A BARNSTAPLE DJ has come one step closer to setting up a new North Devon radio station this week after being granted permission for an FM transmitter at his home.

Former Lantern FM DJ Ian Starling decided to set up a new local station when national radio group Heart announced that it was going to close its Barnstaple studios.

The company announced it would also close its Heart stations in Plymouth, Torquay and the South Hams in order to relocate all four stations to Exeter where it would broadcast under the name of Heart Devon.

The last broadcast from Heart's Barnstaple studios will take place on Thursday, August 26.

Ian, who worked as a presenter on Lantern FM from 1994 to 2008, saw the move as a huge loss for North Devon which he felt would result in a lack of 'local' broadcasting.

Spurred on by local businesses and more than 2,000 members of a Facebook group called 'Bring Back Lantern FM and Save Hopps and Chapple', Ian set the wheels in motion to establish a new radio station.

Last month he started an online station called Network North Devon which is currently broadcasting seven days a week with local presenters on weekends.

Last week Ian took the first step on a "long and complex" ladder which he hopes will lead to an application for a full community radio licence.

He said: "North Devon Council have granted permission for me to mount an FM transmitter on my house near Sticklepath in Barnstaple.

"We looked at the possibility of putting one at Huntshaw Cross but it was incredibly expensive.

"I'm in the process of applying for a Restricted Service Licence (RSL) from Ofcom which would give the station 28 days to broadcast and prove it's viability.

"The new station, which we hope to launch in October, will initially cover a six-mile radius taking in Barnstaple and parts of Braunton and Bideford, though listeners elsewhere will be able to listen online."

After the RSL broadcast period, the independent regulator for the UK communications industries, Ofcom, will carry out a consultation to see if the station has future potential as a business.

Ian will then lobby Ofcom to advertise for a full community licence which he will bid for.

He said: "It's a very complicated and long-winded process but I'm determined to see it through.

"The support I've had locally has been phenomenal, both from potential listeners and businesses hoping to advertise."

For more information visit www.networknorthdevon.co.uk.