Councillors to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests they may have in relation to the items for consideration.

Councillor Nikulina declared an interest in Item 19 as her employer had been involved in the library development.

The Minutes of the meeting of 9 July 2025 were confirmed as a correct record.

Further to Minutes 9 (3) and (4) of the previous meeting, relating to the proposal to implement a Borough-wide Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO), Councillor Rowland reported that the Council had asked for a statement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Minutes of the Community Safety Partnership Meetings held on 3 April and 17 July 2025.

The Minutes of the following meeting were submitted:

Community Safety Partnership – 3 April and 17 July 2025.

Resolved -    That the Minutes be received.

Petitions and Questions in relation to matters falling within the Committee’s Powers & Duties which have been received by the Assistant Director of Legal & Democratic Services no later than 12 noon four clear working days before the meeting.

The full text of the question and reply was made available on the Reading Borough Council website.

Questions in relation to matters falling within the Committee’s Powers & Duties which have been submitted in writing and received by the Head of Legal & Democratic Services no later than four clear working days before the meeting.

The full text of the questions and replies was made available on the Reading Borough Council website.

An update on Reading Festival 2025.

The Committee received a presentation from Claire Armstrong, Melvin Benn, Vicky Chapman and Charlotte Oliver from Festival Republic, giving an update on the 2025 Reading Festival and setting out plans for the 2026 event. The presentation and subsequent discussion included:

• The 2025 festival had been a big success, although  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

A report informing the Committee on progress on the new Studio Theatre at The Hexagon.

The Committee received a presentation and a report giving an update on progress with the new Studio Theatre at the Hexagon. The report explained that work was progressing in accordance with the construction programme and that the Studio Theatre was expected to open to the public in spring  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

This report seeks endorsement of the strategic principles/ themes for library improvement following consultation.

Further to Minute 29 of the meeting held on 11 March 2025, the Committee considered a report that set out a final version of the strategic principles and priorities proposed for libraries improvement following public consultation. The six principles, set out below, were referred to as ‘themes’ for ease  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

This report informs the Committee of the Annual Status Options Report for the condition of carriageways, footways and bridges and proposes changes to the Highway Gully Cleaning Regime.

The Committee received a report setting out details of a review carried out on the gully cleansing regime and seeking endorsement of the proposed changes to the Highway Gully Cleaning Regimes. The report also informed the Committee of the Annual Status Options Reports (ASOR) for the condition of the Carriageways,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

This report informs the Committee of the output of the Winter Service Plan 2024-25 and the outcome of a review of that plan, and seeks approval for the Winter Service Plan 2025-26.

The Committee considered a report that set out details of the outputs that had been delivered by the Winter Service Plan 2024-25 and of the Winter Service Plan review that had been carried out to ensure compliance with the Highway Act 1980 and ‘Well-Managed Highway Infrastructure: A Code of Practice’.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

This report provides an update on the performance of Reading Borough Council’s Housing Landlord Services up to and including July 2025.

The Committee received a report providing an update on the performance of Reading Borough Council’s Housing Landlord Service delivered year to date, up to and including July 2025, following the inspection by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) which had concluded in April 2025.

The Housing Landlord service was working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.