Park is an

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 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 takes its name from Palmer Park, which lies at its centre. Park ward lies in the east of Reading. From the north in clockwise order it is bounded by the Reading to Waterloo railway line, Church Road, Whiteknights Road, Eastern Avenue, Kings Road, Rupert Street, and 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 � ...

. Along the Whitekights Road section of the boundary, the ward is adjacent to the

Whiteknights Campus Whiteknights Park, or the Whiteknights Campus of the University of Reading, is the principal campus of that university. The park covers the area of the manor of Earley Whiteknights, also known as Earley St Nicholas and Earley Regis. Whit ...

of the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

. The ward shares borders with

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 Redlands wards of the Borough of Reading, and with the civil parish of Earley in the

Borough of Wokingham The Borough of Wokingham is a Districts of England, local government district in Berkshire, United Kingdom. It is named after its main town, Wokingham. Other places in the district include Arborfield, Barkham, Charvil, Earley, Finchampstead, H ...

. 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 ...

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 are generally held by thirds, with elections in three years out of four, although the 2022 elections were for all councillors due to the boundary changes. In the 1984 elections, the ward elected

Martin Salter Martin John Salter (born 19 April 1954) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Reading West from 1997 to 2010. Early life and career Born to Ray and Naomi Salter in Hampton, Middlesex, he received a gram ...

, who would go on to be the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

MP for Reading West between 1997 and 2010, as councillor. For the next 16 years, Labour won every election in the ward bar one, but from the 2011 election onwards, 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 ...

candidates have won. The ward councillors are currently Brenda McGonigle, Rob White and Josh Williams, all of whom are members of the Green Party. Park ward includes 2 allotments (Mockbeggars and Bulmershe allotments), a library (Palmer Park Library), a sports center (Palmer Park Stadium and sports center) and Palmer Park.

References

{{Reading, Berkshire Wards of Reading