Category Archives: News

News from: Reading Borough Council – Five electric bin lorries will be cleaning up Reading emblazoned with new names given to them by residents after a borough-wide competition. The competition, launched in June, celebrated yet another milestone in the Council’s ongoing commitment to tackling the Climate Emergency by letting residents name the Council’s first five electric bin lorries, otherwise known as electric refuse collection vehicles. Continue reading Revealed! The names of Reading’s new waste trucks→

A new secondary school, River Academy, is under construction in Richfield Avenue, near the Rivermead leisure complex. The school is due to open for Year 7 students in autumn 2024. When full, River Academy will cater for 1500 students between the ages of 11 and 18, of all abilities and backgrounds. The school will be an academy run by the Maiden Erlegh Trust, which already runs schools to the east of Reading. Continue reading New secondary school to open in 2024→

The council is required to review its licensing policy every five years, and this is the latest draft: Draft Statement of Licensing Policy. A consultation is now running for this new draft of the licensing policy and will expire on 12 September 2023. In addition, where an authority is concerned about the number of licensed premises in an area and its effect, it needs to publish a Cumulative Impact Assessment. Continue reading Have your say: alcohol licensing→

News from: Reading Voluntary Action – The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) have released the latest report in the Time Well Spent series. Exploring what volunteer participation and experience looks like in 2023, against a backdrop of five years of significant external change, there is a lot to interest anyone seeking to involve volunteers in their work. Continue reading NCVO Time Well Spent 2023 report released→

Reading Borough Council’s £13.7 million project to revitalise the town’s much-loved and popular Hexagon Theatre reached its first major milestone this month. The ambitious Hexagon Theatre project will see the creation of an attractive, flexible and exciting new space for performances and community use. On Monday 10 July the council announced the official appointment of the internationally renowned professional team who will support this major project moving forward. Continue reading Hexagon Theatre revitalisation reaches first major milestone→

Are you a new charity looking to establish a brand identity but lacking the resources to do so? Or are you a not-for-profit in need of a brand refresh or repositioning and would welcome some input from students at The University of Reading? Reading University will be holding a structured eight-week ‘design-thinking brand jam’ with Part 3 Typography and design students in September – December 2023, working exclusively with not-for-profits and social enterprises. Continue reading The Branding Project from the University of Reading→

The University of Reading, is running a project called Fortiphy and have been working with older adults to create food solutions to improve nutritional status. They are currently testing variations of porridge in a nutrition intervention study and are looking for lots of volunteers aged 70+ years to participate. As they are coming up to the end of the study, they now only need male volunteers. Continue reading Male volunteers aged 70+ wanted for University of Reading food study→

On Thursday (July 6) Cllr Tony Page, the Mayor of Reading, cut the ribbon on the new North Street development, made up of 36 one and two bed flats and one three bed flat, after handover from the developers Beard. The development is just a short walk from the town centre and will give those who take a tenancy a valuable opportunity to live in affordable comfort within the town, with easy access to job opportunities, amenities and public transport. Continue reading North Street affordable homes development set to open→

Solar Together is an innovative new scheme offering high-quality solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and battery storage. This is a group-buying scheme that brings Berkshire households together to get high quality solar panels at a competitive price, helping you through the process and keeping you informed at every stage. The process works as follows: 1. Registration: you can register for free and without obligation on the Solar Together Reading web page. Continue reading New Solar Together scheme for neighbours→

The King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation. It is the MBE for volunteer groups and is awarded for life. KAVS awards are only awarded to the very best of hundreds of nominations each year. This is a badge of excellence and a real achievement for a group. Continue reading The King’s Award for Voluntary Service→