Reading Civic Society is an independent, voluntary organisation that has been working to promote pride in our town, improve our built environment and celebrate our heritage since 1962.
Reading is proud to call itself the biggest town in England, and we consider it to be among the best places in the country for a good work-life balance offering good housing, community services and green public spaces along with our two beautiful waterways – The Thames and the Kennet and Avon canal. It has excellent transport services, entertainment venues and business opportunities.
We work in partnership with local groups and Reading Council and meet developers to:
- Support people to be active citizens and contribute positively to our town
- Commemorate the people and places that have shaped our town
- Influence major developments in our town; their design and contribution to the built environment
- Promote and protect our heritage buildings, public spaces and public art for all to enjoy
- Encourage community engagement in civic decisions
Examples of our recent work
Since 2022 delivering, with the support of young engineers and architects, an educational project Look Draw Build@Reading Station, to 10 Reading primary schools, some 450 children, each year, and in 2025 also to 9 Bristol schools.
Documenting Reading’s Heritage Plaques which mark the history of Reading’s buildings and people who have lived and worked here, and identifying potential new plaques.
Documenting for the council some 130 heritage assets and their condition, which assisted the prioritisation of spending on repairs and cleaning.
We are instrumental in our town’s heritage conservation. As part of the national planning framework councils can implement ‘Article 4 directions’ which removes some normal development rights to preserve an area’s appearance or character. When Reading Borough Council issued a direction on 15 areas we challenged the initial statement to ensure that it was consistent and comprehensive, and that the included roads and homes impacted were published so that owners would know what planning consents were required. We also encouraged the clarification on what restrictions were being applied to properties.
The Society produces a newsletter update to keep members informed of ongoing events. These can be found here.
Each year we hold our Annual General Meeting (AGM) to report on the previous financial year, forthcoming activities and raise any changes to our Constitution.
You can contact the Committee to discuss any particular interests on ReadingCivicSociety@gmail.com
We are proud to be members of Civic Voice, the national charity for the civic movement in England and Reading Voluntary Action, who support and encourage voluntary groups in our town. We are also members of the local Reading group: Caversham and District Residents’ Association.