Community radio station faces closure as Sydney Water issues eviction notice

A 48-year-old Sydney community radio station is facing closure after its landlord Sydney Water gave members three months to leave their studios.

Hawkesbury Radio, which has serviced Sydney's peri-urban north-west since 1978, is being forced out of the humble shack next to a water tower in Windsor because the water utility believes the structure is not up to code. 

The station of about 20 volunteers has until January to find alternative premises or face going silent from the online airwaves it broadcasts to seven days a week to an audience of about 5,000 unique listeners a month.

Presenter Leon Watson said the station's loss would be devastating for Hawkesbury locals, many of whom turned to the local radio station during the series of bushfire and flood disasters that gripped the region between 2019-2022. 

“We went from bushfire, to flood, to COVID, to flood, to flood, to flood," Mr Watson said.

“We were updating everybody at least every 15 minutes about what’s going on.

"Unless we find somewhere else to go, that's 48 years gone."

Station board member James Glendenning, who has been with the station since 1982, said some residents in areas like Colo and Bilpin who could not get city-based broadcasts were tuning into Hawkesbury Radio to get information about disaster emergencies.

He said the station also had a longstanding connection to the Hawkesbury, promoting local events and sport, including broadcasting Penrith Panthers NRL games for a while. 

"It's a local voice, they hear local voices," Mr Glendenning said.

"It's a connection to community."

A spokesperson for Sydney Water said the station had been given an "extended" three-month notice period to find another place. 

"Following a routine property inspection, Sydney Water identified significant safety, compliance and maintenance issues with the building," the spokesperson said.

"As a result, the property is not considered safe to occupy.

"We recognise Hawkesbury Radio's longstanding role in the local community."

Broadcasting licence loss hurt listener numbers

Hawkesbury Radio held the 89.9 FM broadcast frequency until 2017 when the frequency was shared between multiple local broadcasters. 

Hawkesbury Radio had also been investigated in 2020 by the national radio regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), over its compliance with its licence as a community radio station. 

The investigation found it had breached the requirement to encourage community participation in the operation of its service, specifically regarding its corporate governance.

"It does not have sound corporate governance practices to support community participation and was not able to provide evidence of an effective and transparent committee structure," part of the ACMA investigation states.

In 2022, ACMA allocated the frequency to Pulse FM, otherwise known as Hawkesbury Community Media Network, in a process where Hawkesbury Radio was an unsuccessful applicant. 

Hawkesbury Radio's president Mark Ledden said the previous management had made "significant mistakes" when they were running the station that cost them their broadcast licence. 

"ACMA were investigating Hawkesbury Radio for numerous breaches, the board decided not to answer the allegations that were put to the board," Mr Ledden said.

"The management committee that cost the station its licence kept getting re-elected, even though they were the reason why Hawkesbury Radio lost their licence."

Since 2022, Hawkesbury Radio has only broadcast online through streaming.   

Mr Glendenning said this decision deeply affected its listener numbers. He said the station had about 20,000 listeners a day in the 1990s.

Council helping with search for new location

Hawkesbury City Council Mayor Mary Lyons-Buckett said the council was helping the station find a new location.

"Council, including former mayor Les Sheather, has investigated and passed on options for alternative premises to Hawkesbury Radio, but at this stage no suitable options have been identified," Cr Lyons-Buckett said.

"Council will continue to inform Hawkesbury Radio of identified options for their consideration."