Reading: Vision for 2050 launched by project team

It used to be the town of the three Bs – beer, biscuits and bulbs – now it is set to become by 2050 a smart and sustainable city built on three core environmental themes.

• Green Tech: - building on Reading’s established technological business base to ensure the city performs strongly in a globally competitive economy.
• Rivers and Parks - embracing Reading’s waterways and green spaces to improve the quality of life and providing a vital lung for the city.
• Culture and Diversity - Reading’s rich heritage and strong cultural base becomes a fundamental part of the city’s make-up. Reading in 2050 is a cultural destination in its own right as well as providing a great lifestyle for its current and future communities.

That’s the aim and objective of the Reading 2050 Vision project team, led by community interest company Reading UK, design and planning consultancy Barton Willmore and the University of Reading, based on its varied and widespread consultations with stakeholder groups including local residents, businesses and Reading Borough Council.

The Reading 2050 Vision was launched last night at the stylish and strikingly different Thames Lido, now nearing the completion of a major regeneration at the Edwardian former King’s Meadow swimming pool – a current tangible example of the future major changes anticipated in Reading by the 2050 Vision team.

Calling upon invited representatives of Reading’s business community at the launch to support the 2050 Vision, Reading UK chief executive Nigel Horton-Baker quoted Mahatma Gandhi: “The future depends on what you do today.”

The interactive digital Reading 2050 Vision is available at www.reading2050.co.uk   

Get involved at www.facebook.com/reading2050 or via Twitter at #reading2050.  The University of Reading’s public lecture series on Reading 2050 gets underway from October 19 – www.reading.ac.uk/architecture