East London community station in crisis

A community radio project in East London has warned its future is in jeopardy following an 18-month battle with Newham council over planning permission.

Voice of Africa Radio, which won an FM licence from Ofcom last February, has yet to launch because its owners cannot secure a location to erect a transmitter.

VOAR has until the end of this month to start test broadcasts or it could lose its five-year licence.

Project manager Space Clottey said council bureaucracy had brought his attempts to get the station on air to a virtual standstill.

"Seven months before the licence was awarded, VOAR had been communicating with Newham council to allocate a tower block to mount our transmission equipment," he said.

"It was not until August 2006 that we were taken to a suitable site for observation."

But the council has denied it was moving slowly with the planning process, and said VOAR had not filed the correct paperwork.

"Since a suitable mast location was found for Voice of Africa Radio, we have requested planning documents that are compulsory for permission to be given for the installation to go ahead. One of these documents is still outstanding," a council spokesperson said.

VOAR aims to represent East London's African community with a mix of news, music and cultural programming.

The station — which provides training to young people looking to become presenters, journalists and DJs — is run entirely by volunteers.

Clottey added: "The painful thing is that it took six years of tireless campaigning and the support of the inhabitants of Newham and London for the licence to be won."

Until the transmitter problems are resolved, the station can only be heard online.