The Bidston TV relay was on top of a block of flats called Melrose Heights, in Stavordale Rd., Moreton, facing Bidston Hill, and could not be seen until you moved away from the blocks; that's why all the pictures are taken at a distance (indicated by the red arrow).
The relay of Winter Hill was for Bidston, Wallasey Village and the Beechwood estate (Ford). The block was also host to the VHF antenna for the local community radio station, 7 waves.
The blocks were also used in the 1980s for Medium Wave pirate stations when a long wire was put up between the blocks and the ground.
Melrose Heights was scheduled for demolition after Jan 2012, and the TV relay moved to the adjacent site at Sunningdale in Nov 2011. 7 Waves moved to Woodchurch, a couple of miles to the south, at around the same time.
At the time of Dan's visit to Sunningdale, Melrose Heights was still standing, with the TV relay apparently still in place, see below.
The TV relay at Bidston entered service on 27-Feb-1985 with the channel allocation 51/44/30/47. ITV was changed to ch41 in October 1998 as ch30 was allocated to interim DTT at Storeton. DSO was 4-Nov-2009 &
2-Dec-2009. The TV relay was transferred to Sunningdale on 23-Nov-2011. |
