What Do You Want Reading Town Centre to Look Like by 2040?

Residents, businesses, visitors, and organisations are all being encouraged to take part in a key public consultation which will help shape what Reading Town Centre will look like by 2040.

As people change where they work and how they choose to shop, Reading Town Centre is also changing. The rapid growth of town centre living, alongside major regeneration projects, will reshape how the centre looks, feels, and functions over the coming decades.

New homes, workplaces, cultural venues, and public spaces are all in the process of being delivered, with further investment expected. As it grows, future success will depend on high‑quality streets and public spaces for people to enjoy, enhanced routes between different parts of the Town Centre, and a cultural and economic offer which is broader than traditional retail alone.

In response, the Council has prepared a Draft Town Centre Vision and Delivery Plan. Together they set out a long-term vision for Central Reading and identify priority projects to help deliver it.

Whether you are a resident, a business, an employee who works centrally, an organisation based in Reading, a student or just an occasional visitor, the Council is calling on people and organisations to respond to the public consultation. It can be found at https://reading.govocal.com/en-GB/projects/town-centre-vision-consultation.

The consultation asks people what their priorities are for the Town Centre, with better public spaces, walking and cycling improvements, more family-friendly facilities, or more cultural events among the options. It has also been designed to include a number of opportunities for people to express in their own words what changes they would like to see and what they value most.

The deadline for consultation responses is 30 November 2026. All responses will be considered before a final Vision and Delivery Plan are taken forward for adoption.

Councillor Liz Terry, Reading Borough Council Leader, said:

“As people change where they work and how they shop, our town centres are also changing, and Reading is no different. While the success of our town centre is built on its traditional retail and leisure offer, we are now seeing a sharp increase in demand for town centre living. In Reading we expect the number of town centre homes to more than double by 2041, which fundamentally alters how we need to look at our centre and plan for the future.

“We need to plan for a town centre environment which is more suited people’s patterns of everyday living. That can mean more family-friendly parks and public spaces for example, access to the sorts of services or community spaces you might ordinarily expect outside of town centres and, importantly, affordable and high-quality homes. We know Reading already excels as a destination for shopping and leisure but now, and in the future, it will need to function as a neighbourhood in its own right.

“Many of these changes will take some years to come to fruition, but adopting a Vision now gives us a clear plan to guide investment over time, with the associated Delivery Plan outlining the projects which will transform that that vision into a reality. That will include Council-led projects like our new Studio Theatre which is fast taking shape, and our ambitions for Minster Quarter, or those being delivered by partners, such as at Station Hill and the Oracle, among many others.

“These documents enable us to get ahead of the inevitable changes our Town Centre will see over the years to come and now is the time for residents, businesses, community groups or other organisations, and visitors to contribute by taking some time to respond to the consultation.”

The draft Town Centre Vision is rooted in Reading’s heritage, rivers, transport network, and active regeneration projects. It is made up of seven key principles:

• Building healthy and connected communities
• Transforming Reading’s rivers and public spaces
• Enabling connected and active travel
• Building a greener, climate-resilient town
• Celebrating Reading’s culture, heritage, and identity
• Reimagining the Town Centre experience
• Supporting growth and innovation

Both the draft Vision and Delivery Plan documents can be found on the consultation webpage https://reading.govocal.com/en-GB/projects/town-centre-vision-consultation.

Apart from the online consultation, the Council will also be taking the consultation to a number of stakeholder sessions, including at REDA, the Business Improvements Districts (BIDS), the Access and Disabilities Working Group and the Older People’s Working Group, amongst others.