Bluebell Hill transmitting station

The Bluebell Hill transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility located at Blue Bell Hill between Maidstone and Rochester in the English county of Kent.

The station is situated on the crest of the North Downs and comprises five steel lattice towers, each 45 to 50 metres tall - their height being compromised by the location of nearby Rochester Airport. It broadcasts digital television, FM and DAB radio to much of north, west, and central Kent, and an overspill service into southern Essex. It stopped broadcasting analogue television when the digital switchover was completed on 27 June 2012. When in analogue service, the broadcast power of 30 kW for a main transmitter was unique in the United Kingdom, the strength being limited by potential interference with transmitters in France and the Low Countries.

Services broadcast include BBC One (South East), BBC Two, ITV1 (Meridian), Channel 4, Channel 5 and Heart Kent. Between its opening in 1974 and 31 December 1981 the transmitter broadcast Thames Television (weekdays) and London Weekend Television (weekends), being switched on 1 January 1982 to carry signals from the new ITV franchise TVS (Television South), until superseded on 1 January 1993 by ITV Meridian (East) for ITV in the south east. On occasion the local news is replaced with that from the ITV1 Meridian (South) region, or more rarely from ITV1 London, usually because of staff shortages at one studio or other or technical difficulties of some kind.

Bluebell Hill was originally an E group for analogue, then became a B group at DSO. At its 700 MHz clearance in July 2018 it became a K group (excluding the temporary MUXES 7 and 8). Most E groups and B groups, as well as widebands and K groups, will work satisfactorily on Bluebell Hill (see graph).

Analogue television
Analogue television transmissions have now ceased. BBC2 was closed on 13 June 2012 and the remaining three services on 27 June. Channel 5 was never broadcast from this transmitter.