Exclusive report by JOHN ELWORTHY FENLAND S only commercial radio station is to close by the end of the month. Owners of Wisbech-based Fen Radio are expected to announce the closure on Tuesday in readiness for ending transmission on or before July 31. Fo

Exclusive report by JOHN ELWORTHY

FENLAND'S only commercial radio station is to close by the end of the month.

Owners of Wisbech-based Fen Radio are expected to announce the closure on Tuesday in readiness for ending transmission on or before July 31.

Four staff will lose their jobs- two on air presenters and two sales staff.

I understand the company has been struggling to maintain the station in the face of falling advertising sales despite maintaining an audience reach of something like 20 per cent reach of radio listeners.

The mainly rock music station will simply hand its licence back to Ofcom when it closes- becoming the second station (another was based in Stroud) to do so.

The station, based in Church Mews, Wisbech, went on air on October 1999 as X11FM before becoming part of the Star group in 2002.

Star's owners are likely to transmit a message on Fen Radio's frequency directing listening to sister stations KLFM and Star 107 which are both unaffected by the Wisbech closure.

Richard Grant, programme organiser for Fen Radio, was on air tonight and could not be contacted to discuss the closure.

One source from within the Star network, however, told me: "The economics of it all were quite simple- it wasn't turning in a profit.