The Sydney-based community station Hawkesbury Radio is facing closure after its landlord, Sydney Water, served it with an eviction notice.
The ABC reports that Sydney Water gave the radio station – run entirely by volunteers – just three months to leave the Windsor building beside a water tower, claiming that the station’s physical home isn’t up to code.
Hawkesbury Radio has until January 2027 to find a new physical home or risk taking its community radio off the airwaves.
A spokesperson for Sydney Water told the ABC that Hawkesbury Radio had received an “extended” three-month notice period to leave the premises and host the station from another site.
The spokesperson explained, “Following a routine property inspection, Sydney Water identified significant safety, compliance and maintenance issues with the building.
“As a result, the property is not considered safe to occupy. We recognise Hawkesbury Radio’s longstanding role in the local community.”
Founded in 1978, Hawkesbury Radio used to be an FM station that reportedly reached 20,000 listeners per day in the ‘90s.
Since 2022, listening to the radio station has only been accessible by heading online via its website and streaming services, reaching fewer people now but still presenting programming for the local community.
In the last few years, it’s been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, losing its FM licence, and property damage. Despite those struggles, Hawkesbury Radio continues to serve the community.
Hawkesbury Radio presenter Leon Watson opened up about the impact of the station, sharing that it supported the local community as its people faced floods and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We went from bushfire, to flood, to COVID, to flood, to flood, to flood,” Watson told the ABC. “We were updating everybody at least every 15 minutes about what’s going on. Unless we find somewhere else to go, that’s 48 years gone.”
