Fifteen years of commercial broadcasting from Craven came to an end last week as Fresh Radio bowed out.

Following a takeover by the national UKRD group, the station will be rebranded Stray, with the Harrogate-based broadcaster expanding to cover the Yorkshire Dales patch served by Fresh since 1997.

In a low-key farewell at 5.45pm on Friday, drive-time presenter Nick Babb announced the end of live broadcasting from the Fresh studios at Broughton Hall.

He thanked listeners for their support down the years and said it was an “exciting time” for local radio in Skipton, Ilkley and the Dales.

The Fresh website was taken down and a message on the site read: “We are building you a great new radio station, come back and check soon!”

The end came just hours after the confirmation of a deal that will see the station moved from Craven to the headquarters of neighbouring Stray FM in Harrogate. It means the end of dedicated commercial radio broadcasts from Craven.

Many well-known voices, including head of news James Wilson and DJ Jeremy Gartland, had already left the station in the days running up to the sale.

UKRD’s chief executive William Rogers said the enlarged station would create “great, locally-focused and relevant radio”.

“We have been looking at this licence for some time and I am delighted that we have been able to come to a satisfactory agreement with the owners to acquire it,” he added.

Sarah Barry, managing director of Stray FM, said: “What is particularly exciting about this opportunity is that our listeners in the Skipton area will be able to tune in to their local station on FM for the very first time. We are making a significant investment in new technology to make this possible. For a short period, the service will continue to be broadcast on medium wave.”

Previous owner Roger Tempest said that he felt this change would be “a really positive move for the station”.

Former station manager Julian Hotchkiss said: “I’m pleased to say that I have accepted a commercial role with the new radio station. I’m excited at the prospect of an even bigger and better service covering the Dales and look forward to working with new colleagues at UKRD.”

David Adams, of Cowling-based community station Drystone radio, said the team there was saddened by the closure of Fresh. “The personnel who have lost their jobs will no doubt get work elsewhere in the radio industry as their standard of broadcasting was high. They take with them, however, an intimate knowledge of our community,” he said.

Fresh Radio was launched in May 1997 as Yorkshire Dales Radio, before being renamed Fresh AM in 1999, with a further change of name two years later to Fresh Radio.