Yay! ArrowFM and Foodbank have a new home in Radio House

Piers Fuller Reporter from News of Wairarapa

An adverse turn of events for two community organisations that must soon vacate their premises has a silver lining in the form of a new home that offers new opportunities.
ArrowFM and Masterton Foodbank/Wai Waste are set to be rehoused by Masterton Trust Lands Trust (MTLT) in the community-owned Radio House building in Church Street.
The two organisations will move out of the Empire Building at the northern end of Queen Street which was sold last month and will be demolished to make way for a new Big Save store.
MTLT chairperson, Leanne Southey, said the trust had been able to move quickly to come up with a mutually-beneficial arrangement for ArrowFM, the Foodbank and the trust.
“As soon as we showed them through Radio House it became clear that there were some real benefits in working together to find a new arrangement that works for all parties.”
“We have been able to provide a lease that is affordable to community organisations by including an element of concessional rental, similar to that provided by the trust to a number of other community organisations.”
The silver lining for ArrowFM is the opportunity to use the new space to co-locate with Wairarapa TV and create a new community media hub in the town centre.
Custom-built studio facilities will be available to Arrow FM in the area of Radio House formerly tenanted by NZME which included its Classic Hits station.
“We’re really excited by the opportunities that have arisen from what was an adverse turn of events earlier this month,” ArrowFM general manager Michael Wilson said.
“This arrangement allows us to move into an affordable, well-appointed studio with no loss of service or major set-up costs. It’s also a great opportunity to extend our close partnership with Wairarapa Television by co-locating with them and having Destination Wairarapa as our neighbour is an excellent match.”
Wilson said weekly recording clinics would be held on the ground floor of Radio House as part of a plan to improve accessibility and visibility of the station’s disabled programme makers. “Our intention is to generate much more input from the disability community, by providing a dynamic environment for programme creation.”
Masterton Foodbank Coordinator, Lyn Tankersley, said she was delighted that the community had rallied around to support the move. “We’ve had so many offers of help and the transition should be quite simple as we just moving around the corner.
“The Foodbank is grateful for the involvement and support of its landlord Garry Daniell over the past nine years,” Lyn Tankersley said.