| Katesgrove | |
|---|---|
 Southampton Street andSt Giles' Church | |
  Katesgrove Location withinBerkshire | |
| OS grid reference | SU715726 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Reading |
| Postcode district | RG1 |
| Dialling code | 0118 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°26′38″N0°58′05″W / 51.444°N 0.968°W /51.444; -0.968 | |
Katesgrove is an inner-town district and electoral ward situated immediately to the south of the centre of the town ofReading, in theEnglish county ofBerkshire. The district and ward are largely, but not entirely, coterminous.
The traditional definition of the district of Katesgrove is bounded on the north by theInner Distribution Road, on the east by Sidmouth Street, Kendrick Road and Northumberland Avenue, on the south by Long Barn Lane and Rose Kiln Lane and on the west by theRiver Kennet.[1]
The Katesgroveelectoral ward of theBorough of Reading corresponds closely to the district. In addition to the traditional definition of Katesgrove (as given above), the ward includes a strip of land between theA33 and the River Kennet, including the flats on the site of theReading Central goods depot and the commercial buildings to the south, that would more normally be regarded as part of the districts ofColey andColey Park. The ward is bordered byAbbey,Redlands,Church,Whitley andColey wards and forms part of theReading Central parliamentary constituency.[2][3]
Katesgrove elects three councillors to theunitaryReading Borough Council, with each elected in separate years for a four-year term.[4] Traditionally an area of strength for theLabour Party, one of Katesgrove's councillors was Labour'sDavid Sutton, who was leader of the council for thirteen years before his defeat by aLiberal Democrat, Warren Swaine, in 2008.[5] The 2000s witnessed a surge in votes for the Liberal Democrats, resulting in 2007 with the election of Gareth Epps, who, in the 2010 general election, contested theReading East constituency and achieved second place in that election - culminating in 2010 with all Katesgrove councillors being Liberal Democrats.[6][7] However, the2011 council election saw Labour candidateMatt Rodda, who is now MP forReading Central, elected, and over the following years Labour regained the remaining seats.[8]
In the2022 election, at which all councillors faced re-election because of boundary changes, a swing from the Labour Party to theGreen Party led to the latter gaining two of the three seats. As of 2024[update], the councillors are Doug Cresswell, Louise Keane and Kate Nikulina, all of the Green Party.[9]
Media related toKatesgrove at Wikimedia Commons