About Us

Plains FM, P Block, CPIT, Madras Street
Plains FM is Canterbury’s only community access radio station. We provide training and facilities to groups and individuals in Canterbury who wish to make their own radio programmes by, for and about their communities.

Plains FM, named after the Canterbury Plains on which we are situated, broadcasts over 65 regularly scheduled programmes in 17 different languages.

We specifically cater for under represented groups such as women, children and youth, ethnic groups and other minorities.

We broadcast from a transmitter at Sugarloaf over Christchurch, north to Cheviot, south to Ashburton, west to the Southern Alps, and into Lyttelton Harbour on Banks Peninsula. Since our birth in February 1988 our studios have been located on the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology campus.

When access programmes are not broadcasting, Plains FM specialises in a diverse ‘adult alternative’ playlist of jazz, blues, acoustic/singer/songwriter, soul and world music. New Zealand music content averages over 25% per month.

So welcome to our website!

We hope you’ll enjoy listening to the many voices of the Canterbury Plains.