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 t ...

of the

Borough of Reading Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of its built-up area lies within the Borough of Reading, although ...

, in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

county of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. 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 Lord of the Manor, manor of Earley Whiteknights, also known as Earley St Nicholas and ...

of the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

. 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 th ...

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

Borough of Wokingham Wokingham, or the Borough of Wokingham, is a local government district with borough status in Berkshire, England. Since 1998 its council has been a unitary authority, having taken on county-level functions when Berkshire County Council wa ...

. As with all Reading wards, the ward elects three

councillors A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regi ...

Reading Borough Council Reading Borough Council is the local authority for Reading in the county of Berkshire, England. Reading has had a council since at least 1542, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1998, the council has been a unitary authority, be ...

. Elections are generally held by thirds, with elections in three years out of four, although the

2022 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local e ...

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 (UK Parliament constituency), Reading West from 1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 to 2010 United Kingdom ge ...

, who would go on to be the Labour MP for Reading West between 1997 and 2010, as councillor. In the 2001 elections, the ward elected John Howarth, who would go on to be the Labour MEP for

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England that are in the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, top level category for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the nine counties of england, ...

between 2017 and 2020, as councillor. From 1984 until 2011 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 environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

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