A brief history about community radio in the UK
During the 1980s and 1990s many local commercial stations merged or were bought out by large media groups, which led to shared programming and fewer local hours.
Dozens of groups formed around the UK with the aim of forming a new tier of radio - community radio - which would retain an emphasis on radio for the community and be not-for-profit, preventing stations being bought, sold and changed.
A brief history of Phoenix FM
There's a detailed story of exactly how Phoenix FM was formed here