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The culture secretary today (9 August) announced 65 towns and cities which are "in the running" to offer new local television services in the UK.

The areas, outlined on a map , were identified by Ofcom as suitable, following a detailed analysis of GI (geographic interleaved) spectrum coverage from existing transmitters.

A government consultation has now been launched asking broadcasters and audiences to argue why their town or city should be selected. According to a release , this process is expected to help filter the list down to around 20 "contenders" for the first round of licensing.

"These new, local TV services will be a fundamental change in how people get information about their own communities, and how they hold their representatives to account," culture secretary Jeremy Hunt says in the release.

I want people to be able to watch television that's truly relevant to them - Jeremy Hunt, culture secretary

"There's a huge appetite for local news and information in communities the length and breadth of the country. I want people to be able to watch television that's truly relevant to them, about what's happening where they live and featuring the people they know."

Earlier this year, outlining a Local Media Action Plan from the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), Hunt said the initial schemes would be focused on 10 to 20 local TV services, operating by 2015, with the first local services licensed from next year.

Last month Hunt backtracked on his plans for a single network channel, based around a "national spine". Instead he announced that a block of digital terrestrial TV spectrum would be awarded to a single multiplex licence holder, which will then carry local services licensed by Ofcom.

A total of £25 million from the BBC licence fee was allocated to help with infrastructure costs as part of the licence fee settlement.

Primary locations as listed on DCMS website by region:

East of England – Bedford, Cambridge, Norwich

East Midlands – Nottingham

North East – Middlesbrough, Newcastle

North West – Burnley, Carlisle, Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester, Preston

South East – Basingstoke, Brighton and Hove, Dover, Guildford, Haywards Heath, Hemel Hempstead, London, Luton, Maidstone, Oxford, Reading, Reigate, Southampton, Tonbridge

South West – Barnstaple, Bristol, Gloucester, Plymouth, Poole, Salisbury

West Midlands – Birmingham , Bromsgrove, Hereford, Kidderminster, Malvern, Shrewsbury, Stoke on Trent, Stratford upon Avon, Telford

Yorkshire & Humberside – Grimsby, Keighley, Leeds, Scarborough, Sheffield, York

Scotland – Aberdeen Ayr, Dundee, Edinburgh, Elgin, Falkirk, Glasgow, Greenock, Inverness

Wales – Bangor, Cardiff, Carmarthen, Haverfordwest, Mold, Swansea

Northern Ireland – Belfast, Derry/ Londonderry, Limavady

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Written by
Rachel McAthy

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