No limits for city bid support

Adam Hewitt • Published 6 Mar 2010 10:00 2 Comments

LEADING politicians in Reading have welcomed Gordon Brown's backing for the bid for city status.

The Chronicle asked Mr Brown for his opinion on the bid after his crime speech at Reading Town Hall on Monday and he said: "Reading is a great place and I have visited here many times. I think Reading has not only a great case but I hope that its bid to be an aspirant city is successful. There is great community spirit here and it would be a huge boost to find city status had finally been given and I certainly support it."

There were signs he thought Reading was a city already - both his speech and the Downing Street website report of it referred to the "city of Reading".

Reading Borough Council deputy leader Cllr Tony Page said: "I very much welcome the Prime Minister's support. Large numbers of ministers and officials expressed surprise that we are not already a city, they think of Reading as a city and know we have all the attributes of a city."

The Conservatives also support the bid, as long as taxpayers do not have to foot any bills, but the Lib Dems are opposed. They say the bid is bound to waste council staff time and that residents would rather see time spent solving day-to-day problems.

Officials and councillors are preparing a bid ahead of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012, when new cities are expected to be announced. Some competitors have already thrown their hats into the ring, including Milton Keynes, the Medway towns in Kent, Perth in Scotland and Ballymena in Northern Ireland.

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• 

  Mischievous
  Unregistered User
  Mar 6, 14:02
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  The Ministers need to visit Reading and have a look at the town then. They need to look within our boundaries. They need to be objective and not bow to the pressures of lobbying Councillors.
  
  Of course they think it is a city because the town has always taken the credit for the performance of large swathes of the Thames Valley like Wokingham and Bracknell all part of this fictious city of Reading; shock, horror, probe - misrepresentations, never?
  
  Recommend?   Yes 0     No 0

• 

  John
  Unregistered User
  Mar 8, 14:41
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  Reading's city status should include an expansion of its boundaries. Woodley, Earley, Calcot, Theale and the whole of Tilehurst are really Reading suburbs and not parts of Wokingham or Newbury. Also, Government backing for Reading's city status must include support for a third bridge. Reading's traffic problems badly need a third bridge to manage traffic flow and to handle future growth.
  
  City status requires more than empty gestures. Changing signs 'Welcome to Reading City' or buses with 'City Centre' written large are largely cosmetic.
  
  Recommend?   Yes 0     No 0

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