Reflecting the UK’s nations, regions and communities
BBC English Regions’ output is central to the BBC’s mission to foster a sense of community, reflecting local life and bringing communities together to mark key local events. Our network of multimedia operations based in and serving their local areas is a powerful force for local cohesion.

Local radio provides a distinctive speech-based service across England, offering a forum for debate, a focus for key local issues and a platform for local people to share their stories and experiences.

Regional TV acts as a programme of record each day for the main stories and issues in each of the 12 English regions. Weekly TV output offers strong and locally focused politics and current affairs output across England, alongside landmark programmes marking key events and issues.

Our Where I Live and news sites offer new ways to explore our localities, providing information, features and interaction.

This year we will:

• Continue to develop our local TV pilot, launched in December 2005, testing out formats, content and technology and aiming to provide up to 50 local services on full roll-out, subject to approval.
• Continue to develop our proposals for four more local radio stations based in Somerset, Dorset, Cheshire and Bradford, and work on gaining approval and securing property and technology ready for the launch of Somerset and Dorset.

Sustaining citizenship and civil society
BBC English Regions’ services extend opportunities for active citizenship and local democracy across all our media outlets, by providing news, information and gateways for individuals to get involved.

We will continue to play an active role in promoting citizenship and local democracy through initiatives such as Groundswell, which promotes local debate, and our links with Action Network. In addition, we will raise awareness of social issues and encourage volunteering through our ongoing relationship with Community Service Volunteers.

Specifically this year we will:

• Strengthen our links with the Community Media Association – primarily through a training partnership.
• Further roll out our Junior Football web initiative, which offers support for children’s sport and promotes IT skills in families.
• Support BBC Sport’s Your Game initiative, which aims to promote sport in disadvantaged and marginalised communities.

Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence
BBC English Regions has a pivotal role to play in nurturing local talent and creativity, both through regular output and via projects and partnerships, events, exhibitions and workshops.

We work closely with the independent sector to help ensure a thriving production base outside the BBC in the regions. In 2005/2006 we launched two new Politics Shows using local independent companies in the South East and East Midlands.

This year we will:

• Extend our Roots partnership with the Arts Council for a further year.
• Further develop audio and video storytelling projects from our listeners and viewers.
• Run sports awards events across England celebrating the best of local and community talent.

Building digital Britain
We have maintained a strong audience reach in the face of increasingly stiff competition from multichannel – in England more than any other nation.

This year we will:

• Use our local TV pilot as a portal to draw in audiences to the BBC’s wider digital offering.
• Continue to use our buses and open centres to demystify new technology and provide a supportive environment for those starting to cross the digital divide.

Promoting education and learning
Increasingly, BBC English Regions acts as a conduit between its audience and opportunities for learning.

Our buses and open centres provide a stepping-stone for many to acquire computer skills, as well as a pathway to other educational possibilities provided via our further and higher education partners. The relationship of closeness and trust we enjoy with our audience means that they see us as a safe way into opportunities which may otherwise seem forbidding or impenetrable.

We will continue our media literacy and learning work with schools, colleges, adults and community groups – for example through the All2gether Now project in Leeds and our work with schools in Hull.

This year we will:

• Provide relevant and engaging local content for pan-BBC projects that foster learning such as Breathing Places and RaW.
• Offer high-quality work experience, with a particular focus on developing an interest in the media amongst ethnic minority communities.
• Add two new buses in Surrey/Sussex and Somerset.

Bringing the world to the UK and the UK to the world
BBC English Regions is primarily committed to serving local communities of interest.

However, many of the ethnically diverse groups we serve with local output have interests outside the British Isles, and the BBC is uniquely placed to cater for these.

All BBC local radio stations are now streamed on the internet and we will continue to find new ways to use this capability to connect individuals and communities on a global scale.

Specifically this year we will:

• Develop the links that local radio built up with BBC World Service over 2005’s Africa season.

BBC English Regions exists at the sharp end of audience demand, and in 2005/2006 we fulfilled our audience’s appetite for increased localness, more on-demand content, and a strong and pro-active response to new technological developments.

We have recently launched a pilot for local TV in the West Midlands covering six areas on broadband and digital satellite, and have started to lay the groundwork (subject to BBC Governors’ approval) for the first two ’virtual’ local radio stations – based around smaller premises, new technology and a mobile bus-based studio.

Key editorial priorities for 2006/2007 are to:

• Successfully conclude our pilot of Local TV in the West Midlands and begin to assess the way forward for the potential roll out of the service to other areas.
• Work towards launching new local radio stations in Dorset and Somerset.

BBC English Regions has no statutory commitments but works with BBC television and radio networks and interactive services to provide content for audiences in England and throughout the UK.