Reading Borough Council

History

The town of Reading was an ancient borough, being described as a borough by the time of the Domesday Book in 1086. The borough was initially controlled by Reading Abbey, but the town gradually gained a degree of independence from the abbey from the thirteenth century onwards. Following the dissolution of the abbey in 1538 the borough was granted a new charter in 1542.

The borough was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. It was then governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Reading', generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council. When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, Reading was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it was made a county borough, independent from Berkshire County Council.

When the town became a county borough in 1889 the borough comprised the three civil parishes of St Giles, St Laurence, and St Mary. The three civil parishes were united into a single parish called Reading in 1905 covering the same area as the borough. The borough and parish of Reading were significantly enlarged in 1911, gaining the former Caversham Urban District from Oxfordshire, and also gaining a large part of the neighbouring parish of Tilehurst.

The Local Government Act 1972 reconstituted Reading as a non-metropolitan district with effect from 1 April 1974; it kept the same boundaries and its borough status, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, but there were changes to the council's responsibilities. In particular, it became a lower-tier district authority, with Berkshire County Council providing county-level services in the town for the first time.

The county council was abolished in 1998. Reading Borough Council then became a unitary authority, taking over the former county council's functions in the borough.

Governance

As a unitary authority, Reading Borough Council delivers all local government services in the area. There are no civil parishes in the borough, which has been an unparished area since the 1974 reforms. Since the abolition of Berkshire County Council in 1998 some county-wide functions such as the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service have been administered by joint committees of the six district councils. Reading Borough Council has adopted the committee system of governance.

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2012.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:

Non-metropolitan district

Unitary authority

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Reading. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. After local government reorganisation in 1974, the leading political role was the chair of the policy committee, which was informally called the leader of the council. The role of leader of the council was made a formal position following the Local Government Act 2000. The leaders of Reading Borough Council since 1974 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in May 2026.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 48 councillors representing 16 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) being elected each time for a four-year term.

Wards

Reading's councillors are elected by 16 wards:

• Abbey
• Battle
• Caversham
• Caversham Heights
• Church
• Coley
• Emmer Green
• Katesgrove
• Kentwood
• Norcot
• Park
• Redlands
• Southcote
• Thames
• Tilehurst
• Whitley

Premises

Since 2014 the council has been based at the Civic Offices on Bridge Street.

Reading's historic Town Hall on Blagrave Street was built in phases between 1786 and 1897, and served as the headquarters of the borough council until 1976. The council's annual meeting when new mayors are appointed continues to be held at the Town Hall. In 1976 the council moved to a new Civic Centre off Castle Street, adjoining other facilities including a police station, magistrates' court, and The Hexagon theatre.

By 2013 the council's offices at the civic centre were deemed to be at the end of their design life. The council purchased an existing building called Plaza West on Bridge Street, which had been built in 1986 (originally being called Bridge Street Plaza). The building was renamed Civic Offices and opened as the council's headquarters in 2014, with the old council offices at the civic centre being demolished shortly afterwards.

References

References

1. (22 May 2025). "Reading: new Mayor and Deputy Mayor officially appointed". Reading Chronicle.
2. "Reading council's new chief executive lands £170k role". Reading Chronicle.
3. (1923). "A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3". Victoria County History.
4. "Reading Municipal Borough / County Borough". GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth.
5. "Reading Civil Parish". GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth.
6. (28 March 1974). "District Councils and Boroughs".
7. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
8. {{cite legislation UK. (1996)
9. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
10. (4 October 1973). "Get ready for heavy rate rise, warns new Liberal committee chief". Reading Evening Post.
11. (9 May 1986). "Poll revolt rocks Tories". Reading Evening Post.
12. (22 May 1986). "Changing chairmen". Reading Evening Post.
13. (24 March 2016). "Whitley councillor Mike Orton to step down after 40 years". Get Reading.
14. (8 May 1995). "New leader for borough". Reading Evening Post.
15. "Council minutes, 20 May 2008".
16. "Council minutes, 25 May 2010".
17. (10 November 2011). "Diary: Something in the Reading air makes its politicians go potty". The Independent.
18. "Council minutes, 25 May 2011".
19. (10 May 2019). "Reading council leader to stand down". Berkshire Live.
20. (10 May 2019). "Council leader Jo Lovelock steps down with Councillor Jason Brock replacing her". Reading Chronicle.
21. (6 March 2024). "Council leader to step down after five years". BBC News.
22. (23 May 2024). "Meet Liz Terry: the new leader of Reading Borough Council". Reading Today.
23. "Local elections 2024: full mayoral and council results for England". The Guardian.
24. "Reading".
25. {{cite legislation UK. (2021)
26. "Your councilors". Reading Borough Council.
27. "Council Annual Meeting, 24 May 2023".
28. (8 October 1986). "£1.3m HQ on offer". Reading Evening Post.
29. (1 October 2016). "Demolition of Reading Civic Centre continues". Berkshire Live.