The Bishop of Lichfield has praised the decision by the BBC to reduce the size of cuts to local radio.
The Church of England stressed the importance of local services to the community when the BBC initially reviewed the future of its output in December.
And the decision to scale back the proposed cuts has been applauded by the Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill.
“It is good news and a great relief that the BBC cost-saving review has concluded that local radio shouldn’t be treated as badly as originally proposed,” he said. “BBC local radio, like the Church of England in some ways, is a really important part of building local communities and it promotes a sense of belonging and supporting good work.
“Many ministers in our diocese have great experiences working together with the staff of BBC Radio Stoke, BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC Radio Derby and BBC Radio WM.
“I’m still disappointed of course that the cuts will go ahead, and they will have severe consequences on local arts programming. Arts – especially music on local radio in the evenings – are such a vital part of how we express ourselves and share deeper feelings and emotions and truths about life that it would be really sad to lose them.”
