Reading will enter its fourth bid to secure city status as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, it has been announced.
Councillor Jason Brock, Reading Borough Council leader said the views of residents, organisations and communities across the town will be key to making "the strongest bid possible".
Mayor of Reading, Councillor David Stevens said 'it is time Reading gets city status' due it already being a thriving city.
The town has been rejected more than three times despite it being one of the largest towns in the south east geographically.
The population is pretty dense too, with more people living in Reading than the population of St Davids in Wales (the smallest city in Britain - population 1,600).
READ MORE: Reading enters Queen's competition to become a city - fourth time lucky?
The Mayor of Reading, Councillor David Stevens
“Reading is already a thriving city in all but name, and it is time we made that official," he said.
“A successful bid would bring increased investment and cultural opportunities, and other tangible benefits to the town over both the short and the long term.
"Together with the community, we will build a bid which highlights Reading's excellent credentials as a ‘city-in-waiting’. I would encourage everyone to get behind our town’s bid.”
Formally, there are no advertised benefits of gaining city status with the award being historically more about prestige.
The nation is set to celebrate the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee during a special four-day bank holiday weekend from June 2 to June 5, 2022.
In addition to the city status competition, existing cities in the UK can enter a parallel competition for a Lord Mayoralty, or Lord Provostship as it is known in Scotland.
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This is a distinction given to a small number of long-established and important cities, entitling the city’s Mayor, or Provost, to be known as the Lord Mayor or Lord Provost during their term of office.
The competition will close on December 8 this year and all valid entries will receive individual consideration on their merits, before recommendations are made to the Queen by ministers.
Would you like to see Reading gain city status? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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