About Us

We are the community radio station for Thame, Haddenham and the surrounding villages…

We’re delighted to announce that Ofcom, the UK’s broadcasting regulator, has renewed our licence to broadcast for a further five years from the end of June.  Community radio stations are typically granted licences for a term of five years, which means that the new licence will enable us to continue broadcasting until June 2027.

Director and presenter Howard Bond said, “We have a great team of volunteers at Red Kite Radio.  They give their time freely presenting shows, reading the news and providing technical support.  The five-year extension to our licence is recognition of the tremendous work by our volunteers in keeping the station on the air.”

Station manager Chris Long added “Our team has grown considerably over the past five years, and with that growth has come a variety of specialist music programmes featuring music to suit all tastes.  We are proud to be able to continue serving the residents of Thame, Haddenham and the villages for the next five years… and beyond!”

Based in the grounds of Haddenham Garden Centre, we’ve been on air since June 2017. A not-for-profit organisation, our remit is to serve the community with Classic Hits from the 60’s to today, News and Information. We are funded by Advertising, Sponsorship and Grants from supporting organisations.

We started out as a team of friends from Haddenham and Thame who all had worked in commercial radio with an idea of creating a pop up radio station for 2 weeks per year to celebrate the Haddenham Beer Festival. So ‘Summerfest Radio’ was born. We did it 4 years in a row with a lot of support from the community to go for a full-time community radio license and widen our reach to focus on Thame, Haddenham and the surrounding villages. We have a number of local presenters. The team is a mix of young and old from all areas, with a vast repertoire of music knowledge and preferences. We’re always keen to build the team so anyone can come in and give it a go after completing our training. We train the presenters in the studio to operate the desk and control the playlist system.

Community Radio Awards

Our entry to the Community Radio Awards during 2021 received some great feedback from the judges, here are a few examples

“It’s really heart-warming to see how firmly embedded Red Kite Radio are within the local community. There seems to be a natural symbiosis with community organisations, businesses and residents alike. This is the dream for many community stations and how incredible you are living and breathing it! I think you are a fine example of genuine connection and love for your area.”

“Local Musicians are an excellent group to support. Without local support, so many of the brands we love would have faded away. Well done. A well-structured schedule and I know from experience the difficulties of putting on a regular breakfast show. This clearly shows the support of the station members of your management. You must be doing it right.”

“I enjoyed listening to this entry. There are lots of very engaging voices and a consistent feel to the output. Well done for the amount of local information and what’s ons. Altogether very warm and engaging.”

Red Kite Radio & Media Ltd is very proud to be a part of the community radio network. There are over 600 community stations in the UK and you can see our Ofcom Entry for Red Kite Radio. We have a fairly unique coverage area which you can see by downloading a map by clicking here.

Company Number: 9779459 – V.A.T. Number: GB 328658076