A major shake-up to local BBC radio stations in England has been announced with Norfolk set to be one of the counties affected.

The BBC is to overhaul its local radio services with stations sharing more content and broadcasting less programming unique to their area.

The proposals come as part of the corporation's new strategy, announced in May, to create a “modern, digital-led” broadcaster.

All 39 BBC local radio stations will continue with their own dedicated local programming between 6am and 2pm on weekdays.

But from 2pm until 6pm there will be 18 afternoon programmes across England that will be shared between stations.

Radio Today has reported that Norfolk will be shared with Suffolk, Cambridge and Three Counties Radio, which covers Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Ten local programmes will then be shared across England between 6pm and 10pm on weekdays, across the day on Saturday and on Sunday mornings, serving areas broadly mirroring the existing local TV areas.

In the Radio Norfolk 5pm headlines, long-serving presenter Matthew Gudgin reported that the only local output to remain at weekends would be an hourly news bulletin and sports commentary, which include Norwich City matches, on Saturdays and Sundays.

He added that Radio Norfolk went on the air in 1980 before Radio Suffolk followed a decade later but both have been largely local seven days a week since then.

The BBC said there will be “additional investment” to support the production of the new shows.

Plans confirmed by the broadcaster on Monday include the loss of 48 jobs across local staffing in England, amounting to a total reduction of 2pc.

The 48 jobs being cut include 40 due to the documentary series We Are England coming to an end, which was announced in May.

Greater programme sharing will result in 139 fewer roles in audio teams, but there will be around 131 additional roles across local news services.

The changes will see around £19m reprioritised from broadcast services towards online and multi-media production.

Rhodri Talfan Davies, BBC director of nations, said: “These are ambitious and far-reaching proposals to grow the value we deliver to local audiences everywhere.

“The plans will help us connect with more people in more communities right across England – striking a better balance between our broadcast and online services – and ensuring we remain a cornerstone of local life for generations to come.”

The changes follow the BBC’s announcement of a new digital-first “blueprint” in May, which included the news that BBC Four and CBBC will end as linear channels in the coming years.