News

Our news is collected from our network of members, and is updated regularly. We also present information and articles from other sources that might be relevant to your kind of group.

  • New Register Office opens at the Civic Centre

    24 April 2025New Register Office opens at the Civic Centre

    Three marriages and a civil partnership have already taken place in the new Oak Room in the Civic Centre. It opened in March and is the perfect size for a registrar to perform statutory marriages and civil partnerships with the couple and their two witnesses. The room will hold ceremonies at the Civic Centre on the first Tuesday of each month.

  • Free bike check-ups this spring

    24 April 2025Free bike check-ups this spring

    Families can get their bikes checked for free at five community centres and the town centre. The Dr Bike team will check your bike, fix small problems for free and help make your bike safe. The Dr Bike team is coming to Reading from Monday 28 April to Friday 2 May. You can bring your bike to: -Coley Park Community Centre 28 April, 16:30-18:30 -Southcote Community Hub 29 April, 16:30-18:30 -Hexham Road Community Centre 30 April, 16:30-18:30…

  • RVA Social Prescribing Link Worker – closing date 12 May 2025

    23 April 2025RVA Social Prescribing Link Worker – closing date 12 May 2025

    RVA is looking to recruit a full-time Social Prescribing Link Worker (SPLW) to provide social prescribing for people in south, central and east Reading. Social Prescribing enables people to take action to improve or sustain their quality of life based on what matters to them and their individual strengths. The SPLW will manage a caseload of residents within the local neighbourhood and work with voluntary and statutory partners to help improve health and wellbeing.

  • Tell us what you think and win £100 to spend at the Rising Sun

    23 April 2025Tell us what you think and win £100 to spend at the Rising Sun

    Connect Reading would like to hear from YOU about how we can improve cross-sector partnerships in Reading, and how we can improve our offer for local organisations. Our aim is to making Reading better, connected! We’re offering the chance to win £100 to spend at the Rising Sun for everyone who takes part in our 3 minute survey. The deadline for responses is Friday 9 May.

  • Plan your summer street party in Reading

    28 March 2025Plan your summer street party in Reading

    Reading residents are invited to host summer street parties as part of The Big Lunch 2025. This year’s events provide a special opportunity to bring neighbours together while marking the 80th anniversaries of Victory in Europe Day and Victory over Japan Day. The Big Lunch is the UK’s annual community celebration, bringing neighbours together for food, fun, and friendship.

  • On the fifth anniversary of the first Covid lockdown

    28 March 2025On the fifth anniversary of the first Covid lockdown

    Like many others this week, we are reflecting on the fifth anniversary of the first Covid-19 lockdown in the UK. We are thanking once again the volunteers and staff who provided support and reassurance to some of the most vulnerable members of our community through the pandemic. Voluntary sector organisations in Reading were quick to reconfigure their services to ensure that those they support could access services in new ways, or to extend their support to a wider audience.

  • Improving physical activity in Reading – can you help us?

    27 March 2025Improving physical activity in Reading – can you help us?

    Get Berkshire Active, along with other partners, are working with colleagues at Reading Borough Council to improve the physical activity landscape in Reading. We have formed a Physical Activity Action Group and are working in a whole systems way to determine the barriers currently preventing Reading residents from being as active as they’d like. We need more voluntary sector representation on this group to contribute to valued insight from local residents. If you think you can help please email nina.crispin@reading.gov.uk.

  • Get involved with the Reading Windrush Parade and Festival

    27 March 2025Get involved with the Reading Windrush Parade and Festival

    Reading Caribbean Nation CIC (RCN) is a local Reading organisation incorporated in 2024 to organise the Reading Windrush Parade and Festival. As the organizers of the Reading Windrush Parade and Festival, a widely recognized community-wide event, RCN already has strong relationships with numerous community groups. Many of these groups are represented on the RCN committee, ensuring diverse and inclusive decision-making.

  • Have your say: Council proposes emission-based parking charges

    11 March 2025Have your say: Council proposes emission-based parking charges

    The council is proposing to introduce emissions-based charging for car parking, so that those that drive the most polluting vehicles pay the most. One way of encouraging drivers to consider the alternative means of transport is through pricing. The introduction of emissions-based charging will also assist the council in achieving its stated aim of being carbon neutral by 2030. It is not expected that these changes will change peoples’ choices overnight.

  • Council to bring children’s services back in-house

    21 February 2025Council to bring children's services back in-house

    It was agreed by councillors on Tuesday 28 January 2025 that children’s services in Reading will be brought back in-house, to be delivered directly by Reading Borough Council. Work will begin immediately to complete a successful transition by Autumn 2025. This includes the transfer of around 550 members of Brighter Future for Children’s staff back to the council.