Protect libraries, leisure, green spaces and culture — and hold Thames Water to account

We will protect Reading's libraries, leisure centres and cultural venues from cuts, and take genuine action against Thames Water's sewage dumping and supply failures. This is a company so badly run it has lurched towards temporary nationalisation while continuing to discharge sewage into our rivers — at a time when over 380,000 sewage discharge incidents took place across England and Wales last year, totalling 2.65 million hours, even during a year of drought.

We will also put Reading's parks and green spaces to work for nature and for residents — registering Council-owned green spaces as Biodiversity Net Gain habitat banks, so that developer investment funds the long-term enhancement of Reading's parks and green corridors for decades to come, while delivering real improvements for wildlife and biodiversity across the borough. Liberal Democrat-run Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council has already shown this can work, securing 30 years of habitat enhancement through exactly this approach.

Reading's play areas tell their own story of neglect — cracked surfacing, rusting equipment, and facilities that haven't seen meaningful investment in years, in some of the borough's most deprived neighbourhoods. Too many of these spaces are also inaccessible to disabled children, who are locked out of play simply because of poor design. Play is not a luxury; it's essential for every child's health and development, and every family deserves a safe, well-maintained, inclusive place for their kids to play, regardless of which ward they live in or what their needs are. We will commit to a rolling refurbishment programme for Reading's play areas, prioritised by condition and need, with accessibility built in as standard rather than an afterthought — including surfacing, sensory equipment, and wheelchair-accessible roundabouts and swings — and publish a clear timeline so residents can see when their local playground is due for investment. 

Reading has a plan to plant 3,000 trees by 2030 — but no target for what that actually means for canopy cover until 2050, leaving residents with no way to judge whether the gaps in the parts of town that need it most are actually closing. We will push for meaningful interim canopy-cover targets, with transparent annual reporting by ward — so that communities can see whether progress is real.

Climate change is also making flooding worse — and Reading is not immune. The number of homes at risk of flooding in our town could double under future climate projections, yet the Council has no specific commitment to accelerate flood resilience in the parts of town most exposed. We will strengthen and enforce sustainable drainage requirements in new planning permissions — making SuDS a firm condition rather than a box-ticking exercise — push Thames Water to invest in sewer capacity ahead of demand rather than after the damage is done, and make sure residents in flood-risk areas have the information and support they need to protect their homes.