TWO Black Country radio stations are set to join forces to create a new ‘super station’.

Stourbridge's 102.5 The Bridge and Black Country Community Radio, a Netherton based online station, are combining operations to launch the all-new Black Country Radio.

Station bosses hope to bring together the best parts of each organisation and Black Country Community Radio boss Dave Brownhill, who will join the new station as finance director, said: “We’re really excited to be joining forces.

"We thought we'll always be competing for the same air space so why don't we put our heads together and create a better station for the community - and both sets of members were very positive towards it. "We think it's going to be great for the area."

The new entity will broadcast a mix of programmes, including specialist music shows, on 102.5FM, online and through mobile devices - but the station will also add DAB transmission to its set up - furthering its output from the southern Black Country to include Birmingham through a trial scheme with Switch Radio, which has been awarded a nine-month small-scale DAB licence for the Birmingham area by Ofcom.

Alex Totney, CEO at The Bridge - who will become director of the new Black Country Radio, said: “The cost of regular digital broadcasting just makes it impractical for a station of our size.

"We’re joining with other local brands in the West Midlands for a nine-month trial of a lower cost method, however that does restrict the area we can broadcast to. If it works out then hopefully we can look to use the same methods in the Black Country too.

"The more people who support us, the bigger we become. It’s not an easy task to pull in advertisers or listeners for a new brand – but we need both of those things to keep the station going.”

Black Country Radio, which will go out to an area covering 240,000 households on FM and at least the same again on DAB, will broadcast from The Bridge radio studio at St John's Church in Stourbridge initially - although a move to a new purpose-built studio is being mooted and plans are afoot to create new hubs in the Black Country to help boost contact with listeners.

The new brand will officially launch on Monday September 14.