103.1 Central FM
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| Broadcast area | Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire |
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| Slogan | All About the Forth Valley |
| Frequency | 103.1 MHz DAB: 11D |
| First air date | 4 June 1990 |
| Format | Hot AC |
| Audience share | 24% (10.6% share) (December 2015, [1]) |
| Power | 500w |
| Transmitter coordinates | 56°04′18″N 4°03′37″W / 56.0716°N 4.0604°WCoordinates: 56°04′18″N 4°03′37″W / 56.0716°N 4.0604°W |
| Owner | John Quinn |
| Website | Central FM |
Central 103.1 FM is a Independent Local Radio station serving Falkirk, Stirling, Clackmannanshire and the Forth Valley. It is owned and operated by businessman John Quinn and broadcasts from studios at the Springkerse Industrial Estate in Stirling.
In December 1988, the Independent Broadcasting Authority announced it had chosen the Stirling area as one of twenty areas of the UK where new incremental radio licences were to be awarded. A month later, the regulator advertised the Stirling licence, permitting any station format.
Centresound, a community-based licence founded by Colin Lamont (alias Scottie McClue), began broadcasting on Monday 4 June 1990 from studios at the John Player Building in the Stirling Business Park but within two months, fell into financial difficulties due to problems in attracting enough investment to maintain an independent operation.
The board of directors resigned when the long-established Radio Forth went into partnership with Centresound after investing in the station. An overhaul saw the station relaunch as Central FM, sharing programming, news content and administration with Forth under an agreement. The moved was criticised as being in commercial interests, rather than for the community's benefit, but station manager Brian Hawkins argued the station was broadcasting more local output than before and no complaints had been received. The Radio Authority went on to award a new ten-year licence to Central FM in December 1993.
The station continued to record a loss, and in 1996, Radio Investments Ltd gained control after increasing its stake to 60%, ending the partnership with Radio Forth and leading to the station relocating to studios in Falkirk. Later, the controlling share passed onto The Local Radio Company, with 20% held by EMAP and the rest by independent investors.
TLRC chairman John Quinn took control of Central FM in 2008. In October 2012, the station returned to Stirling with the opening of new studios at the Springkerse Industrial Estate. In August 2013, Central FM began broadcasting on DAB across Central Scotland.
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