A volunteer-run radio station which was launched in Altrincham during the pandemic has celebrated its third birthday.

RadioAlty began with five founding members broadcasting from their homes and the team steadily grew from there.

It now operates partly from Altrincham Garrick Playhouse, producing live shows in their new studio, along with other team members still broadcasting from anywhere they can find at home.

And on Friday, March 24, it marked its third birthday.

Rod Maxwell, station manager and a founder of RadioAlty, said: “You’ve got people that are making radio shows in their bedrooms, in their broom cupboards, and actually I think the quality of them is very good.”

The station, under parent company Altrincham Community Media, aims to provide a space for people to enhance and share skills across a range of media activities.

“Hearing new voices, young people making shows and seeing their development, and hearing their development, has been fantastic,” Rod said.

The station was also set up to shine a stronger light on an already bustling music scene in South Manchester.

“One of our primary principles was to provide a platform to play that music, unsigned music, that doesn’t often get played on commercial or local radio,” Rod added.

Along with shows focusing on genres from jazz to rock, the station also provides live commentary of all Altrincham FC’s games, and Rod says that the positive feedback the station has received via email makes it all worthwhile.

Over the last three years, Rod says one of the stations biggest challenges has been getting the station in front of listeners and local businesses, but the range of sponsors and shows now on offer demonstrates how RadioAlty has overcome this hurdle.

Messenger Newspapers: The station has attracted some of the best local talent from across the generations in AltrinchamThe station has attracted some of the best local talent from across the generations in Altrincham (Image: Rod Maxwell)

Now broadcasting across the country and even abroad, with listeners in Austria, and operations manager, Alison Howells, assisting the team virtually from the South of France, the team at RadioAlty are feeling confident about the next three years.

Rod said: “I think our team is stronger than ever and the quality and the width of the shows that we’ve got is pretty good.

“In some ways, we’re glad to still be going, but actually now it’s a case of looking to the future and seeing what else we can do.”

The station broadcasts 24/7 online and can be accessed at www.radioalty.co.uk or via the RadioAlty IOS and Android apps, smart speakers and on Streema.