§ Mrs. Ewingasked the Postmaster-General, how many local broadcasting stations are scheduled for establishment by March, 1968; what are the estimated capital and running costs of each station; and how many will be located in Scotland.
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§ Mr. Edward Short:The number of stations to which the experiment is limited is eight. Of these, three stations are already broadcasting and three more will be established by March, 1968. The B.B.C. tell me that the capital cost per station will be between £30,000 and £35,000 and the annual running costs about £55,000. For the Merseyside station, with a somewhat greater coverage area, the annual cost is estimated at about £64,000.
As I told the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Edward M. Taylor) on 20th July, 1967, the prospect of local support was not enough to justify a station in Scotland to the exclusion of other localities.—[Vol. 750, c. 306.]