Latest News

12 November 2001  

At Last !! Construction of the New Studio is about to commence. Tenders were opened a few weeks ago and surprise, surprise they came in lower than anticipated. Start on site is scheduled for 24th September with completion on 9th November at a cost of approximately £52,000. Once built and with the help of our Chief Engineering Team, the equipment will be installed then the fun can really start.

Getting a new studio has been a long and difficult journey. When the Children’s Hospital moved to its new site almost four years ago they had no money to replace the Lollipop studio. Various sites were offered and then rejected for the studio but at last one was agreed to by RL. (Tucked away at the back of the hospital adjacent to the Playroom). Tenders were obtained for the studio but the cost was prohibitive, more than the equivalent cost per sq. metre for an Operating Theatre, so the scheme was dropped. After further pressure by RL the Hospital offered a site near the main Hospital entrance off the main hospital corridor and this is where we will now be.

Birmingham Children’s Hospital has also agreed to fund the fees for the new build!! Recruitment of new volunteers is now picking up and hopefully by November we will have volunteers on the wards most evenings. It is a tremendous tribute to the dedicated band of Radio Lollipop volunteers that they have kept the service going during the last three years and I am sure that there will be a big party once the new Studio is open. This party will I hope be the springboard to a re-launch of a Lollipop service in Birmingham that will rival the best Radio Lollipop Stations elsewhere in the UK, and perhaps abroad.