In a city where austerity is a civic virtue and potholes qualify for preservation status, one lucky broadcaster continues to live the dream. PCRFM, a private radio station run by Conservative councillor Wayne Fitzgerald, has been broadcasting from council-owned premises at the Herlington Centre since 2016 without paying a single pound in rent or business rates. That’s nine years of free digs, courtesy of a council that apparently misfiled its backbone.
Not a charity. Not a CIC. Just a limited company with a suspiciously open tab and one unmistakable voice behind the mic. The station sells advertising packages for around £2,500 and previously charged £12,000 to host the city’s Christmas lights switch-on. Though the council, when asked about this year, couldn’t quite say what they would pay.
But now, in a twist worthy of a pantomime finale, PCRFM is listed as a sponsor of the 2025 Christmas lights switch-on. So have they finally put their hand in their pocket? Or is this just another case of waiving their own mysteriously opaque fee and calling it sponsorship? It’s the civic equivalent of eating your cake, keeping it, and invoicing the baker for the privilege.
Former Labour leader Dennis Jones, before his political career was unceremoniously paused by an ex-member with a grudge and a grumble, vowed to revisit these kinds of municipal misadventures. His successor, Shabina Qayyum, has echoed the sentiment. But promises butter no parsnips. And while the council tax rises, the rent-free radio rolls on.
So the question is no longer if this scandal stinks. It’s when Shabina will actually do something about it. Because if the council can’t bring itself to invoice one of its own for nearly a decade of free occupancy, what hope is there for the rest of us? One rule for one, and a very different set of rules for the people footing the bill.
Tick tock, Shabina. The lights are on. Is anyone home?
