[3][4] Originally licensed to serve the South Lakes, the station's coverage area extended northwards on 23 April 2013 when it began broadcasting to Keswick and surrounding villages.

On 20 November 2017, CN Group announced Lakeland Radio would be sold to Global along with sister station The Bay - the sale was finalised by 1 December 2017.

The Lakeland Radio brand and programming were phased out in February 2018 and following a transition period, the station was relaunched as Smooth Lake District at 6 am on Monday 5 March 2018.

[9] Local news bulletins, traffic updates, and advertising were retained, alongside the station's Lake District breakfast show.

All networked programming originates from Global's London headquarters, including The Smooth Drive Home with Angie Greaves.