Reading Borough Council’s Policy Committee will gather on Monday 13 July 2026 at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber on Bridge Street, with residents able to watch the proceedings live online. The agenda includes a decision on whether to help lead a new regional partnership for a Thames Valley Spatial Development Strategy, a plan that would shape housing and infrastructure across eight council areas.
Councillors will also review the 2025/26 Quarter 4 Performance Report, which sets out the provisional year-end revenue and spending figures for the council’s General Fund and Housing Revenue Account. The spatial strategy paper, presented by Lead Councillor for Planning and Assets Micky Leng and authored by Executive Director Emma Gee, asks the committee to approve Reading’s participation in a joint partnership alongside Oxfordshire’s councils, all Berkshire unitary authorities, and Swindon Borough Council.
The strategy document stems from the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, which requires designated strategic planning authorities to prepare a Spatial Development Strategy. The government has set a target for all areas to have an examined strategy in place by 2030. Council leaders across the Thames Valley submitted an initial expression of interest in December 2025 and sent a further one on 20 March 2026 after meeting Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh, who confirmed the economic case for a Mayoral Strategic Authority. The proposed geography covers Bracknell Forest, Reading, Oxfordshire, Slough, Swindon, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Wokingham, though the final boundaries will be confirmed later this summer or in the autumn.
With the statutory Strategic Planning Board for the Thames Valley not expected until secondary legislation arrives in autumn 2026, the committee is being asked to set up interim governance. Bracknell Forest Council is proposed as the accountable body holding programme funds and hosting dedicated staff, while Oxfordshire County Council has acted as the interim accountable body for the initial funding tranche. Residents who want to submit petitions or questions on any matter within the committee’s responsibilities can email [email protected] no later than 12 noon, four clear working days before the meeting.
The Policy Committee meets monthly on the second Monday at 6.30pm, with the next meeting after this one scheduled for 16 September 2026. Its responsibilities include oversight of strategy, economic development, corporate assets, and service performance, as well as serving as shareholder for Reading Transport Ltd and other wholly owned council companies.
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