Reading

9°COvercast

• Today: 10° / 6° · 29% rain
• Tomorrow: 11° / 5° · Overcast

Source: WeatherAPI

Sunrise 07:04Sunset 16:30

9h 26m of daylight today

Next bank holiday: Christmas Day, Fri 25 Dec

Source: sunrise-sunset.org · gov.uk

20US AQI · Good

Main pollutant: fine particles (PM2.5)

Source: WAQI · Reading New Town, United Kingdom

• 6.7 µg/m³ average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration
• 5.0% of adult (30+) deaths estimated attributable to fine-particle pollution

Lower is better for both figures.

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2024

960 reported · August 2026▼ 7% YoY

• Violence & sexual offences269
• Shoplifting200
• Anti-social behaviour96
• Other theft92

137 stop & searches · mostly controlled drugs

Neighbourhood team: Abbey and Battle · Thames Valley

Source: data.police.uk (within ~1 mile)

142 reported road collisions (2025)

29 killed or seriously injured · 175 casualties · 9.5 collisions per 10,000 residents

Source: DfT reported road collisions (STATS19)

500+ food businesses within 2 miles

• 364 rated 4–5 ★ (284 top)
• 28 rated 0–2 (poor)

Source: Food Standards Agency · split of the nearest 500

• Nearest station: Reading (0.3 km)
• 96 bus stops within ~½ mile

Source: OpenStreetMap, National Rail

£471,427 average▲ 2.2% YoY

Across South Oxfordshire · to 2026-08

Source: UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry)

£1,402 average monthly rent▲ 3.5% YoY

• 1 bed £1,042
• 2 bed £1,292
• 3 bed £1,615

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents · to 2026-08

10.0× house price to earnings

A typical home costs 10.0 times median annual pay (10.6× for cheaper homes vs lower pay).

Source: ONS house price to workplace earnings ratio · 2025

1,943 property sales in the last 12 months

12 months to May 2026

A busier or quieter market is not by itself good or bad. Monthly counts are small and volatile, so only the annual total is shown.

Source: HM Land Registry UK HPI, 12 months to 2026-05

• Cheapest petrol: 156.9p · BP (1.3 km)
• Cheapest diesel: 189.9p · BP (1.3 km)

10 stations within ~8 miles

Source: CMA fuel price scheme

106 charging locations within ~8 km

• 29 with rapid charging (50 kW+)
• Fastest nearby: 360 kW
• Nearest: Novotel Reading Centre (0.1 km)

Source: Open Charge Map

• Sports centres8
• Gyms15
• Swimming pools3
• Sports pitches45
• Playgrounds27

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

149,082 residents in South Oxfordshire · 220/km²

• Under 16: 19%
• 16–64: 61%
• 65+: 21%

Source: ONS Census 2021 (local authority)

• Moves in from elsewhere in the UK11,385
• Moves out to elsewhere in the UK9,362
• Net moves+2,023

Residential moves between local authorities (counts of moves, not people) · ONS Internal migration, YE Jun 2025

Among the least deprived areas in England

Ranked 287 of 296 English local authorities (1 = most deprived)

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2025

£2,598 a year · Band D, 2026-27

Most homes here are Band C (28% of 67,120)

Source: VOA council-tax stock · MHCLG band levels 2026-27

85 schools · 25,829 pupils

57 primary · 9 secondary · 19 other

Ofsted: 22 of 28 graded schools rated Good or Outstanding (79%)

72 inspected under Ofsted’s 2024+ framework (graded by area, no single overall grade)

Source: DfE Get Information about Schools · Ofsted · South Oxfordshire

672 CQC-registered services

• Care homes149
• GP practices107
• Dentists167
• Homecare agencies173
• Hospitals & hospices16

CQC ratings: 92% of rated services Good or Outstanding · 3 Inadequate

Source: Care Quality Commission · Oxfordshire

• Not in the Green Belt
• 410 listed buildings within ~1.5 km

Source: planning.data.gov.uk (England)

304 applications decided

96.1% granted · 292 granted, 12 refused

Source: MHCLG planning statistics (PS2) · 2026 Q2

Matt Rodda

Labour

Reading Central

Source: UK Parliament

Liberal Democrat majority

• Lab 3
• Con 1
• LD 20
• Grn 8
• Oth 4

Source: Open Council Data UK (CC BY-SA)

• Schools22
• GPs & clinics17
• Pharmacies11
• Supermarkets13
• Parks & greens37
• Restaurants & cafés261

Source: OpenStreetMap (within ~1 mile)

8,790 active business enterprises in the area

Source: ONS UK Business Counts (2026)

4,550 jobs advertised · £46,215 avg

e.g. Lead Clinician SALT, Delivery Driver (Part Time) - Stanford in the Vale, Delivery Driver (Part Time 24 hours) - Weybridge

Source: Adzuna

£935 median full-time weekly pay

1.9% of residents aged 16–64 claim unemployment-related benefits

£35,652 disposable income per head (2024)

Source: ONS / Nomis (claimant count · ASHE) · ONS regional GDHI

46% of homes rated EPC C or above

Most common band: D · 67,091 certificates

9.3% of households were in fuel poverty (2023)

Source: MHCLG EPC statistics · DESNZ sub-regional fuel poverty

45% low-carbon electricity

Gas 52% · Wind 25% · Biomass 11% · Nuclear 9%

219 gCO₂/kWh · high intensity

Latest estimate for South England · National Grid ESO

Life expectancy: 86.1 yrs women · 82.2 yrs men

Healthy life expectancy (Oxfordshire): 66.6 women · 65.4 men

64% of adults overweight or obese

Source: OHID Fingertips · 2025

• Life satisfaction7.8
• Feeling worthwhile7.9
• Happiness yesterday7.4
• Anxiety yesterday (lower is better)3.2

Average rating out of 10 · ONS personal well-being 2022-23

20 GP surgeries · 8 pharmacies in RG1

• Orthotics Clinic South Block
• London Street Surgery
• Chatham Street Surgery

Source: NHS Organisation Data Service

Open UK Parliament petitions most signed in Reading Central:

• Offer MenB vaccine to under 22s born before 2015550 local signatures · 3,919 nationwide
• Hold a UK-wide briefing on climate and nature risks293 local signatures · 127,144 nationwide
• Protect legal right to support for children with SEND163 local signatures · 111,357 nationwide
• Support the Ceramics Industry and protect British manufacturing jobs and skills143 local signatures · 111,154 nationwide
• Make statutory maternity pay 90% of wage for first 12 weeks & minimum wage after137 local signatures · 58,157 nationwide

Source: petition.parliament.uk · as of 2026-10-05

• 
  Statue of Queen Victoria, Reading · 0.1 km

  The statue of Queen Victoria stands at the eastern end of Friar Street outside the Town Hall of Reading, Berkshire, in southern England.

• 
  Queen Victoria Street, Reading · 0.1 km

  Queen Victoria Street is a pedestrianised thoroughfare in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. It connects Broad Street with Friar Street and Station Road.

• 
  Broad Street, Reading · 0.1 km

  Broad Street is a main pedestrianised thoroughfare and the primary high street in the English town of Reading. The street is situated in the town centre, running for approximately 0.25 miles (0.40 km), from west to ea…

• 
  Reading Town Hall · 0.1 km

  Reading Town Hall is the town hall of Reading, Berkshire, England. The town hall was built in several phases between 1786 and 1897, although the principal facade was designed by Alfred Waterhouse in 1875. Situated clo…

• 
  Corn Exchange, Reading · 0.1 km

  The Corn Exchange is a former commercial building in Reading, Berkshire, England. The structure, which was commissioned as a corn exchange, is a Grade II listed building.

• 
  Heelas of Reading · 0.1 km

  Heelas is a major department store in Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It was known as Heelas until 2001 and that name is still in common usage. The store fronts on to Reading's main pedestrianised shopping…

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA)