Reading Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Jackie Yates since October 2022[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 48 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| Plurality-at-large | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Motto | |
| A Deo et Regina | |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Civic Offices, Bridge Street,Reading, RG1 2LU | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Reading Borough Council is thelocal authority forReading in the county ofBerkshire, England. Reading has had a council since at least 1542, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1998, the council has been aunitary authority, being adistrict council which also performs the functions of acounty council.
The council has been underLabour majority control since 2012. It is based at the Civic Offices on Bridge Street in the town centre.
The town of Reading was anancient borough, being described as a borough by the time of theDomesday Book in 1086. The borough was initially controlled byReading Abbey, but the town gradually gained a degree of independence from the abbey from the thirteenth century onwards. Following thedissolution of the abbey in 1538 the borough was granted a new charter in 1542.[3]
The borough was reformed in 1836 to become amunicipal borough under theMunicipal 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 theLocal Government Act 1888, Reading was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it was made acounty borough, independent fromBerkshire County Council.[4]
When the town became a county borough in 1889 the borough comprised the threecivil parishes ofSt Giles,St Laurence, andSt 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 formerCavershamUrban District fromOxfordshire, and also gaining a large part of the neighbouring parish ofTilehurst.[5]
TheLocal Government Act 1972 reconstituted Reading as anon-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.[6] In particular, it became a lower-tier district authority, with Berkshire County Council providing county-level services in the town for the first time.[7]
The county council was abolished in 1998. Reading Borough Council then became aunitary authority, taking over the former county council's functions in the borough.[8]
As a unitary authority, Reading Borough Council delivers all local government services in the area. There are nocivil parishes in the borough, which has been anunparished area since the 1974 reforms. Since the abolition of Berkshire County Council in 1998 some county-wide functions such as theRoyal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service have been administered by joint committees of the six district councils. Reading Borough Council has adopted thecommittee system of governance.
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:[9]
Non-metropolitan district
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1974–1983 | |
| Conservative | 1983–1986 | |
| No overall control | 1986–1987 | |
| Labour | 1987–1998 | |
Unitary authority
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1998–2008 | |
| No overall control | 2008–2012 | |
| Labour | 2012–present | |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Reading. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader 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 theLocal Government Act 2000. The leaders of Reading Borough Council since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Day[10] | Liberal | 1974 | 1976 | |
| Deryck Morton[11] | Conservative | 1976 | 1986 | |
| Mike Orton[12][13] | Labour | 1986 | 1995 | |
| David Sutton[14][15] | Labour | 1995 | May 2008 | |
| Jo Lovelock[16][15] | Labour | 20 May 2008 | May 2010 | |
| Andrew Cumpsty[17][18] | Conservative | 25 May 2010 | May 2011 | |
| Jo Lovelock[19][15] | Labour | 25 May 2011 | May 2019 | |
| Jason Brock[20][21] | Labour | 22 May 2019 | May 2024 | |
| Liz Terry[22] | Labour | 22 May 2024 | ||
Following the2024 election, the composition of the council was:[23]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 32 | |
| Green | 8 | |
| Conservative | 4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| Total | 48 | |
The next election is due inMay 2026.[24]
Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 48councillors representing 16wards, 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.[25]
Reading's councillors are elected by 16 wards:[26]
Since 2014 the council has been based at the Civic Offices onBridge Street.
Reading's historicTown 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.[27] In 1976 the council moved to a newCivic Centre off Castle Street, adjoining other facilities including a police station, magistrates' court, andThe 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).[28] 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.[29]
Liberals took the helm of the new Reading Council's top committee yesterday... Councillor Day was voted policy committee chairman on the new district council...
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| National | |
