A window of opportunity has been presented for the possible creation of a ‘Greater Reading’ council following the apparent failure of the idea.
There has been discussion for months about the chance to create an enlarged Reading Borough Council by incorporating Tilehurst Parish and Calcot into the council’s jurisdiction.
This ‘Greater Reading authority’ would place a large part of the town’s urban area under the council’s control, with its responsibilities for planning, highways, transport, leisure facilities and more.
The proposal surfaced as part of discussions about Local Government Reorganisation.
Now, an opportunity for it to be created has presented itself following a ‘pause’ in the process that was announced this month.
The process has mandated the end of two-tier local authorities, effectively meaning the abolition of Oxfordshire County Council and its lower-tier district councils.
Politicians have been negotiating successor authorities, with one proposal seeing the Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire district councils merge with West Berkshire Council to create Ridgeway Council.
As a counter offer, Reading Borough Council asked the government for the West Berkshire wards of Tilehurst and Purley, Tilehurst Birch Copse and Tilehurst South and Purley to create Greater Reading if the government selected a ‘Two Oxfordshires’ proposal.
However, in July, the Department of Local Government announced that the ‘Three Oxfordshires’ model proposed by Oxford City Council would be taken forward, in an apparent rejection of the Greater Reading project.
But the selection of ‘Three Oxfordshires’ was made by the last local government secretary Steve Reed, who made the decision shortly before leaving office in July.
Angela Rayner was reappointed as the local government secretary under Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
She announced a review and pause in the local government reorganisation process on September 7 following legal advice and consideration of the new government’s priorities.
This pause could potentially put Greater Reading back on the agenda.
Asked for a comment on the review, Liz Terry (Labour, Coley), the leader of Reading Borough Council, said: “The council notes the announcement by government that it intends to pause and review plans for Local Government Reorganisation.
“Once finalised, these new council areas are likely to be in place for many decades to come, so it makes sense to take some time to ensure the decisions are the right ones and that they reflect the government’s own priorities.
“For Reading’s part, the pause provides a further opportunity to discuss our case with the Secretary of State and to reiterate the rationale behind our call for changes to be made to our western boundary.
“We maintain Reading should be at the forefront of any future decisions on reorganisation, whether in Berkshire or across the wider region.”
