Reading Liberal Democrats are calling on the Labour-run Council to explain how much taxpayer money and officer time was spent on a City of Culture bid that collapsed within six days of submission — and why warning signs were ignored before it was submitted.

An investigation by The Reading Reporter has revealed that Reading’s expression of interest for UK City of Culture 2029 was rejected on 18 March, just six days after a planning meeting held in the Council Chamber. The report also reveals that the decision to submit the bid was made close to the deadline, meaning the bid-writing process was rushed. At the same time, competitor towns had spent considerably longer preparing.

Liberal Democrat councillors are questioning why the bid went ahead at all, given that participants at the planning meeting themselves identified significant risks — including “bid failure fatigue” among residents from previous failed bids, the risk of damaging Reading’s cultural sector if unsuccessful, and the likelihood that residents would view it as a waste of money. Those concerns proved well-founded.

The bid also involved the hiring of an external facilitation company, Golden Sankofa, to run the planning meetings — at an as-yet undisclosed cost to the public.

Most strikingly, the bid was pursued at the same time as the Council cut its culture budget from £3 million to just over £2 million — a budget that also has to cover parks, leisure centres and libraries. Reading Liberal Democrats are asking how the Council can justify the time and expense of a high-profile bid while simultaneously reducing the very investment that would have made Reading a more credible candidate.

James Moore, Reading Liberal Democrat Councillor for Tilehurst, said:

“Residents deserve to know how much of their money was spent on a bid that those involved knew was a risk — and that was apparently written in a rush. The warning signs were there before the bid was even submitted, yet the Council pressed ahead anyway.

“At the same time as pursuing this bid, Labour cut Reading’s culture budget. You cannot credibly pitch yourself as a City of Culture to a national panel while cutting the funding that supports culture in your own town.

“We’re not opposed to ambition for Reading. But ambition has to be backed by a plan, proper preparation, and a realistic assessment of whether the time and money involved are justified. This bid had none of those things.

“We are calling on the Council to publish a full account of the costs involved — including any external consultancy fees — and to explain what steps will be taken to ensure public money is not wasted in this way again.”

Reading Liberal Democrats are also noting that a 10-point recovery plan has been produced following the bid’s failure, but that no date has yet been set for the next meeting to take it forward — raising further doubts about whether the Council has a coherent strategy for culture in Reading

Reading Borough Council are delighted to announce the opening of the new Central Library at its new location in the Civic Centre, Bridge Street on Thursday 18 June.

The move is a significant new development for services in Reading’s central library, which will be housed in a new building, a light, fully accessible space, with a focus on learning, creativity and community use.

The new library will be fitted out with better facilities for studying, working and enjoying the town centre as well as an extensive range of fiction, non-fiction, local history and family history collections.

One of the major new features will be The Square, a versatile community and events area which will be used for activities, workshops and events of all kinds throughout the year. In addition, there are nearly 100 work and study spaces all equipped with free Wi-Fi and most of which have access to power points for laptops and devices.

The library has been designed keeping in mind all ages, such as:

Larger and more inviting children’s library featuring cosy reading areas and storytelling space.
A special teen area that offers graphic novels, appropriate reading material, comfortable seating and group study spaces.
Clear zones for working, meeting and quiet relaxation
A broad and diverse range of books for everybody to enjoy.
There are 18 (to borrow free) tablets and 8 laptops available.
10 public access computers
A special local history section about Reading’s history

The library will also be open for longer on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, at 9am. Self-service hours will be offered the first hour of the day (9am-10am), where visitors can take their time to explore and enjoy the facilities.

The new library will be open to all residents and is warmly welcomed—even those who haven’t been to Central Library in a while.

King’s Road Library Update

From this week, services will no longer be available at the former King’s Road library site as around 60,000 books are moved to their new home at the Civic Centre.

Library books will not be due to Central Library and no fines will be paid during this transition.

Books on loan can still be returned to any of Reading’s six community libraries, or to the new Central Library when it opens on 18 June.

All 6 community libraries are open and have lending programs, access to computers and printers, and audiobooks. They are Battle, Caversham, Palmer Park, Southcote and Tilehurst and Whitley Libraries.

Reading’s main library has now shut its doors for good. It’s getting ready to move to the town’s newly updated Civic Centre.

Reading Central Library, which first opened on Kings Road back in 1985, had its last day open to visitors on Saturday afternoon. Now, it’s starting the big move to the new Civic Centre development over on Bridge Street.

You won’t be able to use the library’s central services until the new place opens up on Thursday, June 18th. This new spot will be inside the redesigned Civic Centre. They expect it to have modern facilities, be much easier for everyone to get around, and offer more spaces for community use.

Reading Borough Council says they had to move. The old building, with its many floors, had just gotten too outdated and it was becoming really hard – and costly – to make it work for people with accessibility needs.

Council officials mention that the new library, which was built just for this, will be completely accessible. It’s also designed to better serve everyone: residents, students, and visitors alike. The plans for this new place include almost 100 spots to work or study, better digital tools, and a new area for community gatherings and events called The Square.

But this closure hasn’t been without its share of arguments. Some local people and groups have spoken out against the move. They’re worried about losing the old Kings Road location, which has been there for so long. They also question if this whole moving period might affect people who use the library all the time. Others have asked for clearer details about how much the redevelopment is costing and what’s going to happen to the old library building.

Even with all the talk against it, council leaders feel this move is a big investment in Reading’s public services for the future. They want the new library to be a central spot for learning, community get-togethers, and events right in the town centre.