Church is an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It is covers an area south and south-east of the town centre, and is bordered by Whitley, Katesgrove and Redlands wards of Reading Borough Council, and by the civil parishes of Earley and Shinfield in Wokingham. The whole of the ward lies within the Earley and Woodley parliamentary constituency. [1] [2]
In a set of boundary changes in 2022, the boundaries of Church ward were significantly changed, losing areas to both Redlands and Whitley wards, whilst gaining a considerable area from Whitley ward west of Northumberland Avenue. One rather strange consequence of this is that the geographical centre of the suburb of Whitley, as depicted on Ordnance Survey maps, now lies in Church ward rather than Whitley ward. [1] [2] [3] [4]
As with all Reading wards, the ward elects three councillors to Reading Borough Council. Elections since 2004 are generally held by thirds, with elections in three years out of four, although the 2022 elections were for all councillors due to the boundary changes. The ward councillors are currently Andrew Hornsby-Smith, Ruth McEwan and Paul Woodward, who are all members of the Labour party. [5]
The Borough of Runnymede is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Addlestone and the borough also includes the towns of Chertsey and Egham. The borough is named after Runnymede, a water meadow on the banks of the River Thames near Egham, which is connected with the sealing of Magna Carta by King John in 1215.
Earley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley, the Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area; for the purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside the area of Reading Borough Council. Its name is sometimes spelt Erleigh or Erlegh and consists of a number of smaller areas, including Maiden Erlegh and Lower Earley, and lies some 3 miles (5 km) south and east of the centre of Reading, and some 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Wokingham. It had a population of 32,036 at the 2011 Census.
Reading East was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. In the 2019–2024 Parliament, it was one of two Labour seats from a total of eight seats in Berkshire.
Reading West was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament.
Whitley is a suburb of the town of Reading, in the county of Berkshire, England. It is also an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading.
Katesgrove is an inner-town district and electoral ward situated immediately to the south of the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. The district and ward are largely, but not entirely, coterminous.It is outside the town centre and Central Reading.
East Reading is a main locality of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Its centre is known as Cemetery Junction, after Reading Old Cemetery.
Abbey is an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. The ruins of Reading Abbey lie within the boundaries of the ward, a fact from which it derives its name. The ward covers the centre of the town, south of the River Thames, and is bordered by Battle, Thames, Redlands, Katesgrove and Coley wards. The ward lies entirely within the Reading Central parliamentary constituency.
Battle is an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It is situated to the west of the town centre, south of the River Thames, and is bordered by Kentwood, Caversham Heights, Thames, Abbey, Coley, Southcote and Norcot wards. Most of the ward lies within the parliamentary constituency of Reading Central, although two small portions at its western boundary are within Reading West and Mid Berkshire.
Caversham is an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It is to the north of the town centre, in the suburb of Caversham to the north of the River Thames. It is bordered by Caversham Heights, Emmer Green and Thames wards of Reading Borough Council, and by the civil parish of Eye and Dunsden in South Oxfordshire. The whole of the ward lies within the Reading Central parliamentary constituency.
Kentwood is an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It consists of the northern part of the suburb of Tilehurst, in the west of Reading, south of the River Thames. The ward is bordered by Caversham Heights and Battle wards to the east, and Norcot and Tilehurst wards to the south. To the west the ward is bordered by the reduced civil parish of Tilehurst in the district of West Berkshire which is the remainder of the larger ancient parish, before the expansion of the Borough of Reading. The ward has schools and churches bearing a Tilehurst, rather than Reading name.
Coley is an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. Until the 2022 Reading Borough Council election, it was known as Minster ward and had slightly different boundaries.
Park is an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It takes its name from Palmer Park, which lies at its centre.
Tilehurst is an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It forms part of the larger Reading suburb of Tilehurst, which also includes parts of the borough's Kentwood and Norcot wards, together with the civil parish of Tilehurst Without that is outside the borough boundary in the district of West Berkshire. The ward is bordered, in clockwise order, by Norcot ward, Tilehurst Without civil parish and Kentwood ward. It lies entirely within the constituency of Reading West and Mid Berkshire.
Reading Borough Council is the council for the unitary authority of Reading in Berkshire, England. Until 1 April 1998 it was a non-metropolitan district. Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 48 councillors representing 16 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time for a four-year term.
Thames is an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It includes areas on both sides of both the River Thames and the River Kennet, to the north and east of the centre of Reading on the south bank, and to the east of the centre of Caversham on the north bank. It should not be confused with the ward of the same name that existed prior to the 2022 Reading Borough Council election, with which it has no area in common.
Caversham Heights is an electoral ward of the Borough of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. The ward was created by a boundary reorganisation prior to the 2022 Reading Borough Council election, and has replaced the Mapledurham ward, with the addition of parts of the old Thames and Peppard wards. During the reorganisation process, the ward was known as The Heights, but the name was subsequent changed as a result of public consultation.
Earley and Woodley is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Following the completion of the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election. It is represented by Yuan Yang of the Labour Party.
Reading West and Mid Berkshire is a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was formed as a result of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and primarily replaced the former Reading West constituency, also subsuming parts for the Newbury and Wokingham constituencies. It was first contested at the 2024 general election. Since 2024 it has been represented by Olivia Bailey of the Labour Party.