Alfred Radio

Alfred is a not-for-profit community station focused on Shaftesbury and the SP7 postcode area. Its coverage includes nearby places such as Motcombe, Semley, the Donheads, Fontmell and East Stour. Volunteers make much of the output on location, with a small studio at Shaftesbury Arts Centre. The emphasis is on local stories and conversations rather than a general news service for distant towns.

The Alfred Daily is an hour-long programme made for the area seven days a week. Regular contributions bring gardening advice from Jan Walls, reading recommendations from Karen Cole and local observations from Belle Street singers Joni De Winter and Susan Grant. Weather presenter Ash Jury and information about nearby events add practical material to the conversations. Residents can also take part through the station's creative writing activity and training.

History receives particular attention through Hilltop History, presented by Elaine Barratt with local contributors. One archived edition explored coats of arms around Shaftesbury, life within the abbey and a local family's experience at the beginning of the First World War. These accounts connect visible features of the town with the people and circumstances behind them, giving the station material that is specific to its immediate surroundings.

The wider archive reflects that same close attention to local life. Reports have covered a rare opening of Wincombe Park's gardens, a musical-theatre course for children and Duncliffe Garden Club's anniversary show. Conversations about car enthusiasts gathering at Compton Macrae sit alongside arts and community stories. Alfred's appeal lies in this detail: hearing the voices, interests and recollections of people from Shaftesbury and the neighbouring villages in their own setting.