A number of jobs are at risk under plans by Celador Radio to merge its Ipswich and Norwich programming departments.

Celador took on five stations in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex in January this year when it acquired Anglian Broadcasting Company (Holdings) Ltd.

Regulator Ofcom has now given permission for the stations – Dream 100 (covering Colchester and north east Essex), Town 102, (Ipswich and surrounding area), The Beach (Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and surrounding area), Radio Norwich (Norwich and surrounding area) and North Norfolk (Cromer, Fakenham and North Norfolk) – to share output from a single programming base, to be located in Norwich.

It is understood that around 10 programming staff across the Ipswich and Norwich sites are currently the subject of a consultation, with the merger likely to result in a net reducation of three jobs.

News and sales jobs are not affected, although the Ipswich-based staff are likely to relocate to smaller presmises in the town in due course.

A source within Celador said Ofcom recognised that pressures on advertising revenues meant that radio stations with relatively small potential audiences could not necessarily continue to operate on a stand-alone basis.

'A Phil Collins song sounds the same, wherever it is played,' he said. 'However, news is a different matter.'

Anglian Broadcasting Company (Holdings)was created in 2013 through a management buyout from the Tindle Radio Group.