This Year’s Council Christmas Information
READING Borough Council will be closed for all non-essential Council services for the Christmas and New Year period.
Civic Offices
The Civic Offices on Bridge Street will be shut to the public from 5pm on Friday December 21st and will re-open again to the public at 9am on Wednesday January 2nd. The Call Centre will similarly be closed during the same period. If members of the public need to contact the Council outside of opening days, they can call Reading Borough Council’s out of hours number for any emergencies on 0118 937 3737.Adult Social Care
The Adult Social Care department will be running a reduced service over the Christmas period. This will be to support individuals who require urgent assistance on the, 24th, 27th, 28th and 31st of December, with normal services in place again from 2nd of January 2019. There will be no service on the 25th and 26th December and the 1st January. The out of hours service will be running as normal, which covers outside normal office hours, weekends and bank holidays. People can call 01344 786543.Brighter Futures for Children
Brighter Futures for Children (the new Council-owned company created to provide Children’s Services for Reading) will be running a reduced service over the Christmas period. In order to support individuals who require urgent assistance, the service will be running on the 24th, 27th, 28th and 31st of December. Normal services will be in place again from January 2nd. The out of hours service will be running as normal, which covers outside normal office hours, weekends and bank holidays. People can call 0118 937 3641.Homelessness Services
If you become homeless whilst the offices are closed you can call an emergency out of hours number, as detailed below. This service is ONLY for those who are homeless that night, with nowhere safe to sleep. The advisors cannot answer general housing enquiries. By calling this number you will speak to an advisor who will carry out an assessment over the phone. They may need to make further enquiries into your situation before giving you advice and assistance regarding your situation. Monday 24 December from 9am - 3pm – (0118) 937 4666 Monday 24 December from 3pm - Thursday 27 December at 9am - 01344 786543 Thursday 27 December from 9am - 5pm - (0118) 937 4666 Thursday 27 December from 5pm - Friday 28 December at 9am - 01344 786543 Friday 28 December from 9am - 5pm - (0118) 937 4666 Friday 28 December from 5pm - Monday 31 December at 9am - 01344 786543 Monday 31 December from 9am - 3pm - (0118) 937 4666 Monday 31 December from 3pm – Wednesday 2 January 2019 at 9am - 01344 786543 If you are a victim of Domestic Abuse and you are in danger now please call 999 for immediate Police assistance. You can also call National Womens Aid for Refuge accommodation on 0808 2000 247.Leisure Centres
Opening and closing times of Reading Sport and Leisure run services over the Christmas period are as follows. Please check with individual centres for details of available sessions or go to www.readingleisure.co.uk. South Reading Leisure Centre Dec 24 to Dec 28: Closed Dec 29 and Dec 30: 8am – 4pm Dec 31 and Jan 1: Closed Meadway Sports Centre Dec 24: 8am – 2pm Dec 25 and Dec 26: Closed Dec 27 and 28: 8am – 2pm Dec 29 and 30: Closed Dec 31: 8am – 2pm Jan 1: Closed Palmer Park Dec 24 to Dec 26: Closed Dec 27 to Dec 31: 8am – 3pm Jan 1: Closed Rivermead (operated by GLL) Dec 23: 7.30am – 6pm Dec 24: 6.30am – 2pm Dec 25 and Dec 26: Closed Dec 27 and Dec 28: 6.30am – 6pm Dec 29 and Dec 30: 7.30am – 6pm Dec 31: 6.30am – 2pm Jan 1: Closed Normal opening hours apply after these dates.Libraries
Reading’s libraries will be open as normal until Christmas Eve, and all libraries will be open on Saturday December 22nd. Reading Central and Tilehurst libraries will be open until 1pm on Christmas Eve. All other libraries will be closed on Christmas Eve. All libraries will then be closed until Thursday January 3rd, when usual opening times apply, except Palmer Park which will reopen on Wednesday January 2nd. No items will be due back during this time. Reading Libraries’ ebook and emagazine service will remain available at http://www.reading.gov.uk/elibrary. See http://www.reading.gov.uk/librarybranches for more detail on usual individual branch opening hours. Museum, Town Hall, Hexagon and South Street The Museum and Town Hall will be closed from 23 December to New Year’s Day. The Museum’s last opening day will be Saturday December 22 and it will re-open on Wednesday January 2nd. See www.readingmuseum.org.uk/opening-times for up to date opening hours. The Hexagon Theatre will be open for performances as usual. See https://www.readingarts.com/hexagon for more information. It will be shut on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. South Street will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Day. More information at https://www.readingarts.com/south-streetThe Register Office
The Register office, now based at the Civic offices on Bridge Street, will be open by appointment only on Monday December 24th, as well as on the 27, 28 and 31 of December 2018. It will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Appointments can be made anytime online on http://www.reading.gov.uk/life-events If you need to arrange a funeral quickly and it is for religious reason, the funeral director or a council approved Licensee will normally liaise with the Register Office and Henley Road Cemetery outside of normal working hours.Bins, Recycling and Christmas Trees
The Recycling Centre on Island Road is open during the holiday period, except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Opening times are 8am to 6pm, except for Christmas Eve, when the centre closes at 4pm. As usual, bin collection days will change over the Christmas and New Year period. People can check their collection calendar or visit www.reading.gov.uk/bindates. On the first collection after Christmas people can leave out an extra bag of rubbish next to their grey bin, and any extra recycling can be left in a cardboard box next to their red bin or box. Garden waste collections will finish as usual for the festive season on December 21st and begin again on January 7th. Over the Christmas period, we generate an additional 30% more waste and 70% of this can be recycled. People are being urged to recycle as much of it as possible. This year, you can recycle even more… Christmas cards, wrapping paper, cardboard boxes, clean foil and foil trays, tetra paks, plastic tubs and trays in addition to plastic bottles can go in your red bins. Please put your recycling in your bin or box loose, and not in plastic bags. Please take your glass bottles and jars to the many bottle banks around Reading to be recycled into glass products, and in some cases house insulation or astro turf. Residents can download free re3cyclopedia app to check for recyclable items or to find their nearest glass banks, and can view their collection days. Make room for your new presents including clothes and toys by donating old gifts to your local charity shop, extend their life, it could be just the thing that someone else is looking for. Please remember that all textiles and clothes that don't make it to charity, should be put in the textile banks at your nearest textile recycling bank and NOT in your grey or red bins. A full list of items you can and can’t recycle – and where you can do it – can be found at www.reading.gov.uk/recycling Christmas Tree recycling sites open on January 2nd and stay open until January 18th. They will be in car parks at the following locations: Mapledurham Playing Fields Clayfield Copse Hills Meadow Rivermead Leisure Complex Kensington Road Recreation Ground Prospect Park Meadway Recreation Ground Tilehurst allotments, Armour Hill Palmer Park Sports Stadium Whitley Wood Recreation Ground South Reading Leisure Centre (Academy Sport) Northumberland Avenue The trees will be chipped by the Council and used in a range of landscaping schemes across the Borough. Residents are being advised not to be alarmed if they see piles of trees as it takes a few days to get round to each location.