Katesgrove is an inner-town district immediately to the south of the centre of the town of
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
, in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
county of
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
. It is bounded on the north by the
Inner Distribution Road
The Inner Distribution Road or IDR is a mostly dual carriageway ring road that encircles the town centre of Reading, Berkshire, England. It forms part of the A329 that runs from Wentworth in Surrey to Thame in Oxfordshire.
History
The Inner ...
, on the east by Sidmouth Street, Kendrick Road and Northumberland Avenue, on the south by Long Barn Lane and Rose Kiln Lane and on the west by the
River Kennet
The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which â ...
.
Electoral ward
The district of Katesgrove corresponds closely to the Katesgrove
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
of the
Borough of Reading
Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway serve the town. Reading is east of ...
. In addition to the traditional definition of Katesgrove (as given above), this includes a strip of land between the
A33 and the River Kennet, including the flats on the site of the
Reading Central goods depot and the commercial buildings to the south, that would more normally be regarded as part of the
district of Coley. The ward is bordered by
Abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The conce ...
,
Redlands,
Church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
,
Whitley and
Coley wards and forms part of the
Reading East parliamentary constituency
Reading East is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Matt Rodda, of the Labour Party. The seat is one of two won (held or gained) by a Labour candidate in 2017 from a total of eight covering Ber ...
.
Katesgrove elects three councillors to the
unitary
Unitary may refer to:
Mathematics
* Unitary divisor
* Unitary element
* Unitary group
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* ''E''-unitary inverse semigroup ...
Reading Borough Council
Reading Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. Berkshire is purely a ceremonia ...
, with each elected in separate years for a four-year term.
Traditionally an area of strength for the
Labour Party, one of Katesgrove's councillors was Labour's
David Sutton, who was leader of the council for thirteen years before his defeat by a
Liberal Democrat
Several political party, political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democracy, liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties ...
, Warren Swaine, in 2008.
The 2000s witnessed a surge in votes for the Liberal Democrats, resulting in 2007 with the election of Gareth Epps, the constituency's
2010 candidate who achieved second place in that election - culminating in 2010 with all Katesgrove councillors being Liberal Democrats.
However, the
2011 council election saw Labour candidate
Matt Rodda
Matthew Richard Allen Rodda (born 15 December 1966) is a British former journalist and civil servant, and a current Labour Party politician. He is the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the Reading East parliamentary constituency and Shado ...
, who is now MP for
Reading East, elected, and over the following years Labour regained the remaining seats.
In the
2022 election, at which all councillors faced re-election because of boundary changes, a swing from the Labour Party to the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
led to the latter gaining two of the three seats. As a result, the councillors are Liam Challenger of the Labour Party, and Doug Cresswell and Louise Keane, both of the Green Party.
Notable people
*
Fred Potts VC, holder of the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
.
See also
*
East Reading
East Reading is a main locality (or informal subdivision) of the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Its centre is known as Cemetery Junction, after Reading Old Cemetery.
Extent
The locality has no formal boundaries; the name ...
References
External links
*
Katesgrove Community Association
Suburbs of Reading, Berkshire
Wards of Reading
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