A television station especially for the people of York has been granted a licence from the Independent Television Commission.

The daily television service will be broadcast to the people of York and its suburbs on existing domestic television sets alongside Yorkshire Television, BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

Organisations associated with the successful application include the College of Ripon & York St John, York Business Development Ltd and Andrew Sumner Associates Ltd, the largest television production company outside London.

The station will have a strong community emphasis, promoting all aspects of York and its people.

It will include job creation, industry, commerce, business, local government and the tourist industry.

Young people seeking careers in television will be recruited to work alongside seasoned professionals. Local performers will be sought, and some programme material will be acquired from local production companies.

David Sumner, former Director and General Manager at Yorkshire Television, led the consortium.

He said: "I started working on this project three years ago, convinced there was a need for this kind of service - one not provided by the existing television broadcasting organisations.

"The prospect of it becoming a reality in perhaps a matter of months is exciting."