A former councillor with decades of public service has been given one of the highest honours in Reading.
Tony Page served as a Labour councillor for 51 years, being elected aged 19 in 1973.
He has recently been made an Alderman, an honorary title granted to councillors who have displayed eminent service to the town.
Mr Page was conferred with the title at a full meeting of Reading Borough Council.
Introducing the motion to make him an Alderman, his friend, councillor Karen Rowland (Labour, Abbey), said: “Public service was in Tony’s blood. He always appeared cool under pressure, exhibiting a calm sense of fearlessness to tackle and drive forward the most difficult decision that needed to be made for the town.”
She regretted that Michael Harper, Mr Page’s husband and partner of more than 20 years, who passed away on March 10, could not be there to witness the occasion.
Cllr Rowland said: “Michael was Tony’s greatest advocate, also so incredibly proud of Tony and all of his achievements.
“I do hope members will agree to the admission of Tony as Alderman, and I feel quite sure Michael will smile pleasingly on Tony and this chamber.”
Seconding the motion, Liz Terry (Labour, Coley), listed his many achievements, such as chairing Reading Buses from 1986 to 2005, seeing the completion of major train station projects at Green Park and Reading West, and the delivery of the Station Hill development.
Accepting the honour, Mr Page reflected on the successful partnerships the council forged during his long tenure.
He said: “The Oracle is a good example of the municipal private sector partnership that we struck many years ago.
“That relied on a proactive local authority and not just a reactive one.”
Mr Page emphasised the positive relationship forged between Hammerson, that owns the north bank of the Kennet and the council and Reading Buses that owns the south bank.
He continued: “We delivered a formidably successful town centre regeneration. The rest, as they say, is history.”
Mr Page then mentioned the relocation of the Reading Buses depot from Mill Lane to its current site in Great Knolly Street.
He also took the opportunity to voice some of the frustrations he experienced, such as the failure of the Grazeley Garden Town project in a collaboration with Wokingham Borough and West Berkshire councils.
Envisaged as a 15,000-home new town, the project was quashed by the Atomic Weapons Establishment of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Mr Page said: “That got scuppered by the MoD of all organisations, with its seeming ability to be able to completely scupper a development much needed because of some ridiculous concept of a blast zone.
“A lot of work was done on it, which could be picked up again tomorrow.
“That could and should be resurrected.”
Mr Page celebrated council housing projects, such as the 15 homes at the Arthur Hill site he opened in January last year, while decrying the Right to Buy reform of 1980 as “disastrous”.
He was made an Alderman at the full council meeting on June 24.
