Vale MP praises Wenvoe's broadcast role and engineering expertise

Wenvoe serves over 1 million people across South Wales

13 August 2026, Winchester, UK - Vale of Glamorgan MP, Kanishka Narayan, has praised the engineering expertise and resilient broadcast services provided by the Wenvoe transmitting station following a visit to the site.

Mr Narayan, who also serves as Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, visited Wenvoe in his capacity as the local MP, to meet leaders and engineers from Arqiva and learn more about the television and radio services it delivers to more than 1 million people across South Wales.

The visit came amid a growing debate about the future of the UK's terrestrial television network, with television via an aerial (known as Freeview) potentially being switched off from 2034.

During his visit, Mr Narayan saw behind the scenes at the transmitting station and discussed the importance of maintaining reliable broadcast services for communities across the region, including villages and more remote areas where access to alternative communications services can be limited.

He also heard about the engineering and technical expertise required to keep television and radio services operating around the clock, and the wider role of the broadcast network in supporting emergency communications and other critical infrastructure.

It's my first visit to the Wenvoe transmitter site and it has been really impressive to see the expertise and engineering talent going back decades, maintaining a very resilient network while also thinking about its future.

Radio and television are hugely important in South Wales, including the cultural productions made here and seen in millions of homes across the country. The site is central to people accessing important information and to maintaining that cultural connection, and I'm very grateful for the work of the team here.

Kanishka Narayan MP

During the visit, Arqiva also outlined how it is exploring the use of data and artificial intelligence across its media, broadcast and smart utilities operations.

This includes using data to help water companies identify leaks and better understand household consumption, as well as exploring how AI could help preserve specialist engineering knowledge, support engineers in the field and resolve service issues more quickly.

Dom Wedgwood, Chief Technology Officer at Arqiva, which owns and operates the UK broadcast infrastructure, said:

Nowhere is it more important to be able to get radio to small villages and communities in the valleys and on the hilltops than here in South Wales. These services are relied on 24 hours a day for entertainment and communication, and for news, weather and travel information.

Services such as these can sometimes be taken for granted, but the visit provided an opportunity to demonstrate the commitment and expertise required to maintain their quality and reliability for the long term.

It was valuable to discuss how Arqiva is already applying data and AI across its work, from helping water companies identify leakage and understand household consumption to supporting our engineers and resolving customer service issues more quickly.

The Wenvoe transmitting station has served communities across South Wales since it began broadcasting in 1952. At 260.7m, it is one of the most prominent landmarks in the Vale of Glamorgan. It is owned and operated by Arqiva as part of the UK's network of more than 1,450 television and radio transmission sites, which collectively reach 98.5% of UK households.

ENDS

Published

13/08/2026

Author

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