in thousands or as a percentage of the UK/area adult population wholisten to a radio service for at least five minutes, orview a TV service for at least three minutes in thecourse of an average week.

- SHARE:The percentage of total listening/ viewingtime accounted for by a service in the UK/area in an average week.

The awards ceremony was presented byNick Ross with special guest BBC Director-General Mark Thompson who commendedthe wealth of excellent talent across newsand current affairs, both in front of andbehind the camera.

BBC South East Today journalist Jon Huntpicked up two prestigious awards, beingnamed Best TV News Journalist and winnerof the Best News Film category.The judgescommended his ‘commitment to originaljournalism and an ability to make evendifficult subjects into compelling television’.

BBC London News won two categories: BestBroadcast of Diversity Issues and BestEvening News Programmes, for its ‘huge skill,flair and truly sensitive storytelling in theaftermath of the 7/7 bombing in London’ andits ‘excellent broadcast film-making andjournalism, taking on difficult film ideas’.

The other Ruby Award winners were:

Outstanding Camera Work:Johnny Rutherford, Spotlight South WestBest Exclusive Story:Marco Van Belle, Look North (Yorkshire)Best Political Programme:The Politics Show, South WestBest Current Affairs Film:Jonathan Swift, Inside Out SouthBest Presentation Team:Carol Malia and Jeff Brown, Look North(North East & Cumbria)Best Audience Generated Content:Brady Haran, Community Correspondents East Midlands TodayOutstanding Craft Skills in Post Production:Andrew Davidson, BBC Northern Ireland Best Current Affairs Programme:Spotlight, BBC Northern IrelandThe Lifetime Achievement Award:Andrew Colman, BBC Northern Ireland’sHead of News and Current Affairs.

The Ruby Television Awards 2005

‘...celebrating the best in news and journalism...’

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The ceremony for the fourthannual Ruby Awards whichcelebrate the best in news and current affairs throughoutBBC Nations & Regions was held in the magnificentsurroundings of the Great Hallin Belfast City Hall in April and hosted by Pat Loughrey,BBC Director of Nations & Regions.

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6. Best Audience-Generated Content - WM Local TV,BBC West Midlands: Mark Thompson with Brady Haran.

7. Best Current Affairs Programme - Spotlight,BBC Northern Ireland: Andrew Davidson, Gwyneth Jones,Kevin Mead and Andrew Colman.

8. Outstanding Craft Skills in Post-Production -BBC Northern Ireland:Mark Thompson with Andrew Davidson.

9. Best News Film and Best TV News Journalist -BBC South East: Jon Hunt with Mark Thompson.

10.The Lifetime Achievement Award -BBC Northern Ireland: Presented to Andrew Colman.

11. Best Presentation Team - Look North, BBC North East &Cumbria: Mark Thompson with Carol Malia and Jeff Brown.

12. Best Broadcast of Diversity Issues - BBC London News:Mark Thompson with Penny Wrout.

13. Outstanding Camera Work - Spotlight, BBC South West:Mark Thompson with Johnny Rutherford.

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1. Best Evening News Programme - BBC London News:Mark Thompson with Riz Lateef and Cath Hearne.

2. Best Current Affairs Film - Inside Out, BBC South: MarkThompson with Jonathan Swift, Andrew Head and Neil Ansell.

3. Best Political Programme - The Politics Show, BBC South West:Mark Thompson with Chris Rogers and Martyn Oates.

4. Best Exclusive Story - Look North,BBC Yorkshire: Mark Thompson with Marco Van Belle.

A day in the life of Local Television

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Planning1. – 2. The editorial meeting at BBC Hereford & Worcester, where material is commissioned for the day by the Local Radio News Editor in a hook-up with the Launch Editor and Assistant Editorbased at the Hub in Birmingham.

09:10

Editing10. The editing process begins: getting to work on a filmed piece.11. Adding graphics to an edited story.12. Checking the sound levels.13. Material is sent down the line to the Hub in Birmingham.14. Video-journalists at work in BBC Hereford & Worcester newsroom.

13:32

Citizen Journalists15. – 16. Members of the community take part in presenter tryouts at BBC Birmingham.

15:00

The Hub at BBC Birmingham17. A multi-skilled team is based at the Hub in Birmingham, co-ordinating the content as it arrives from the six centres and providingsupport to their colleagues in the local radio station newsrooms.Here, a story is checked as it comes in. 18. Reading through the scriptto check it meets the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines. 19. Collating theedited stories and ordering them into a bulletin.The final edit ischecked before transmission on satellite and broadband.

16:22

The Regional Advisory Council 20. The West Midlands Regional Advisory Council, made up of local licence fee payers, is keeping a watchful eye on the progress of the pilot and giving feedback to the BBC’sBoard of Governors.

10:45‘TV Just Got More Local’ That’s the slogan of the Local Television pilotwhich was launched in the West Midlands inDecember 2005 for nine months in six areas ofthe West Midlands – Birmingham, the BlackCountry, Coventry & Warwickshire,Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Staffordshire,and Shropshire.The aim of the pilot is to serve individual cities and counties usingthe latest broadcasting technology to create different kinds of on-demand local television news, on both broadband and digitalsatellite TV. It includes a commitment to provide a quarter of thecontent from within the community – through local partnerships,material which the BBC has helped members of the community to present or film, and films submitted by viewers themselves.

Digital satellite viewers can access the service via the red button on BBCi. On broadband it is available on demand viawww.bbc.co.uk/localtv

Once the pilot scheme is completed an independent public valuetest will be conducted, including an assessment of its market impact in the West Midlands and detailed scrutiny by the BBC’sBoard of Governors. Subject to the outcome of this appraisal,the BBC hopes to introduce around 60 similar services across the UK as a key part of its Out of London strategy, first outlined in Building Public Value, the BBC’s manifesto for the next Charter period published in June 2004.

Out and About - Newsgathering3. Video-journalists Leonie Collier and Robert Thompson get out across the patch with the BBCHereford & Worcester community vehicle. 4. Birmingham-based video-journalist Nadine Towell interviewsparticipants on the HP Sauce rally in Aston prior to producing a package that will be ready for air.5. Covering the same story, Nadine demonstrates her multi-skilling talents, taking audio for the local radiostation BBC WM and using a digital camera to snap images for the Birmingham Where I Live local website.

12:05

Local Partnerships and Community Contacts6. – 9. Each site has a dedicated community content journalist whose job it is to build partnerships in the community and find different ways to help people make material and send it in. Leonie Collier andRobert Thompson work with local schoolchildren, teaching them how to use the equipment and maketheir own content.

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• News Interactive across England saw a67 per cent increase in page impressions to March. Average page impressions in the 12 months to March were 55.5 million, andhits peaked at 70.6 million page impressions.

• There were 1.4 million page impressions tothe Coast content on England's Where I Livesites during the series' airing in 2005.

• The live streaming of BBC Local Radio onthe Where I Live sites recorded a bumper865,000 requests in March, up 36 per centyear-on-year.

• Without the aid of any heavy publicitycampaigns, users are finding BBC EnglishRegions’ New Media content attractive –especially when major news stories break.Increasingly, users don’t simply wantpassively to absorb the BBC’s content butrelish the opportunity to contribute to theeditorial picture with their own views,comments, pictures and videos.

• The London bombings of 7 July last yearsaw record numbers of people using theBBC London website – contributing tomessage boards, offering testimonials and,of course, sending in their pictures as theday’s dramatic events unfolded. Usercontributions were often very powerful inreflecting the mood of the city.

• When the fire raged at the Buncefielddepot, the team at BBC Three CountiesRadio rallied to offer a place where peoplecould exchange comments, testimonials andpost their photographs to build up a fullerpicture of the event.

• The coverage of the Birmingham Tornadoattracted 94,000 users in the week, withone of the most attractive sections beingthe user-generated picture galleries whereresidents and eyewitnesses could contributeto an audience account.

• Partnerships have been strong andsuccessful this year.Working with BBC Two’shighly acclaimed Coast series, the relevantWhere I Live sites developed their owncoastal walks which users could print andfollow.They proved popular with 1.4 millionpage impressions during the series.Thiscontent was then dramatised, using storiesconnected with the locality, and madeavailable via mobile phones in a pilotscheme in ten areas throughout the UK.

• Last year saw the introduction of a contentmanagement system to handle the Where ILive content.The first-stage syndication ofcontent was achieved this year whenentertainment features were syndicated todigital satellite as part of the Local TV pilotin the West Midlands.

•The year has seen a major overhaul of theeditorial thrust of the Where I Live sites –focusing the agenda that teams shouldfollow and ensuring the quality anddistinctiveness of our content.Thiscontinues the work started during ourresponse to the 2004 Graf report into the BBC’s New Media activity.

• Video Nation is also growing in popularityand now has about 30 production sites in England and Wales. In the past 12 months, films from local contributors have enhanced major BBC campaigns such as Voices, Coast and Africa Lives.Through projects such as the Magic ofWinter and Reason to Rhyme, Video Nationalso extends the opportunity to participateto children, young people and hard-to-reach communities.

• As well as featuring on local television aspart of the Local TV pilot in the WestMidlands, regional and network television,Video Nation shorts and Digital Stories –two BBC projects which give the audiencethe skills to make short films – are nowbroadcast every day on Your Stories.This is a BBCi service available under thered button on digital satellite.

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• In an era of burgeoning competition inanalogue and digital radio, BBC Local Radiosecured a weekly reach of 7.91 millionlisteners in the first quarter of 2006(compared with 7.88 million the previousyear), representing 19.8 per cent of thepopulation. Share of all radio listening was10.7 per cent (10.6 per cent in 2005).

• By March 2005 865,000 listeners werehearing BBC Local Radio streamed onbbc.co.uk – and were listening for an average of more than 40 minutes per hit.As well as streaming, 40 hours of weeklyoutput from each station is now availableonline for ‘listen again’.

• September 2005 saw the opening of BBC Coventry & Warwickshire, the BBC’snewest local radio station. Its base in brandnew premises in the centre of Coventryincludes an Open Centre where membersof the public take part in a wide range ofevents on and off-air. In April this year, theformer Greater Manchester Radio returnedto its original name of BBC Radio Manchester.

• BBC Radio Leicester, the oldest BBC LocalRadio station, moved to new studios sharedwith the BBC Asian Network in the centre ofLeicester and incorporating an Open Centrefor the public to participate in programme-making and learning opportunities.At the timeof writing, work is nearing completion on newstudios for BBC Radio Merseyside.

• BBC Local Radio was again recognised in the industry-wide Sony Awards, with BBCHereford & Worcester winning Gold for themental health series Hearing Voices and BBCRadio Oxford winning Silver for coverage ofDidcot Town in the FA Vase Final.

• Stations continued to be involved in a widerange of national and local partnerships,internal and external to the BBC. One ofthe highest profile was BBC Local Radio’slocal follow up of the Who Do You Think YouAre? genealogy series, with family historydays at each station.The events attractedsome 50,000 people.

•The five BBC Local Radio stations in the WestMidlands were central to the Local Televisionexperiment there – harnessing existingcontacts and newsgathering infrastructure tosupport the experimental output.

• BBC Local Radio excelled in its traditionalrole of providing information andcompanionship at times of civil emergency,during floods in North Yorkshire – whereBBC Radio York stayed on-air overnight –and during BBC Radio Kent’s coverage ofmajor snowfalls in the county. In both casesthere were hundreds of thousands of hits tothe stations’ sister online Where I Live sites.

• Coverage by BBC London 94.9 of the July7 bombings was considered to have beensensitive, measured and well attuned to theneeds of Londoners.The rolling outputcame the day after a big three-centreoutside broadcast to mark London’ssuccessful Olympic bid.

•Technological innovation was evident inproduction methods as well as indistribution. A pilot project by BBC RadioLincolnshire equipped all staff and 25members of the community with mobilephones which had been adapted to record,edit and transmit audio, still pictures andvideo.The project generated a range andquantity of material not previously enjoyedby the station and allowed its rapidtransmission from the remotest parts ofthe county.The technology is to be testedfurther across BBC Local Radio.

• Voices – a partnership with BBC Radio 4 –was a unique audit and celebration of therich diversity of language, dialect and accentacross the country.

• Stations continued modest experiments inextending their genre range: BBC RadioDevon, BBC Radio Berkshire and BBC RadioBristol, for instance, in drama. And a numberof stations began programmes showcasingthe music of unsigned local bands; thisactivity is being co-ordinated with the BBC-wide Creative Future work on music.

• BBC Local Radio continued to invest inimproving the quality of its religiousprogramming and the impact of this wasrecognised in awards and reviews.

• A programme for travellers, presented by a Romany gypsy, was launched by BBCThree Counties Radio.

• BBC Local Radio continued to pursueoriginal journalism, one example being an investigation by BBC Radio Suffolk intothe working conditions of stable staff inNewmarket.The output included a 30-minute radio documentary, as well as TV and online output.

• Acting as a catalyst in charitable appeals wasagain a key activity of many local stations.BBC Radio Lancashire listeners collected 17 tonnes of rice to send to Malawi afterthe failure of the harvest there.

• BBC Local Radio continued to use itsexpertise to reach out to a range ofcommunities. BBC WM was involved in aproject to pass on radio skills to prisoners,and Origins - a project at BBC ThreeCounties Radio - moved 12 pirate DJsfrom their illegal platform and gave them a legitimate outlet for their programming.At BBC Essex, a team of four from thestation who walked the 81mile Essex Waywere joined by 200 local people on the last leg of their journey.

BBC Local Radio

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1:The BBC Coventry & WarwickshireOpen Centre ran family animationworkshops with footage beingshown on BBC Coventry &Warwickshire Local TV.

11: 2Tone came home to Coventry & Warwickshire with the Neville

Staples’ band performing live in the Open Centre.

2: Senior citizens representing Better Government for Older People(BGOP) spent a day at the SON&R Centre.

3: BBC Radio Berkshire’s Tim Dellor interviews Reading FC’s IbrahimaSonko following their historic promotion to the Premiership in thespring of 2005.

4:The Reverend David Yabbacombe is one of the guest contributors using a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) to record local stories in Lincolnshire.

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New Media

It has been a year of record growth in the use of New Media content produced by the BBCEnglish Regions’ local teams across England. It also saw the launch of the 44th Where I Live websiteproviding news, Video Nation and other content for the Isle of Man. BBC English Regions New Mediasaw 37 per cent growth in unique users year-on-year to March 2006.The average number of unique usersin the 12 months to March were 9.9 million, with use peaking at 11.5 million in February.

Enduring popularity with audiences, deepening levels of engagement with local communities andtechnological innovation are the three headlines from BBC Local Radio for 2005-2006.

The Frank Gillard Awards

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1.THE BREAKFAST PROGRAMME1) BBC Radio Newcastle – Mike Parr Breakfast Show

2) BBC WM – The Adrian Goldberg Breakfast Show

3) BBC Three Counties Radio –

The Robert Perrone Breakfast Show

2. PROGRAMME PRESENTER1) BBC Radio Berkshire – Andrew Peach

2) BBC Radio Merseyside – Tony Snell

3) BBC Radio Leeds - Graham Liver and Nicola Rees

3. COVERAGE OF A NEWS STORY1) BBC Radio Solent – Lisa Hardisty & Julian Clegg,

Silent Calls

2) BBC Radio Nottingham – The Death of Brian Clough

3) BBC Southern Counties Radio – General Election

4. INTERACTIVE PROGRAMME1) BBC Radio Northampton – John Raitt & Ian Griffin,

The Weekender

2) BBC Three Counties Radio – The Robert

Perrone Breakfast Show

3) BBC Radio Oxford – Bill Heine Show

5. REPORTER1) BBC Radio Solent – Jo Palmer

2) BBC Radio Cleveland – Jonathan Swingler

3) BBC Radio Cumbria – Gordon Swindlehurst

6. SPORTS COVERAGE1) BBC Radio Derby – Colin Gibson &

Grahame Richards, Sportscene Special: Brian Clough

2) BBC Radio York – City Till I Die

3) BBC Radio Oxford – Didcot Town FA Vase Special

7. SOCIAL ACTION CAMPAIGN1) BBC Radio Berkshire – Marie Kemp &

Duncan McLarty, Oxford Road – The Story

2) BBC Radio Bristol - Babe’s Big Appeal

3) BBC GMR – BBC GMR’s “4 Life” Campaign

8. RADIO FEATURE1) BBC Radio Stoke – Sarah Harness & Joel Moors,

Making Waves

2) BBC Southern Counties Radio –

Diary of a Sex Change

3) BBC Radio Lincolnshire – Carla’s Story

9. OUTSIDE BROADCAST1) BBC Radio Merseyside – Liam Fogarty,

Halfway to Paradise

2) BBC Radio Cleveland – Tees Valley Day

3) BBC Radio Solent – Trafalgar 200:

The Son et Lumiere

10. RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING1) BBC Radio Nottingham – France Finn & Celia Bellett,

Sunday Breakfast and Lunchtime programmes

2) BBC Radio Derby – Compilation Sunday

Breakfast Show

3) BBC Radio Shropshire – BBC Radio

Shropshire Religion

11. RADIO PROMOTION1) BBC Radio Devon – Simon Furber & John Coates,

A Christmas Murder Mystery

2) BBC Radio Bristol – Bringing Home the Bacon

3) BBC Radio Gloucestershire – Dick Whittington

12. DIVERSITY1) BBC Radio Berkshire – Andrew Peach,

Dani Sinha & Marianne Bell

2) BBC Radio Lincolnshire

3) BBC Radio Merseyside

13 & 14. OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONTO BBC LOCAL RADIO (TWO AWARDS)Kenny Burton, BBC Radio Nottingham (LEFT) and

Nigel Kay, Head of Journalism Development

STATION OF THE YEAR1) BBC Radio Cumbria

2) BBC Three Counties Radio

3) BBC Radio Merseyside

This year’s awards celebrating thevery best of BBC Local Radio tookplace in September at Portsmouth’shistoric naval dockyard.The host waspresenter Jane Garvey who beganher BBC career at BBC RadioHereford & Worcester beforemoving on to become the first voiceon BBC Radio Five Live in March1994.The awards were presented by Michael Grade, the Chairman of the BBC.

BBC Radio Berkshire won Gold in theProgramme Presenter, Social Action andDiversity categories. A first-time winner, thestation received three of the coveted busts of BBC Local Radio founder FrankGillard. Persistence paid off for Andrew Peachwho took the Programme Presenter award,having previously gained a bronze in 2002.

BBC Radio Cumbria repeated its 2001triumph by winning the Station of the YearAward. Last year’s winner and the stationhost for this year’s awards BBC Radio Solentshowed its strength in journalism by takingthe honours in the Coverage of a NewsStory and Reporter categories.

BBC Radio Newcastle’s Mike Parr BreakfastShow scooped the keenly contested BreakfastProgramme award.

BBC Radio Devon won the Radio Promotionaward for an unprecedented three years in succession.

Two awards were made for OutstandingContribution to BBC Local Radio.They wentto Kenny Burton, the popular, long-servingBBC Radio Nottingham station engineerknown for his gadgetry and problem solving,and to Nigel Kay, Head of JournalismDevelopment for the Nations & RegionsDirectorate who retired from the BBC lastyear after a career embracing all aspects ofregional broadcast journalism.

Congratulating the winners, Michael Gradesaid: “In an increasingly global world peopleare cherishing that which is familiar, friendlyand local. On behalf of all licence fee payers,I’m delighted that a global BBC provides amuch-valued local presence throughoutEngland via BBC Local Radio.”

A total of 41 BBC Local Radio stations and services put forward 261 entries for the awards.

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TOP OF PAGE:The BBC Radio Cumbria team celebrate winningStation of the Year in this year’s Frank Gillard Awards.

ABOVE: Jane Garvey.RIGHT: Guest of honour, Lord Nelson lookalike Alex Naylor.

LEFT: Receptionists of theYear, Ros Carr (second left),and Marcus Heald (centre),representing the winningteam from BBC Hull andSusan Cole, BBC Essex,(second from right) withtypical local radio listenersDave and Sue.

BBC English Regions’ sportsteams from television and radio travelled the length and breadth of the UK - andsometimes further afield - toreflect the successes, failures,passions and stories of theirlocal sports teams and stars.

• BBC Local Radio stations continued tofollow their local football teams throughoutthe year, with regular commentary on morethan 60 football clubs. BBC London 94.9and BBC Radio Cleveland travelled all overEurope to deliver commentary on Arsenaland Middlesbrough as they reached majorEuropean finals, while at the other end ofthe scale, BBC Radio Oxford followed non-league Didcot Town to glory in the FA Vase.

• Every Premiership rugby union match wascovered by BBC Local Radio, whosecommentaries were broadcast not only onlocal radio and Where I Live sites but onclub websites for fans listening worldwide.This season BBC Radio Cornwall startedto commentate on every match played byits successful new side, the Cornish Pirates.

• Rugby League has a special place in the lifeof the north of England. The SuperLeagueShow, broadcast at Sunday lunchtimethroughout the season and with newproducers, was television’s only weeklyterrestrial programme on the sport.The popular Rugby League Raw focused onthe gritty world of the lower league play-offs, winning a north-west Royal TelevisionSociety award in December, while BBCLocal Radio broadcast commentary,magazine programmes and phone-ins on the sport.

• In a year dominated by England’s victoryover Australia in the Ashes, cricket was wellreflected by BBC English Regions. BBCLocal Radio had a reporter at every day ofthe series. At county level commentary wasdone on all major one-day matches onBBC Local Radio, and BBC London 94.9’sunique ball-by-ball coverage of every Surreyand Middlesex match on its Where I Livesite attracted thousands of supporters fromthe UK and around the world.

• International sporting events havededicated staff working for BBC regionaltelevision and local radio output.Teamsbased at Wimbledon and theCommonwealth Games in Melbourneprovided dozens of reports, stories andfeatures tailored to regional TV and localradio audiences, complementing the mainBBC Sport coverage. Meanwhile, BBCRadios Jersey and Guernsey joined forcesto go to the Island Games in Shetlands inJuly - the “Olympics” for small islandcountries - to bring news of their teams to listeners.

• Sports output continued to win topawards. BBC Radio York’s audio diary CityTill I Die, following the drama of York Cityfootball club and their battle to remainsolvent, won the sport category at the2005 Sony Awards, while Dan Walker ofNorth West Tonight claimed the RegionalSports Presenter honours at the RoyalTelevision Society Sports Awards.

• Top sports stars are key to BBC EnglishRegions’ sports output. Olympic goldmedallist Denise Lewis worked as a sportsreporter on Midlands Today and formerBritish sprint star Katharine Merryproduced a series of CommonwealthGames previews for both BBC RadioWiltshire and Points West.

• A record nine regions held their SportsAwards in December, events now firmlyestablished as a highlight of the sportingyear. Each region chose an Unsung Hero -people who dedicate their lives to sport intheir community for no reward.The overallwinner,Trevor Collins from the West Wightswimming club in Hampshire, was presentedwith his trophy live on the Sports Personalityof the Year programme on BBC One.

• Sports staff met regularly to swap goodpractice ideas and find new ways ofworking. A joint scheme funded by BBCSport and BBC English Regions allowedstaff from both divisions to work in otherareas for short periods to pass on theirskills and learn from others. Dan Pallett ofMidlands Today joined the BBC Sport GrandNational team and the BBC Radio Five LiveCheltenham team as a reporter.

• Produced by the network productioncentre in Birmingham, Coast proved one ofthe unexpected hits of the year for BBCTwo. BBC English Regions provided thefilms which digital viewers clicked onto viathe red button, taking them to an array ofcoastal walks across the country.These alsofeatured across the Where I Live sites, withmaps and detailed information.

• Natural History has been a developingnew genre, breaking the mould whenpolitics and current affairs has been theonly major audience offering at a regionallevel from the BBC for many years. Afterthe success of the partnership with theNatural History Unit in 2004 for BritishIsles: A Natural History, our teams produceda ten-part nature series for BBC Daytime,Hands-On Nature, which rapidly moved topeak-time BBC Two. A new 40-part seriesis in production.

• Another hit was Seven Natural Wonders,which began life as regional landmarkprogrammes and was snapped up by BBCTwo, proving to be one of the channel’smost popular factual series of 2005.

• People’s War also started life as a series of regional opt outs to mark the 60thanniversary of VE day, and moved to a network series for BBC Two.In partnership with BBC Learning,people recorded their memories of thewar on a special BBC website.

• Several regional independent productioncompanies were commissioned in themaking of this output and also producedlandmark programmes marking majorevents in the life of the regions.These havebecome tremendously popular and haveincluded a Trafalgar special for BBC Southand neighbouring regions; the making ofLive 8’s Eden Project concert for BBCSouth West and a Christmas special on a remarkable fair for BBC East, at Thursfordin Norfolk.

• This year saw the beginning of a new BBC broadcasting agreement with theRoyal Horticultural Society, which givesBBC Local Radio extensive access to thepassionate gardeners who flock to the mainRHS flower shows at Chelsea, HamptonCourt, and Tatton Park in GreaterManchester.The Chelsea Flower Show is often seen as the start of the summerseason, and our central team of journalistsin the BBC English Regions' SpecialFeatures Unit once again helped to get the very best from Chelsea and the othershows for audiences across the country.

• At Hampton Court 2005, BBC Local Radio supported the BBC's People's Warcampaign with a special exhibition andshow garden.The focus was on the greatBritish passion for growing your own andthe wartime legacy of 'digging for victory'.Several regional television programmes alsobroadcast live from the events.

Network PartnershipsSport

22 23

1: English Regions Sport reporter Grant Coleman provided liveupdates for the BBC Local Radio network from theCommonwealth Games in Melbourne.

2:Ten year old swimmer Eleanor Simmons brought home five goldmedals from the World Dwarf Championships in Paris and won theYoung Disabled Sports Award at the BBC Midlands Sports Awards.

3: BBC Essex hosted live coverage of the victory parade throughthe streets of Southend after their football club had achievedpromotion to the Championship.

1: Garden designer Trevor Toothdisplays his award winning showgarden on a Dig for Victory theme atthe Hampton Court Palace FlowerShow 2005, covered by BBC Local Radio.

2: Some of the eight thousand visitorsto the Springwatch event at theForest of Marston Vale, Bedford.

3: Luke and Robert show off theirbirdboxes at Marston Vale.1 2

3

12 3

• The BBC Open Centres and BBC Buses havefour key aims: connecting with communities;reaching new audiences; developing medialiteracy; and promoting the BBC.

• They operate in partnership with locallearning providers such as colleges,universities and community learningcentres, and bring the range of materialdeveloped by BBC Factual & Learning intothe heart of our learning offering, forexample RaW, the new literacy campaign.

• It has been a further year of growth for theOpen Centres and Buses, with 370,000visitors having face-to-face contact withcommunity staff.

• New Open Centres have opened inCoventry and Leicester, adding to those inBlackburn, Hull, Sheffield, Gloucester,Stoke and Liverpool.These have helped todrive visitor numbers up to 255,313.

• A new Open Centre, in Liverpool, opens inJuly 2006 as part of BBC Radio Merseyside’snew building. In Middlesbrough, a ‘CommunitySpace’ makes up part of the refurbishment ofBBC Radio Cleveland, enabling greater publicaccess to the BBC including the internet andnew BBC digital services.

• Visits to the ten-strong fleet of BBC Busescurrently total 112,559.They are based atRadios Newcastle, Cleveland, Cumbria,Sheffield, Humberside, Lancashire,Merseyside, Derby, Lincolnshire and BBCManchester. A replacement for the BBCBus in Cumbria, destroyed in the floods of January 2005, is now on the road.

• New BBC Buses for Southern Counties andSomerset are due in the autumn – a first forthe south and south-west of England.

• Broadcasting is at the heart of the BBC Busand Open Centres project and specialemphasis is placed on users developingtheir own content for radio, online andtelevision. Each week around 70 hours ofoutput is broadcast on stations taking partin the project. Programming from the BBCBuses and Open Centres has also featuredon BBC One, bbc.co.uk, Radio One, RadioFour and BBC 7.

• The success of the BBC Buses and OpenCentres has led the BBC to aspire toprovide a Bus or Open Centre in everyLocal Radio station throughout England.This was set out in Building Public Value, theBBC’s manifesto for the new Charterperiod. Plans are to be drawn up over thecoming 12 months to bring this vision tofruition within the next five years.

Social Action across England• As the nation commemorated the sixtieth

anniversary of the end of the SecondWorld War, our listeners and viewerscollected 45,000 stories in The People's War,from those who served at home andabroad - memories that made movingprogrammes for BBC Local Radio andregional television and which have nowbeen archived for future generations atbbc.co.uk/ww2

• BBC Local Radio distributed 25,000booklets in support of Esther Rantzen'sHow to Have A Good Death. Our listenersalso supported DoNation, the organdonation series, and the Big ChallengeWorkplace Awards which highlighted healthy eating in the office.

• During the BBC's Africa season five BBCLocal Radio stations linked up with theWorld Service and stations in Africa duringan edition of Africa Live. BBC RadioCornwall joined up with MCR in Maputo,Mozambique with both sets of listenersdiscussing the effects of tourism.

• For this year's Children in Need BBC LocalRadio and regional television hosted events atvenues like East Midlands Airport and LincolnCity Centre to highlight the good causeshelped by the charity and the thousands offundraisers.A huge concert at RAF BrizeNorton was hosted by BBC Radio Oxfordand featured performances from Girls Aloud,Jamie Cullum, Status Quo and Tony Christie.

• A team of BBC Local Radio presenterswon a special edition of Test The Nationhosted by Anne Robinson and PhilipSchofield on BBC One to support RaW,the BBC's adult learning initiative. Amongstthe teams beaten were ballroom dancers,grocers and surgeons... Meanwhile RaWcontinues throughout 2006.

• In Open Road, our listeners and viewershelped BBC Two reunite people who tookpart in the first colour films taken in the1920s by Claude Friese Green.Their storiesformed the basis of a subsequent TV series,mixing archive and memories.

•Through our partnership with CSV (CommunityService Volunteers), each of our BBC Local Radiostations played a major part in the charity's MakeA Difference Day and Year of the Volunteer.

• The year's Teaching Awards were hosted byregional television presenters, with ourVideo Nation journalists providing individualstories for the show's interactive service.

• And finally inspiring stories from regional televisionhave been re-broadcast on the CommunityChannel in a series called Charity Champions.

Connecting Communities

24

• At BBC Radio Lincolnshire staff were issuedwith handheld Personal Digital Assistants(PDAs), a tiny pocket computer with an in-built mobile phone, adapted with somesoftware for recording and editing audio andthen transferring the completed item back tobase using the phone connection or a WiFi‘Hot Spot’.The material is sent as acomputer file so it arrives in broadcast ratherthan telephone quality, ready for transmissionfrom the playout computer.As PDAs arerelatively cheap, fit in a pocket and are simpleto operate, the station has been able to lendthem to guest contributors, transforming theway people's stories are told on-air.

• Live reporting for television still demandsexpensive equipment, although it isbecoming more compact and easier tooperate. BBC English Regions has invested inwireless cameras for use with our satellitenewsgathering vehicles in each region.Theseuse digital radio links instead of a cable toconnect the camera to the vehicle, enablingquick and safe access for the cameraoperator and reporter and allowing them tomove around locations that would beimpossible to reach while tethered by acable. Using the same technology we aredeveloping the TV car, which transmits intoa receiver installed on a city-centre high-building roof, much like the radio cars wehave used for more than 20 years in BBCLocal Radio.

• BBC English Regions’ refurbishmentprogramme continues. During 2005, videoserver technology - which replaces tape forediting and transmission of TV news – wasadded in Manchester and Oxford, at thesame time replacing the very old TVfacilities in Manchester and developingthose in Oxford.The Cambridge TV facilitywas converted to widescreen, eliminatingthe change in picture shape some viewerssaw during Look East. BBC RadioCoventry & Warwickshire re-opened in anew purpose-built facility in Coventry andRadio Leicester - with the co-sited AsianNetwork - was relocated to a new studiocomplex in the city centre.

• Every week brings another new device oremerging technology with the potential totransform how broadcasters work andinteract with audiences. But assessing andimplementing new systems is time-consuming and budget limitations imposerestraints.The refurbishment programmewill continue for the next five years andbeyond. Meanwhile, to cut the risk of on-air failure of equipment that in some olderstations is becoming unreliable or obsolete,we have invested in some remedial workto replace critical parts of the oldest radiostations with computer-operated controlsand new phone-in systems.

• Technology is changing so quickly that ourtechnical support staff and managers face aconstant challenge to keep their knowledgeand skills up to date.With BBC EnglishRegions engineers spread across England,sharing knowledge and information andproviding access to specialist skills is acritical success factor and much has beenachieved this year by a team committed to keeping us on-air.

25

Technology

Over the year BBC English Regions has focused on emergingtechnology that can be used to send pre-recorded and livematerial back to the studio more quickly and from more placesthan ever before. Much of the work has been pioneering -experimenting with 3G telephones,WiFi,WiMax and wiredbroadband - and some world firsts in the broadcast industry wereachieved by BBC English Regions.We are working with suppliersand manufacturers in the telecommunications industry toovercome some of the inherent limitations.

TOP OF PAGE: Manager Stephen Butt (left) helps a visitor to the BBC Open Centre in Leicester.

1: BBC Radio Lincolnshire’s Drive Time presenter William Wright interviews Jamie Oliver using a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant).

2: PDA close up.

3: BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Open Centre officially openedon 31 May 2005.

1 23

• A panel of four external independentassessors this year reviewed some of themethods used by BBC English Regions toengage with the public and particularly theunder-served and harder-to-reach.Each panel member was invited toexperience one of four approaches to public engagement: the Roots project basedat BBC Radio Merseyside; the LocalTelevision pilot in the West Midlands; theinteractive elements in the Where I Live sites;and an outreach event undertaken by theRegional Advisory Council for Yorkshire & Lincolnshire.

• The assessors identified a number ofcommon themes across these four verydifferent approaches to public engagement.

• All four projects displayed aspects ofexemplary practice with high levels ofcommitment and enthusiasm on the part ofBBC staff to engage with licence fee payers.

• There was huge potential for the BBC todevelop its public engagement but alsoseveral obstacles including a lack of clarityand consistency of purpose and outcomes;an institutional inertia preventing culturalchange and openness; and little assessmentof projects which would benefit from anongoing iterative process.

• While the panel acknowledged that each ofthe four projects had developed separatelywith varying levels of support from differentparts of the BBC, they felt that all wouldbenefit from a sharing of best practice, mostimportantly around purpose and outcomes.

• Other points raised in the panel’sdiscussions were questions over thegenuineness of the BBC’s publicengagement and its identification as acultural issue for the BBC; the recognitionthat the image and accessibility of the BBCwas often counter-productive in achievingwider engagement; that effective publicengagement required a more varied rangeof practices; that an openness to changewas the hardest lesson of participationactivity; and that wider public representationwas needed for all accountability practices.

Political and CommunityEngagement

• As part of our ongoing drive to engagewith our audiences, BBC local and regionalstaff have been gathering opinions duringthe Charter Review period.

• The local broadcasting ecology in England ischanging rapidly.A new tier of communityradio has been established and the numberof stations is fast increasing; the growth ofbroadband has revolutionised the accessibilityand supply of local information and localtelevision is moving to centre stage.

• In parallel with this, increasing numbers ofcommunity media organisations areengaging with the BBC on a variety oflevels.Working with CMA members hasalready helped the BBC to move closer toits diversity targets on and off-air, improveits connectivity at a local level withaudiences and boost its creative talent base.

The BBC Listens

26

• In the East Midlands BBC RadioNottingham has forged a partnership with Faza FM to provide Faza FM staff with paid placements to BBC Local Radiostations in Nottingham, Derby and Leicesterwhile BBC staff have spent time at Faza FM.

• In Northampton, Inspiration FM and BBC Radio Northampton are sharingexpertise to produce a weekly programme.The programme fee is paid to Inspiration FMwhich is credited on-air, giving them a year-round on-air presence between RSL(Restricted Service Licence) broadcasts.

• In the West Midlands,WolverhamptonCommunity Radio and BBC Radio WMhave collaborated for years to broadcast a community programme on BBC RadioWM which is produced by WCR and edited by the local BBC producer in Wolverhampton.

• There are also web links to communitybroadcast sites across England; forexample, Drystone Radio in the YorkshireDales has a feature page and links on theBBC Where I Live site for North Yorkshire,while Inspiration FM is credited on the BBC Radio Northampton website for their shared weekly programme.

• In Leicester,Takeover Radio and BBC RadioLeicester are using the facilities in the BBC Open Centre in Leicester to run ajoint radio production course.Youngtrainees have been recruited on-air by both stations and the output produced by the delegates will be showcased on each station.

• BBC Radio Solent invited each of thecommunity radio stations across Hampshire,Dorset and the Isle of Wight to discussworking together in future. Ideas ranged from shared output to radio workshops,engineering advice and sharing of outsidebroadcast equipment at large events.The first workshop for volunteers will beheld later this year.

• Schools Question Time is an activecitizenship and communication initiativesupported by the BBC.The challenge usesthe format of the BBC Question Timeprogramme as a springboard for engagingyoung people and helping them to discussissues that affect them, their communitiesand the wider world.Twelve regionalwinners were chosen to run an event withprofessional help from the BBC and manywent on to be featured on their local andregional BBC outlets.

• Fourteen members of BBC South East'saudience took over the reins for a day -researching, producing and presentingprogrammes and stories for radio,TV andonline, with BBC Director-General MarkThompson as their Editor-in-Chief.This was the first time the BBC has worked with audiences so closely togenerate stories, different angles and arefreshing perspective.With diversebackgrounds ranging from lifeboat manto mother of five, they brought storieswhich may never otherwise have beenfound and reported them in an engagingand involved way.

Faith Groups• A day-long conference was held at the

Islamic Foundation in Leicester attended byMuslims from all over England and all theBBC Local Radio station faith producers.It was a mutual sharing of ideas and helpeddevelop a deeper understanding of faithand broadcasting issues.

• A multi-faith seminar was held in Bradfordwith an emphasis on the sharing anddevelopment of media skills; this wasparticularly useful for faith communities whowant more meaningful access to the media.

• BBC staff were also involved with theGreenbelt Christian Arts Festival attendedby 20,000 people over four days.We stageda sculpture, fine art and photographyexhibition linked to the Africa Live season,and supported the festival radio station byproviding BBC producers to shadowvolunteers.The BBC Bus from Sheffield was also used to support the event.

Corporate Social Responsibility - CSR• A CSR Conference in Newcastle 2005

highlighted the BBC’s corporate socialresponsibility policies and aimed to widenpotential regional partnership networks.Delegates were amazed at the level of CSRwork in the BBC.The day led to an actionplan to develop further the dialoguebetween BBC output areas and externalorganisations, supporting the BBC tobecome an even better partner.

27

ABOVE: Eleven pirate DJs from the Luton area turned legitimateand switched their shows to BBC Three Counties Radio.

TOP OF PAGE: BBC Guernsey breakfast show presenter Adrian Gidney at the rocky shoreline of la Corbiere interviewing Helen Spoelstra.

1: BBC Radio Cornwall’s team visited the Newlyn Lifeboat in February 2005 as part of the Sea Sense Campaign.

2: Simon Gross volunteered to become a weather presenter as part of the Making it programme on BBC South East Today.

3: Local viewer Maheesah Kottegoda became a reporter forthe day with BBC South East Today.

1 23

External Assessment

Facts and figures for English Regions 2005-2006

29

Charitable Appeals

28

• The 40 BBC Local Radio stations inEngland are able to adopt one or morelocal charities to support, subject to theapproval of their Local Advisory Counciland in addition to their other social impactactivity.While fund-raising is an importantelement of these appeals, just as importantare the encouragement for people tovolunteer to help local good causes andthe provision of public information andawareness-raising on various health needsand social issues.

• During the year, twelve BBC Local Radiostations carried out charitable appealsraising close on £513,300.The appeals alsobrought donations of goods ranging fromdisused mobile phones to toys and books.

• In addition BBC English Regionsparticipated in the BBC Children in Need2005 appeal which raised a total of £33million, and supported other nationalappeals via regional television, BBC LocalRadio and online, including the Disasters

Emergency Committee’s Niger Crisis Appealwhich raised £25 million and the AsiaQuake Appeal which raised £40 million ofpooled income and a further £19 millionretained by DEC members.

1. 2005-2006 Regional television hours of output by genre

BBC ONE BBC TWO TOTAL HOURSEngland England Summary/England

News 3,671.3 23.5 3694.8Political broadcasting 122.7 122.7Local Election coverage 5.8 5.8Current Affairs (Inside Out only) 94.05 94.05Landmark documentaries 3.36 3.36The SuperLeague Show 0.5 25.8 26.3Children in Need 3.5 3.5Repeats 0.5 1.95 2.45Sport Awards 0.75 0.75Factual 11.78 11.78Sport 3.0 3.0Arts 6.0 6.0Sub-total 3923.2 51.25 3974.5Continuity 34.4 34.4PUBLISHED HOURS 3957.6 51.25 4008.9Independent productions(included above) 46.9 25.8 72.7

2. Local Radio hours of output

2004-2005 2005-2006Berkshire 4,677 4,978Bristol (incl Somerset Sound) 6,150 5,967Cambridgeshire 6,419 6,256Cleveland 6,305 6,686Cornwall 5,601 5,612Coventry and Warks 1,993 4,084Cumbria 6,265 6,705Derby 5,121 5,167Devon 7,162 7,638Essex 5,336 5,227Gloucestershire 5,093 5,107GMR – Manchester 6,802 6,751Guernsey 4,133 4,377Hereford and Worcester 5,282 5,412Humberside 5,844 5,796Jersey 4,729 4,730Kent 6,148 6,179Lancashire 7,435 7,374Leeds 7,722 8,660Leicester 5,194 5,250Lincolnshire 5,258 5,248London Live (formerly GLR) 8,760 8,760Merseyside 7,194 7.172Newcastle 6,882 7,217Norfolk 6,943 6,638Northampton 5,016 4,949Nottingham 6,346 6,309Oxford 5,443 5,502Sheffield 6,091 6,333Shropshire 5,563 5,554Solent (incl Dorset) 6,987 6,783Somerset 1,996 2,093Southern Counties Radio 8,184 8,296Stoke 5,198 5,241Suffolk 4,966 5,572Three Counties Radio 7,260 7,436Wiltshire Sound 6,925 6,599WM 7,179 7,083York 5,933 5,638Total 231,535 236,379

3. Landmark programme hours of output by region

REGION TITLE DURATIONSouth Trafalgar 0.50

Spinnaker 0.48 VJ Day 0.45

West Fun factory 0.48 East VJ Day 0.45

Trafalgar 0.50 Thursford 0.50

3.36Factual programme hours of output by region

Pan England People’s War 6.00 Seven Man Made Wonders 5.28

SW Live8 0.50 11.78

Arts programme hours of output by region

Pan England Picture of Britain 6.06.0

Sports programme hours of output by region

North West Rugby League Raw 3.03.0

4. BBC Local Radio in England, Q4 2005

Weekly Reach: 19.80%Hours per listener per week: 11.46Share of all listening: 10.5%

Over three million people (3.1m) who listen to BBC Local Radio in any givenweek do not listen to any other BBC radio service. 1.69 million listeners do nothear any other radio stations.

5. English Regions on bbc.co.uk: Where I Live

44 Where I Live websites across EnglandMarch 2006 monthly unique users: 11.384m

(A unique user is an identified individual computer/user that is recorded as havingvisited the English Regions websites.)

6. Costs

Tariff income £000sNews 70,175Political 3,221Current Affairs 6,478Radio 85,623TOTAL Income 165,497New Media income 6,905

7. Staff numbers

Effective full-time staff: (as at 31st March 2006) 2,981.0

ABOVE: Pudsey Bear makes some new friends at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire.

Bristol £12,000Roger Bennett Memorial Appeal

£60,000Trustline Appeal 2005

Leeds £3,000Leeds City Council’s Tsunami Appeal

Lincolnshire £40,000Specific Lincolnshire causes

Merseyside £8,500Rwanda Appeal

Norfolk £11,900Helpline Charity Trust

Nottingham Christmas Present Appeal

Stoke Guide Dogs for the Blind Appeal

WestMidlands

• Radio WM Annual Toy Appeal

• Animal Appeal for local animal sanctuaries

Derby £37,344Money Mountain 2005

Essex £6,500 -ongoing

£1,000

£275,00in total

£24,000

£9,700

£4,000

• Helen Rollason Cancer Care Appeal - mobile phones

• Race for Business, approximately £50,000, of which£1,000 was raised BBC Essex team of 11 runners

• MacMillan Coffee Morning 2005, administered by MacMillans

• BBC Essex Tea at Three 2005 for the eight hospices in Essex

• Essex Air Ambulance - raised during the station's 13 day walk along the Essex Way

• Farleigh Hospice Fashion Show - 20 BBC Essexstaff worked as models

• Various charities - 600 volunteers found,including 300 for the 2012 Olympics

10,000 new gifts donated for children &

teenagers in partnershipwith Nottinghamshire

County Council

2,000 mobile phones donated

100,000 new toys donated

Goods worth approx £30,000

Cambridge

Cornwall £10,000£ 5,360£ 5,000

• Shelterbox• Local charities• RNLI Cornwall

31

Awards 2005-2006

30

The Andrew Cross Awards• BBC London 94.9 – Jumoke Fashola,

Religious Broadcaster of the Year

• BBC North West - Winner, Festivals,Worship, Discussion, Magazines, Newscategory – Inside Out: Street Pastors

• BBC Radio Merseyside - Three nominationswith one commendation for United in Song

• BBC Radio Nottingham – Gold,Thought forthe Day: Steven Smith, Holocaust

• BBC Radio Nottingham - Gold,Response to News Story: Muslim Labels

• BBC Radio Humberside – Short-listed in Documentary/Feature Category

Business in the Community• BBC Radio Berkshire –

Oxford Road – Big Tick

Jerusalem Awards• BBC Radio Berkshire –

Ufton Nervet Remembrance Sunday

• BBC Radio Kent – Commended: Lynn Wallis Eade

Home Office Respect Awards• BBC Radio Gloucestershire Action Desk –

Taking a Stand: working with young people

Royal Television Society Regional Awards

RTS Midlands• BBC East Midlands – Winner, Best Regional

programme: A Picture of Nottinghamshireby William Ivory

• BBC West Midlands – Winner,Best Current Affairs Programme:Inside Out - Siege Village

• BBC West Midlands – Winner,Best Independent programme:The Birmingham Bombings - 30 years on

RTS Southern• BBC South – Winner, Best Camerawork:

Trevor Adamson

• BBC South – Winner, Regional TelevisionPersonality: Sally Taylor

• BBC South East – Winner, Best Regional TV Journalist: Robin Gibson

• BBC South – Winner, Best MagazineProgramme: South Today – Spinnaker Tower

• BBC South – Winner, Best EngineeringInnovation: Soton Link

RTS North West• BBC North West – Winner, Best Regional

News Programme, North West Tonight

• BBC North West – Winner, Best Regional Presenter : Gordon Burns,North West Tonight

• BBC North West – Winner, Best RegionalProgramme: Inside Out – Donna’s Story

RTS West• BBC West – Best Regional Personality:

Tessa Dunlop

• BBC West/Flashback Bristol - Best Regional Independent Production:A Picture of Bristol by Roni Size

RTS North East & Borders• BBC North East & Cumbria – Best Factual

Programme (up to £50k per hour):A Picture of Tyneside by Chris Donald,directed by David Morrison

• BBC North East & Cumbria – Winner,Professional Excellence - Production:Steve Paton, Camera

RTS London• BBC London – Winner,

News Story of the Year: Olympics

• BBC London – Winner, Reporter of the Year: Andrew Winstanley,BBC London News

• BBC London – Winner, Spirit of London:End of the Line

• BBC London/Juniper Communications –Winner, Best Independent Production:for an edition of The Politics Show

RTS Yorkshire• BBC Yorkshire – Winner, Unsung Hero

of the Year: Diane Marshall

• BBC Yorkshire – Winner, Best NewsMagazine: Look North Yorkshire

• BBC Yorkshire – Winner, Best News or Sports Reporter, Morland Sanders,Inside Out BBC North

• BBC Yorkshire - Winner, Best NetworkCamerawork - Keith Massey forRestoration (North) BBC4

• BBC Yorkshire & Lincolnshire – Winner,Innovative Idea of the Year: Spark TV

RTS Devon & Cornwall• BBC South West - Best Current Affairs

Programme : Inside Out – Speed Cameras

• BBC South West/A38 Films - Best RegionalDocumentary: A Picture of Cornwall by Kurt Jackson

• BBC South West - Best Regional FeatureProgramme: Inside Out

National Royal Television SocietyAwards Journalism Awards• BBC Yorkshire & Lincolnshire - Nations &

Regions News Coverage: Look North -Joanne Nelson Murder Case

RTS Sports Awards• BBC West – nomination for

Inside Out West: Skeleton Bobsleigh

European Prix Circom• BBC West - Special Commendation for

Inside Out West report on vicar who lostdaughter in the 7/7 bombings

Hollywood Black Film Festival• BBC West - Special Award for A Picture

of Bristol by Roni Size by Flashback Bristolproduction for Inside Out West

National Health Journalist of the Year• BBC West: Matthew Hill

CSV National Campaign of the Year • BBC Radio Gloucestershire

National Adult Learners Award• BBC Gloucester Open Centre

South West Media Awards• BBC Bristol Where I Live site: nomination

for Website of the Year

PROMAX Awards• BBC WM - Gold Award for Best

Print/Poster for a Radio Station

UK Country Music Awards• BBC Radio Lancashire – Country Music

Presenter of the Year, Joe Fish

• BBC Radio Lancashire – Favourite Radio Station

Garden Writers’ Guild• BBC Radio Cumbria Gardening Show -

Best Radio Broadcaster 2005, Paul O’Neill

Gospel Entertainment Music Awards• BBC London 94.9 –Best DJ/Presenter :

Jumoke Fashola

The Radio Academy Celebration of Music Awards• BBC London 94.9 – Winner,

The John Peel Award for OutstandingContribution to Music Radio

EDF Energy Awards• BBC Radio Suffolk – Winner, Regional

Radio Journalist of the Year: Mark Murphy,Breakfast Presenter

• BBC Radio Swindon & Wiltshire – Winner,Reporter of the Year: Sarah Moore

Plain English Campaign Awards• BBC Radio Jersey – Winner,

Regional Station of the Year

VOX Awards• BBC Radio Cornwall – Winner,

Best Use of Humour: Phil Hilton

PEARL Awards• BBC Radio Jersey – Winner,

Business in the Community: Fiona Evans

CRE Race In The Media Awards• BBC Radio Berkshire –

Oxford Road:The Story

• BBC Radio Merseyside – Documentary, Golly in the Cupboard

• BBC Radio Kent – Gold: Romany Voices

Christian Broadcasting Awards• BBC Radio Nottingham –

Bronze: Praying for Nottingham

Sony Awards 2005Gold Awards• DJ Of the Year:

Danny Baker, BBC London 94.9

• Sports Award: City Till I Die,BBC Radio York

• Event Award:The Drive Show - D-Day Anniversary, BBC Radio Kent

• Interactive Radio Award:Three CountiesBreakfast, BBC Three Counties Radio

• Station of the Year (300,000 - 1 million):BBC Three Counties Radio

Silver Awards• News Output Award: BBC

Radio Berkshire News

• Event Award:The Ray Clark AfternoonShow Live from Normandy,BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

• Community Award: Oxford Road:The Story, BBC Radio Berkshire Bronze winners (from N&R)

Bronze Awards• Specialist Music Award:

Charlie Gillett, BBC London 94.9

• News Story Award:Boris & Bigley, BBC Radio Merseyside

• Speech Broadcaster of the Year:Stephen Rhodes, BBC Three Counties Radio

• Sports Award: I Don't Know What It Is ButI Love It, BBC Radio Merseyside

• Short Form Feature Award:Short and Precious Lives, BBC Radio Bristol

• Event Award:The Welsh Weekender,BBC Radio Cleveland

• Interactive Radio Award: Groundswell,BBC Radio Nottingham

• Promo Award: Closer to the Boro,BBC Radio Cleveland

FROM MAY 2006Shepherd Neame Awards• BBC Radio Kent – Broadcast Journalist of

the Year: Highly Commended - JonathanWitchell UK Country Music Awards

• BBC Radio Merseyside BusYoung People Now Awards

• BBC Where I Live Liverpool - Nominated for Young People in the Media Portrayal Award

Sony Awards 2006Gold Awards• BBC Hereford & Worcester –

Community Award for Hearing Voices

• BBC Radio Kent – Drive Show D-DayAnniversary, Dominic King

• BBC London 94.9 – Danny Baker, DJ of the Year

Silver Awards• BBC Radio Berkshire – Winner,

The Community Award:Oxford Road,The Story

• BBC Radio Berkshire – Winner, NewsOutput Award: Ufton Nervet Rail Crash

• BBC Radio Berkshire – Business in the Community Award: Big Tick

• BBC Radio Oxford – Winner,Coverage of a Live Event category:Didcot’s FA Vase Final

Bronze Awards• BBC London 94.9 – Charlie Gillett,

Specialist Music Guildford Mayor’sAward For Access

• BBC Southern Counties - Employment Award for Disability

1: BBC radio presenter and jazz musician Roger Bennett diedaged 69 in July 2005. He was a part of BBC Radio Bristolfrom the day it opened in September 1970 until he retired inDecember 2003. In his years presenting Morning West, Rogerreceived many awards and became the longest servingbreakfast presenter on radio. He became Sony Presenter ofthe Year in 1983, Local Broadcaster of the Year in 1994, and arecipient of a Sony Gold Achievement Award in 1998. BBCRadio Bristol led an appeal to create a permanent memorialin his name and commissioned a stained glass screen at thechurch of St Mary Redcliffe.

2: Editor Mark Norman in the newsroom of BBC ThreeCounties Radio, which won Sony Station of the Year in 2005.

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Getting in TouchBBC English Regions

REGIONAL TELEVISION CENTRES

BBC North East & Cumbria (Newcastle)Broadcasting CentreBarrack RoadNewcastle upon TyneNE99 2NE Tel: 0191 232 1313email: look.north.northeast.cumbria@bbc.co.uk

BBC North West (Manchester)New Broadcasting HouseOxford RoadManchesterM60 1SJTel: 0161 200 2020email: nwt@bbc.co.uk

BBC East Midlands (Nottingham) London Road NottinghamNG2 4UUTel: 0115 955 0500email: emt@bbc.co.uk

BBC East (Norwich)The ForumMillennium PlainNorwichNR2 1BHTel: 01603 619 331email: look.east@bbc.co.uk

BBC Yorkshire (Leeds)Broadcasting Centre 2 St Peter’s Square,Leeds LS9 8AH Tel: 0113 244 1188email: look.north@bbc.co.uk

BBC West Midlands (Birmingham)The MailboxBirminghamB1 1RFTel: 0121 567 6767email: midlands.today@bbc.co.uk

BBC West (Bristol)Broadcasting HouseWhiteladies RoadBristol BS8 2LRTel: 01179 732 211email: pointswest@bbc.co.uk

BBC South West (Plymouth)Broadcasting HouseSeymour RoadMannameadPlymouthPL3 5BDTel: 01752 229 201email: spotlight@bbc.co.uk

BBC South East (Tunbridge Wells)The Great HallMount Pleasant RoadTunbridge WellsKentTN1 1QQTel: 01892 670 000email: southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk

BBC South (Southampton)Broadcasting HouseHavelock RoadSouthamptonSO14 7PUTel: 0238 022 6201email: south.today@bbc.co.uk

BBC London35 Marylebone High Street,London W1U 4QATel: 0207 224 2424email: yourlondon@bbc.co.uk

BBC Yorkshire & Lincolnshire (Hull)Queen’s CourtQueen’s GardensHullHU1 3RHTel: 01482 323232email: looknorth@bbc.co.uk

BBC LOCAL RADIO

BBC Radio BerkshirePO Box 104.4Reading RG94 8FHTel: 0118 946 4200email: radio.berkshire@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio Bristol & Somerset SoundPO Box 194BristolBS99 7QTTel: 01179 741 111email: radio.bristol@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio CambridgeshirePO Box 96104 Hills RoadCambridgeCB2 1LDTel: 01223 259 696email: cambs@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio ClevelandPO Box 95FMNewport RoadMiddlesbroughTS1 5DGTel: 01642 225 211email: radio.cleveland@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio CornwallPhoenix WharfTruroCornwallTR1 1UATel: 01872 275 421email: radio.cornwall@bbc.co.uk

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire and BBC Open CentrePriory PlaceCoventryCV1 2WRTel: 02476 551000email: coventry.warwickshire@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio CumbriaAnnetwell StreetCarlisleCA3 8BBTel: 01228 592 444email: radio.cumbria@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio DerbyPO Box 104.5DerbyDE1 3HLTel: 01332 361 111email: radio.derby@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio DevonPO Box 1034 Plymouth or ExeterTel: 01752 260 323 or 01392 215 651email: radio.devon@bbc.co.uk

BBC Essex198 New London RoadChelmsfordEssexCM2 9XBTel: 01245 616 000 email: essex@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio GloucestershireLondon RoadGloucesterGL1 1SWTel: 01452 308 585email: radio.gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk

BBC Gloucester Learning CentreHolloway House71-73 Eastergate StreetGloucesterGL1 1PWTel: 01452 418180

BBC Radio ManchesterPO Box 951Oxford RoadManchesterM60 1SDTel: 0161 200 2000email: gmr@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio GuernseyBulwer AvenueSt SampsonsGuernseyGY2 4LATel: 01481 200 600email: radio.guernsey@bbc.co.uk

BBC Hereford & WorcesterHylton RoadWorcesterWR2 5WWTel: 01905 748 485email: bbchw@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio Humberside,BBCi Hull and BBC Open CentreQueen’s CourtQueen’s GardensHull HU1 3RHTel: 01482 323 232email: radio.humberside@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio Jersey18 Parade RoadSt HelierJersey JE2 3PLTel: 01534 870 000email: radio.jersey@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio KentThe Great HallMount Pleasant RoadTunbridge WellsKentTN1 1QQTel: 01892 670000email: radio.kent@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio Lancashire and BBC Open Centre26 Darwen StreetBlackburnLancsBB2 2EATel: 01254 262 411email: radio.lancashire@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio LeedsBroadcasting Centre2 St Peter’s SquareLeedsLS9 8AHTel: 0113 244 2131email: radio.leeds@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio Leicester and BBC Open Centre9 St Nicholas PlaceLeicesterLE1 5YPTel: 0116 251 6688email: radioleicester@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio LincolnshirePO Box 219NewportLincolnLN1 3XYTel: 01522 511 411email: radio.lincolnshire@bbc.co.uk

BBC London 94.935 Marylebone High StreetLondon W1U 4QATel: 0207 224 2424email: yourlondon@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio Merseyside and BBC Open CentrePO Box 95.8LiverpoolL69 1ZJ(postal address)

BBC Radio Merseyside and BBC Open Centre31 College LaneLiverpoolL69 1ZJ(for personal callers)Tel: 0151 708 5500email: radio.merseyside@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio NewcastleBroadcasting CentreBarrack RoadNewcastle upon TyneNE99 1RNTel: 0191 232 4141email: radio.newcastle@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio NorfolkThe ForumMillennium PlainNorwichNR2 1BHTel: 01603 617 411email: norfolk@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio NorthamptonBroadcasting HouseAbington StreetNorthamptonNN1 2BHTel: 01604 239 100email: northampton@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio NottinghamLondon RoadNottinghamNG2 4UUTel: 0115 955 0500email: radio.nottingham@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio OxfordPO Box 95.2Oxford OX2 7YL Tel: 01865 311 444email: radio.oxford@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio Sheffield and BBC Open Centre54 Shoreham StreetSheffield S1 4RSTel: 0114 273 1177email: radio.sheffield@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio Shropshire2-4 Boscobel DriveShrewsburySY1 3TTTel: 01743 248 484email: radio.shropshire@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio SolentBroadcasting HouseHavelock RoadSouthamptonSO14 7PWTel: 02380 631 311email: radio.solent@bbc.co.uk

BBC Southern Counties Radio Broadcasting CentreGuildfordGU2 5APTel: 01483 306 306email: southern.counties.radio@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio Stoke and BBC Open CentreCheapside HanleyStoke on TrentST1 1JJTel: 01782 208 080email: radio.stoke@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio SuffolkBroadcasting HouseSt Matthew’s StreetIpswichSuffolkIP1 3EPTel: 01473 250 000email: suffolk@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio SwindonPO Box 1234SwindonSN1 3RWTel: 01793 513 626email: radio.swindon@bbc.co.uk

BBC Three Counties RadioPO Box 3CRLutonBedfordshireLU1 5XLTel: 01582 637 400email: 3cr@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio WiltshirePO Box 1234SwindonSN1 3RWTel: 01793 513 626email: radio.wiltshire@bbc.co.uk

BBC WMThe MailboxBirmingham B1 1RFTel: 0121 567 6000email: radio.wm@bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio York20 Bootham RowYorkYO30 7BRTel: 01904 641 351email: radio.york@bbc.co.uk

COVER: The Angel of the North was the backdrop for these observers of a solar eclipse photographed by Owen Humphreys which featured on the BBC Northwebsite in 2005. Courtesy of EMPICS.

This Annual Review is printed on Elemental Chlorine Free(ECF) paper which contains virgin wood fibre from sawmillresidues, forest thinings and sustainable forests in Finland and Russia.The mill and printer used both have ISO 14001 Accreditation.

BBC English RegionsThe MailboxRoyal Mail StreetBirmingham B1 1RFwww.bbc.co.uk/england©BBC 2006