Peterborough City Council’s relationship with its home-grown radio stations is under renewed scrutiny following a series of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted by CambsNews. The requests centre on payments made by Peterborough City Council between 2012 and 2016 to a range of community radio operators—including Radio Peterborough, Peterborough Community Radio Ltd, and Peterborough FM Radio—amid concerns about governance, transparency, and potential conflicts of interest.
The payments, totalling more than £60,000, were issued during a formative period for the city’s broadcast media, just as Peterborough was grappling with the loss of its last commercial radio station.
The Payments in Question
Council records show the following transactions over the four-year period:
- £15,000 to Radio Peterborough on 18 April 2012 (Code: 445189)
- £2,400 to Radio Peterborough on 7 September 2013 (Code: 484288)
- £500 to Peterborough Community Radio Ltd on 11 March 2013 (Code: 53111)
- £15,000 to Radio Peterborough on 13 March 2013 (Code: 530582)
- £30,000 to Peterborough FM Radio on 16 March 2016
What is unclear—and what CambsNews has asked the council to provide—is detailed information on:
- Correspondence linked to each payment.
- Authorisation, including which officers or councillors signed off the spending.
- Declarations of interest, specifically whether any councillor benefitted directly or indirectly through company ownership.
- Services provided in return for the funding, and how these were recorded in council accounts.
Councillor Links to Local Radio
The focus inevitably falls on Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald, who has longstanding ties to community radio.
Companies House records confirm Fitzgerald has incorporated multiple radio ventures:
- 1999: Founded Radioactive Broadcasting Ltd (Company No. 3759646), which became Peterborough Community Radio Ltd in 2010.
- 2015: The company was voluntarily dissolved.
- 2014: Launched Radio Peterborough Ltd (Company No. 9351026), later renamed Peterborough Community Radio Ltd in 2016.
At different points, Fitzgerald was a director or person with significant control. Records also show Stephen Durham as a co-director.
As CambsNews has previously reported the council’s own statements of accounts reveal Fitzgerald’s companies received payments in subsequent years, most notably through CAP – Radio Production and Media Buying Services Ltd.
Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council used the services of Fitzgerald’s media entity to help spend £70,000 on radio campaigns during Covid.
PCRFM, the BBC and a councillor: questions over impartiality in Peterborough Showground saga
The city council said they turned to CAP “which we understood could gain cheaper advertising rates than the council was able to because of its experience and contacts in the industry.
CambsNews also revealed that since 2016 Peterborough Community Radio Station Ltd, owned by Fitzgerald, has enjoyed rent and rate free occupation of city council owned premises at Orton Malbourne.
The Council Meeting That Raises Questions
CambsNews has, however, looked at earlier payments and debates by Peterborough City Council on local radio.
A key moment came on 7 December 2011, when Peterborough City Council debated the future of local radio. At the time, the BBC Trust was consulting on potential cuts to local services, and councillors were anxious about the lack of truly Peterborough-based stations.
The motion was proposed by Cllr Nick Sandford and seconded by Cllr Fitzgerald, who also introduced amendments calling for stronger support for local commercial radio. The resolution, which carried, committed the council to lobbying both the BBC and government ministers for protection of local programming.
But here lies the controversy: should Fitzgerald have declared an interest?
Council minutes show no record of any such declaration. Whether the absence of a declaration breached the council’s code of conduct remains an open question.
What Services Were Bought?
Perhaps the most pressing issue is what the city received for these public payments of £60,000 between 2012 and 2016.
Without invoices, contracts, or correspondence, it is difficult to confirm whether the payments were tied to provision of services or whether they functioned more as grants or subsidies.
The law requires councils to publish payments over £500 but detail is frequently sparse.
Publishing a line that says ‘Radio Peterborough – £15,000’ tells the public almost nothing. We need to know who signed this off and what did the city get in return.
PCR FM and the Growth of Community Radio
The controversy sits against the backdrop of PCR FM, the city’s community station, which launched on 103.2FM in April 2017.
PCR has since built a reputation for strong programming, a professional sound, and deep community ties. Station directors and presenters describe a station that is “run entirely by volunteers” yet aspires to the standards of national broadcasters. It features live music, local traffic and weather updates, and direct engagement with Peterborough’s diverse communities.
By 2019, Peterborough Moment Magazine profiled PCR as a home-grown success story, stressing its ability to support local talent, broadcast from community events, and give a platform to voices otherwise absent from national media.
In 2020, Ofcom boosted PCR’s transmitter power, expanding its reach to surrounding villages and cementing its role as “Peterborough’s station.”
What Happens Next?
Peterborough City Council has 20 working days to respond to the FOI requests.
Cllr Fitzgerald, for his part, has long argued that his radio ventures were designed to fill a cultural gap left by the decline of commercial radio in Peterborough. Supporters note that stations like PCR FM have provided a valuable platform for local voices and artists, often run on shoestring budgets and volunteer labour.
But the central question remains: was the council’s financial support transparent, justified, and free from conflicts of interest?
Whilst nobody is questioning the importance of local radio, what we are questioning is whether public money has been managed properly.
Until those answers arrive, the story of local radio in Peterborough will remain as much about governance and accountability as it is about music, community, and broadcasting.
