Will This Be the Year Reading Gets City Status?

For the last decade (at least), Reading town council have been trying their best to get an upgrade. Not anything physical like new buildings or monuments, but an upgrade to bigger and better in the eyes of the country. Yes, the council have been putting in bids for humble Reading to be officially categorised as a city, and not a town. But again and again these bids have been rejected, without any real explanations why. In 2022 Reading have once again put their hat in the ring and submitted a bid for city status, but will it be a success this time?

Over the years, many people have pondered why Reading has missed out on this civic honour, and what it might change for the people who live and work in it if that changed. After all, the title of ‘city’ doesn’t carry any official benefits, so what would be different? Today we wanted to ask – what would gaining city status do for Reading, and how would it affect all the businesses that live here?

How is City Status Decided?

So, how do the government decide what’s a town, and what’s a city? Well, in reality, a town becomes a city whenever the Queen (or reigning monarch at the time) decides it is. There is no other official criteria for city status, although the title used to be given to towns that had diocesan cathedrals. This association between having a cathedral and being a city goes back as far as the 1540’s, when King Henry VIII founded dioceses in six English towns and granted them city status by issuing letters patent. Since then, city status has been given to 51 towns in England, six in Wales, seven in Scotland and five in Northern Ireland. If a town wants to become a city, it needs to put together a ‘bid’, which goes forward to the monarch, who makes the decision.

Why Isn’t Reading a City Already?

Put simply, because the Queen has always decided on one of the other options! Reading has always been one of the finalists, but we have always been pipped to the post. Some argue that this may be because it seems like Reading doesn’t ‘need’ the label – with even the research director at the Centre for Cities stating that ‘while Reading is a town in the Queen’s eyes, from an economy perspective it is very much a city already.’ This might mean that Reading has been overlooked because there are other candidates on the list who could benefit more from city status.

After a few unsuccessful attempts at bidding for city status, Reading council took matters into their own hands, and started using the phrase ‘city centre’ on buses and car park signs. Because despite the lack of city status, Reading’s urban area has over 350,000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest urban areas in the entirety of the UK – bigger than a lot of the more sizeable cities like Southampton, Kingston upon Hull and Derby.

Are There Any Benefits?

An Economic Boost: Reading town council put their first bid in for city status in 2018. It had made the papers in the previous year by being one of the UK’s fastest growing economies at 2.5% annual GVA increase. If you don’t know what that means, GVA stands for Gross Value Added, and essentially measures how much money is generated through goods and services produced in the area. According to Ernst & Young, this percentage GVA rise beats London GVA by 0.6%. Reading also saw the largest growth in employment (0.9%), and it was predicted to keep growing at this rate. And it has. To this day Reading is still one of the largest urban areas in the UK, with one of the biggest economies. But with city status we would see a significant boost, attracting even more businesses to set up shop here and creating a hub for organisations in the south – and all the advantages that come with it.

Attract Investors: Cities are incredibly attractive propositions for investment, as they present the chance to make a lot more impact and a lot more money. This goes for investment in businesses, properties or just into the local economy in other ways. Investors will make their decisions based on things like ROI potential, scale, risk, and return, and are often drawn to cities that can offer all of them. Reading ticks all the boxes for investment but is often overlooked because it lacks that ‘city’ status.

Recognition: City status also gives Reading, it’s businesses and its inhabitants the recognition they deserve. There may not be any ‘official’ benefits, but there is a lot of press coverage, and that kind of positive press looks great to investors, businesses looking to move and customers. Having city status would bring Reading a lot of press coverage discussing the reasons behind the decision, along with top political figures dropping in and discussing what makes Reading so culturally and economically viable.

At Northwood, we love the idea of Reading becoming a city. It would be an amazing thing for everyone, from residents to landlords, business owners and more. So, we have all of our fingers and toes crossed for the results, and can’t wait to help any new landlords, tenants or homeowners who want to move to the area once it gains a new shiny ‘city’ title. In the meantime, if you need any help with your property, please get in touch with us today.