Loyal listeners to BBC Radio Oxford were on cloud nine today as the station went back on air after a break of four years, writes Zahra Borno.

Campaigners fought a pitched battle after BBC bosses merged the station with Radio Berkshire to form Thames Valley FM.

Today's re-launch marks the end of an unhappy marriage. And presenter Dan Chisholm promised to wear a dinner jacket and bow tie to mark the occasion.

Loyal listeners, led by former Lord Mayor of Oxford Ann Spokes Symonds and former Foreign Secretary and Witney MP Lord Hurd, campaigned to save their station, based in Summertown. But their pleas fell on deaf ears.

However, TV FM never really stood a chance. Radio Oxford listeners thought it provided little more than banal chit-chat and easy listening tracks which would make even Derek Jameson blush.

And listeners in Oxford became frustrated as callers from Berkshire jammed the airwaves. Few people will regret that it has been consigned to the radio station dustbin.

Mrs Spokes Symonds said: "I think they were wrong to merge in the first place. I was devastated when it went away and am delighted it is back. Because Radio Oxford covers Oxford itself I think people will relate to it more."

Listening figures are hard to come by but research by the Oxford Mail showed that listeners were tuning out in their droves when Radio Oxford went off air.

Listeners turned to stations such as Classic FM and Radio 4 in a desperate bid to escape the chatter of TV FM.

But the problem wasn't just that TV FM wasn't up to scratch. The over-riding concern was far more deep-rooted.

Campaigners felt scrapping BBC Radio Oxford was an attack on the city's identity. Oxford is a city with a very strong sense of its own individuality and people did not like the fact that this was being threatened.

A large proportion of Oxford's population may not actually work in the city, commuting instead to nearby towns or London, but taking away the city's local station sent out an extremely dangerous and strong message. The message said that Oxford was not special enough to have its own non-commercial radio station.

TV FM lacked the clout of a national radio station and also failed to offer the familiarity and intimacy of a local station.

Because of that it could not survive while commercial rivals such as Fox FM flourished. Media research shows listeners want more coverage of local issues.

With this in mind, BBC radio bosses are expanding services across the south east by investing £5.5m and the resurrection of Radio Oxford is part of this development.

The station, broadcast on 95.2FM, is speech-based and broadcasts a mix of news, travel, music and weather information.

It is on air 20 hours a day, seven days a week with a rolling programme of local news and views.

Managing editor Phil Ashworth says: "People may want to know what's happening in the wider world but they really want to know what is going on in their locality.

"We have held consultation meetings and that message has come out very strongly. We are delighted to be back on air."

Mr Ashworth says the station is back on air partly thanks to advances in radio technology.

The installation of a digital system, called Dalet, means that old-fashioned tape spools are no longer used in the studio and instead, the whole system is computerised. "The use of digital technology means we are able to edit programme material much more efficiently and quickly and the knock-on effect is that this produces a saving in time and effort.

"These extra resources can then be channelled into making programmes more local."

Radio Oxford was first launched 30 years ago this year. There will be some listeners tuning in today who remember those early broadcasts.

Times may have changed since then but there are certain things in life that people like to rely on.

Story date: Monday 14 February

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.