Council Leader responds to latest 'Greater Reading' proposal

The Leader of West Berkshire Council has welcomed Reading Council backtracking on its claim to five wards in West Berkshire - but says it doesn't go far enough.

West Berkshire Council is backing a proposal for a new Ridgeway Council covering West Berkshire, South Oxfordshire and The Vale of White Horse. The proposal for a new council is a response to changes the Government are planning to how local government works. It plans to end two-tier authorities like those in Oxfordshire, and to standardise the size of all unitary authorities - which includes West Berkshire Council - to serve around 500,000 residents.

In response, Reading Council previously indicated they would ask the Government to move the existing West Berkshire Council wards of Tilehurst South & Holybrook, Tilehurst & Purley, Tilehurst Birch Copse, Pangbourne, and Theale into a new 'Greater Reading' authority. They have now scaled back their plan but still intend to ask for three Tilehurst wards to change hands.

Councillor Jeff Brooks, Leader of West Berkshire Council, said:

"This will come as a great relief for the people of Theale and Pangbourne but then they should never have been part of the conversation in the first place. It is a shame the people of Tilehurst, Calcot, Purley and Holybrook haven't been listened to in the same way. In having to backtrack on a part of their already presumptive proposals it's clear their plans - already shortsighted - are now in disarray.

"From their latest announcement it is also clear that they have fundamentally misunderstood what is being proposed. No consideration is being given to county boundaries changing so claims that any part of West Berkshire would be a part of Oxfordshire are wildly inaccurate. We have also never suggested that residents would have to go to Abingdon for services. In fact, our proposal is clear about how we would support services and ensure strong neighbourhood links by engaging and working with parish councils.  

"Fearmongering such as this does a disservice to our residents. In our conversations with local people, from the parish council meetings we've attended, and the feedback we've had, we know there are a great many people in Tilehurst and the other parishes who strongly wish to remain a part of West Berkshire. We will continue to advocate for them and make sure their views are heard as the Government considers the next steps in their plan for local government reorganisation."

"I repeat what I have said before - this attempted land grab by Reading Borough Council is uninvited, unwanted and a hostile act and deeply hurts the relationship between our two Councils - they should abandon the whole idea."

West Berkshire Council has formally backed a proposal which would see a new Ridgeway Council created covering West Berkshire, South Oxfordshire, and Vale of White Horse.

The proposal received the support of councillors at an Extraordinary Council Meeting last week and again at an Extraordinary Executive meeting yesterday evening (Wednesday 13 November). This means the proposal has been officially endorsed ahead of its expected submission to Government in the coming days.