Millions of listeners all over the world will tune into the World Rally Championship when it returns to North Wales – all because the local council helped set up an office in Ruthin.
World Rally Radio (WRR) – 10 years old this month – will tell rally fans from Argentina to Australia exactly what is happening, as it happens, when the cars race through Clocaenog Forest as the world’s premier motorsport event has its final round in Wales from November 10-13.
Crown House Media which set up WRR are based in Crown House in Well Street, Ruthin.
A once notorious drugs den, the 17th century building was restored to its former glory by Denbighshire County Council.
It is now the unlikely nerve-centre of a global radio network covering the most prestigious sporting events on the planet, the FIA’s World Rally Championship being amongst the biggest.
Former Ysgol Brynhyfryd pupil Chris Rawes, 36, is the man in charge at Crown House.
“I was working from home in Ruthin and as the business expanded I was not prepared to have people working in my house at the weekends.
“Denbighshire County Council helped us with this office and we moved here in October 2005. It was the ideal town centre location and a perfect environment,” said Chris.
In fact Denbighshire, with help from Europe and the Welsh Assembly Government, spent £700,000 rescuing the decaying 17th century Crown House.
But Denbighshire’s help did not end there. “We’ve not looked back since moving here. We wanted to develop an open plan office with a better studio environment. After a business breakfast hosted by Denbighshire County Council at Ruthin Castle we found there were grants available that we could get under the Local Investment Fund (LIF).
“Denbighshire’s Kirsty Hutton-Davies helped us with the paperwork. She was a breath of fresh air, amazing in pursuing funding for the business.
“We used local carpenters and electricians to build three studios in our offices by the end of last year and re-fitted the whole office with two dedicated radio studios and a voice-over booth for jingles and narration and video production.”
Incredibly just six full-time people are involved in World Rally Radio which attracts over 2.5 million listeners worldwide.
And spotting a “gap in the market” Chris and his colleagues launched iRally – voted top app of the month by Top Gear magazine– so that with a free download to your iphone you can listen to WRR broadcasts of the rally while you stand by the roadside in South America waiting for the rally cars to pass!
“The thing is TV coverage can be delayed so fans listen to us. Not only them but journalists covering the event listen to us, BBC and other TV media listen to what we are saying because we are talking to the drivers at the end of every competitive stage.
“Even the teams are listening to us because the drivers know and trust us and speak to us quite frankly sometimes, so even the teams can pick things up from our broadcasts they would not otherwise have been aware of.
“And all this comes through me in a studio in Ruthin,” said Chris. As well as Chris they normally have reporters Colin Clark and Lisa O’Sullivan speaking with the drivers and Rebecca Williams tracking movements and recording stats’ at the service area.
“It’s exciting to have the rally back in North Wales and a stage in Clocaenog. Although it’s only a few miles down the road, we will be covering it in exactly the same way we would if it was in Argentina, Australia or Mexico.”
WRR has a sister Radio Station called Radio Rally which is allso produced by Crown House Media in Ruthin.
It covers the Intercontinental Rally Challenge which visits locations such as Monte Carlo, Monaco, Spain, the Canaries, Corsica, Ukraine, Belgium, Azores, Madeira, Czech Republic, San Remo, Scotland and Cyprus.
The World Rally Championship starts from Mostyn Street in Llandudno on November 10 with a stage around the Great Orme and then to Clocaenog where the first car goes into the forest at 4.18pm before they return for an overnight in Llandudno. Friday the cars are off to Machynlleth and finally Builth Wells.
Crown House Media’s worldwide sports radio coverage is not limited to car racing, but includes boxing, golf, cricket, rugby and many other sports.
“We could not have done all this without Denbighshire County Council helping us. We could work anywhere in the world, out of a tin shed on an industrial estate or in a busy city centre but here I am looking out of the office at the Clwydian Range and Moel Famau, it’s a great place to live and work,” said Chris.
Kirsty Hutton-Davies, a Business Investment Officer with Denbighshire County Council, said: “Crown House was in a pretty sad state so we were delighted that we were able to salvage this beautiful building and ensure that it has a positive future.”
“In some respects Ruthin may be an unlikely nerve-centre for a global radio network but it goes to show that Denbighshire is a great place to do business.
“It is very satisfying to see that Crown House is fulfilling its potential as a launch pad for businesses and we wish them the very best of luck so that they can continue to grow and prosper.”
You can listen to WRR by going onto the rally’s official World Rally Championships website at wrc.com and you can download the free iRally app by going into the iTunes store. You can also check out the company at www.crownhousemedia.com
