Abbey is an
electoral ward of the
Borough of Reading, in the
English
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* 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. The ruins of
Reading Abbey
Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, m ...
lie within the boundaries of the ward, a fact from which it derives its name. The ward covers the centre of the town, south of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
, and is bordered by
Battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
,
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
,
Redlands,
Katesgrove and
Coley wards. Although including significant portions of both the suburbs of
West Reading and
East Reading, the ward lies almost entirely within the
Reading East parliamentary constituency, with only a few streets to the west of George Street in the
Reading West parliamentary constituency.
As of 2016, there were some 13,500 people living in Abbey ward, of whom 16.1% were aged under 16, 6% were aged 65 and over, and 44% were born outside the UK. The population lives in a total of just under 6,800 dwellings, of which 57% are in purpose-built blocks of flats, just over 20% each are terraced houses, and just over 10% are flat conversions or shared houses, with detached and semi-detached houses making up the rest. Of the population aged between 16 and 74, 72.4% are in employment and 5.1% are unemployed. Of those in employment, 60% are in managerial, professional or technical occupations, with 34% in professional occupations.
As with all Reading wards, the ward elects three
councillors
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
to
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 ...
. Elections since 2004 are held by thirds, with elections in three years out of four. These councillors are currently: Tony Page (
2016
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; Labour), Karen Rowland (
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
; Labour) and Mohammed Ayub (
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
;
Labour).
References
{{Reading, Berkshire
Wards of Reading