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THE TRANSMISSION GALLERY
ASHTON MOSS (ARQIVA)
| Photos by Ringway Manchester | Page last updated: 2026-08-12 |
| This is what’s left of Ashton Moss MF transmitter. It sat on a large plot of land next to the M60 motorway to the east of the City of Manchester. What was once a lush green space which protected the 4-mast end fire array from intruders and functioned as a haven for wildlife has been reduced to a muddy wasteland with nothing more than concrete wire stay bases, smashed fences and destroyed transmitter huts. Piccadilly launched from Ashton Moss on 261m mediumwave on Tuesday 2nd April 1974 at 1.5kw. It broadcast originally on 1151 kHz and later 1152 kHz. Piccadilly Radio split into two services in 1988, with the contemporary music format of Key 103 on FM leaving Piccadilly on AM, which eventually adopted a 'golden oldies' format as Piccadilly Gold. In the mid-1990s, Piccadilly Gold became Piccadilly 1152 as it moved away from "golden oldies" to classic and current easy listening. In 1994, Key 103 and Piccadilly 1152 were sold to EMAP which became Bauer by Transworld Radio Group. A newer, better-quality transmitter was installed in December 1995 increasing the stations footprint in the local area. By 2000 EMAP had re-branded the AM station as Magic 1152. On 5 January 2015, it was rebranded again as Key 2 and on 7 January 2019, Key Radio rebranded as Greatest Hits Radio Manchester. In February 2021, Bauer announced it would close Greatest Hits Radio's medium-wave service on 1152 kHz, after 47 years and the AM transmitter at Ashton Moss ceased broadcasting on 28 April 2021. While exploring the wasteland which once housed the mighty Ashton Moss transmitter, I noticed that the smaller Lyca Radio transmitter had also been demolished. Arqiva operated and still owned the transmitting station known to them as ‘Ashton Moss MF.’ On September 30th, 2024, as part of regular estate management, Arqiva identified a requirement to remove the 4 existing steel lattice masts and the remaining Lyca Radio antenna. The demolition could actually be conducted within 5 years from October 1st, 2024. The signs were updated around November 5th with a demolition date of November 2024. For some reason that date was pushed back. They were eventually quietly felled in late November 2025. |
| November 2024 |
| December 2025 |
| November 2024 |
| December 2025 |
| Mast stay base. |
| While exploring the wasteland which once housed the mighty Ashton Moss transmitter, I noticed that the smaller Lyca Radio transmitter had also been demolished. Lyca Radio was an Asian station broadcasting on 1377 kHz using this whip antenna. It was a small transmitter, just 80w which, despite the broken antenna did still radiate nicely to the local area. Lyca Radio was granted its permanent licence in August 1995 as Asian Sound and successfully launched on the 3rd of June 1996 as the first Asian Radio Station in the North of England to cater for the South Asian Communities. |
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