Local radio revolution comes to North West England and North East Wales

LISTENERS from Warrington to Wrexham will soon be able to tune into a wider choice of ultra local digital radio stations, with Ofcom awarding 17 small-scale DAB radio multiplex licences in North West England and North East Wales.

Small scale DAB is an innovative technology which provides a low cost route to air for local commercial and community radio services. Each multiplex will allow several local stations to take to the digital airwaves, including:- grass roots community services, specialist music stations, and services aimed at minority groups and other under served audiences.

Our roll out of small scale DAB will enable the launch of around 200 multiplexes, covering all 4 UK nations. Today's awards bring the total number of multiplex licences awarded to 42. Future licensing plans and review of small scale DAB roll out

Ofcom has also published the 32 applications we have received for the 3rd round of licence advertisements. These cover 20 areas across England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

A spokesperson for Ofcom said:- "We have also decided to add Ludlow, Cleobury Mortimer and Tenbury Wells to the list of Round 4 licence areas, published earlier this year. We will advertise these licences in the autumn, along with the list of areas we plan to advertise in Round 5."

A progress report on the small-scale DAB roll out to date is also available.

Princess Diana's wedding dress still 1 of the most influential royal wedding dresses of all time

PRINCESS Diana's wedding dress is the third most influential royal wedding dress of all time, new research can reveal. Meghan Markle's wedding dress pulls in a total of 51,000 Google searches a month, making her dress the most searched-for Royal dress of 2021.  

The Duchess of Sussex wore a custom made Givenchy dress by design Claire Waight Keller for her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. The dress pulls in over 4 thousand more monthly searches than the 2nd most popular wedding dress; Kate Middleton's and is over 6 times more popular than Princess Beatrice's wedding dress, despite Princess Beatrice's wedding being the latest to take place.

The research, by Wealth of Geeks calculated global monthly Google searches, for wedding dresses from 15 of the most popular Royal weddings since King George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, to see which 1 was the world's favourite.  

Royal Wedding Dress Rank Average monthly global searches  

1. Meghan Markle = 51,000.

2. Kate Middleton = 47,000.

3. Princess Diana = 30,000.

4. Princess Beatrice = 8,200.

5. Queen Elizabeth II = 7,700.

6. Princess Margaret = 5,600.

7. Princess Eugenie = 4,200.

8. Sarah Ferguson = 1,900.

9. Princess Anne = 1,800.

10, Camilla Parker Bowles = 450.

Kate Middleton is the Royal with the second most popular wedding dress, boasting 47,000 average monthly global searches for her Alexander McQueen dress, made by Sarah Burton from 2011.  

In 3rd place is Princess Diana, who fetches an average of 30,000 monthly global searches for her dress, forty years on from the wedding in 1981. The wedding itself still has a monthly global search count of 21,000.

Princess Beatrice also has 1 of the most popular Royal wedding dresses of all time. The Princess rakes in 8,200 Google searches a month globally for her dress that she borrowed from the Queen, making it the 4th most popular Royal wedding dress on the list.  

Queen Elizabeth II reigns as having the 5th most popular Royal wedding dress on the list - despite the wedding to Prince Philip taking place 74 years ago. The dress designed by Norman Hartnell cost £30,000 in 1947, the equivalent to £1.2 million today.  

A spokesperson for Wealth of Geeks commented on the findings:- "Meghan Markle has been a fashion icon since she was catapulted onto the world stage when news broke of her romance with Prince Harry in 2016. The enduring popularity of her wedding dress, despite the wedding taking place almost 4 years ago, is a testament to the Duchess' effortlessly elegant and timeless style. Despite leaving her official role as a working Royal, this study highlights her unwavering ability to keep the world's attention on her, not only through her actions but also through her iconic style."