Culture service plan 2025-28

A. Overview

Organisation chart

Achievements in 2024/25

The things your service delivered over the past year.

• The new diving pool, competition pool and splash pad opened at Rivermead Leisure Centre in June marking the culmination of £40m council investment in leisure services for Reading.  
• The Educational Play and Support service at the Ranger Station, Prospect Park achieved national recognition for its educational visits and outreach work with vulnerable young people. The facility has been awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality Badge. The team works to increase self-awareness and self-esteem in young people, improve and maintain physical and mental health, and help them to develop social and life skills. 
• The Reading Community Safety Partnership, Create Reading (Cultural Education Partnership), Brighter Futures for Children and Reading Borough Council through the Shared Prosperity Fund sponsored CODE, part of the Stay True to You campaign developed by the Thames Valley Violence Prevention Partnership. Urban theatre group, Justice in Motion, brought to life the vulnerability and dangers for young people getting involved with criminal gangs at the John Madejski Academy.  
• Hospitality students at Reading’s adult community college, New Directions, will benefit from hands-on work experience in the café in a new partnership with one of the council’s sheltered housing schemes, Cedar Court. 
• Royal Berkshire Archives launched the digital repository providing online access to born digital or digitised material. 
• The Hexagon staged Cinderella with a brand new digital set to rave reviews and achieved highest ever gross takings of over £860k.  
• The High Street Heritage Action Zone programme concluded four years of activity included restoring shop fronts of Reading’s historic High Streets and the celebration of the cultural heritage and communities that live on them.  
• Libraries Investment Funding of £495k was secured for to invest in equipment in all libraries in the borough.  
• The library team at Battle Library were featured in the Guardian Long Read highlighting the varied role libraries and the people who work in them play in their local community.  
• Reading Museum secured a development grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund for the Silchester Gallery and a grant for exhibitions charting the rise of Reading’s role in the UK’s ‘Silicon Valley’. 
• Reading Museum achieved Museum of Sanctuary status recognising the museum as a place of welcome for Sanctuary Seekers and Refugees.    
• Berkshire Archaeology successfully achieved its Historic England HER audit.  
• The Creative Lives programme designed to increase access to creativity in areas which face greatest barriers has developed at pace including a regular slot on BBC Radio Berkshire showcasing creativity and creative groups locally.  
• Testament to the ongoing commercial endeavours of staff, Reading Museum and libraries have achieved their highest income levels on record. We will continue to develop this in 2025. 
• New Directions achieved Good in their recent Ofsted rating.  

Business-as-usual services

The Culture Service vision is to: 

• Enhance people’s lives through learning, physical activity and cultural participation, celebrating Reading’s unique stories, and creating shared unforgettable experiences for all.  

Customer Feedback: 

From a Cllr: “Just saw a resident who said that the new Palmer park gym facilities have “changed her life”, helping her lose weight for example.” 

From a customer: “I don’t know what I would have done without the Playrangers, they were the ones that put that first stepping stone in and worked with us for 4 years creating this pathway. Considering my son wouldn’t leave the house or when we did the leave the house he wouldn’t leave my side. This is a service that means and will always mean so much to me.  Here’s my son in a school and he is happy 😊“ 

There are five service areas: 

• Active Reading  
• New Directions College (£1.3m ESFA Adult Education Budget) 
• Reading Arts & Venues (Hexagon, South Street and Town Hall) 
• Reading Libraries & Museum (including Cultural development, Berkshire Archaeology)  
• Royal Berkshire Archives 

Reading Museum, Libraries & Cultural Development – Simon Smith 

• Book lending services (physical and digital) via 7 libraries and a home service aligned to strategic principles agreed at Committee (supporting communities, helping children and young people, improving access to online, supporting health, wellbeing and literacy and bringing arts, culture and heritage to library spaces 
• Public access computers and wifi 
• Events and activities for adults and children 
• Visa verification service on behalf of Home Office supporting 15,000 people per year 
• Reading Museum providing cultural opportunities and access to collections for Reading’s residents and visitors, including young people and diverse communities, through schools’ services, volunteering, outreach, memory boxes, digital engagement and exhibitions, and original opportunities for enjoyment, creativity and learning. 
• Reading Museum has full Accreditation from Arts Council England (ACE) and a strategic partnership with the University of Reading’s Museum of English Rural Life . Museums Partnership Reading (MPR). Together they are part of ACE National Portfolio 2023-26. 
• Berkshire Archaeology Service providing the archaeological advice service for Windsor and Maidenhead, Reading, Bracknell Forest, Slough and Wokingham councils. Berkshire Archaeology’s role is to advise on planning policy and individual development proposals and advise our local authority clients on how the archaeology in their borough can be looked after. 
• To develop, seek funding and to deliver high quality Placemaking projects and visions, like the Abbey Quarter, and High Street Heritage Action Zones, Reading Gaol to create a sense of pride and social cohesion, nurturing relationships with existing funding partners and developing new ones. 
• To facilitate and co-ordinate cross service and cross sector collaborations to develop culture and heritage opportunities for Reading’s diverse communities and those that are most vulnerable.    
• To work closely with internal and external partners to develop a sector wide Equality Diversity and Inclusion plan (EDI) inspired by the Arts Council Creative Case for Diversity and other national Funders EDI’s outcomes. 
• Embed sustainable targets and statements within all culture and heritage development projects to support the Reading Climate Action Plan, and ensure that all delivery partners reflect these.   
• To continue to advocate for and build creative skills development opportunities across the creative industry sector.     
• To provide an Archaeology service including Heritage Environment Record service to all Berkshire authorities (excluding West Berkshire) 

Reading Arts & Venues – Sarah Cox 

• Conferencing and events at the Town Hall focusing on Christmas celebrations, Business conferences, Dinners, Exhibitions, Meetings, Parties & Special events, Concert Hall performance Space, and Weddings. A cultural destination venue supporting and available to the local and regional economy  
• Deliver an ambitious events programme that includes a broad cultural reach, community engagement, while bringing high quality events to a regional audience 
• Support the regional cultural sector through the what’s on website and social media channels, promoting the cultural offer to a broad demographic. 
• Work with regional and national freelancers, producers and promoters to ensure Reading is a vibrant cultural destination. 
• Support the development of the visitor sector and night-time economy of Reading, with an attractive and diverse events programme, using marketing channels to promote the cultural offer to support the local economy. 
• Continue to embed digital in the service, to support both customer interaction with the service, and the cultural output the service produces. Work with partners such as web agency and ticketing provider to continue to improve the access to the service online and generate ecommerce opportunities. 
• Maintain the venues to ensure they are safe, clean and fit for use. Manage the assets to ensure they continue to provide future proof venues, meeting the needs of visitors, touring producers and community groups.  
• Pursue funding where appropriate to develop the programme and venues. 
• Maximise revenue for the venues by delivering primary and secondary income, room hires and membership / donations. 

Royal Berkshire Archives – Mark Stevens 

• Acquire a comprehensive selection of archive materials for Berkshire people and places, ensuring collections reflect past and present life in the Royal County and inspire pride within its communities. 
• Provide safe-keeping for these materials through appropriate storage, collections care and information, so that the county’s history is looked after sustainably for the future. 
• Offer worldwide digital resources and a visitor experience to explore and research the collections. 
• Engage people by telling the story of the county’s past, and enabling direct contact with the collections for learning and enjoyment. 

New Directions College – Lisa Welch 

• The College is focused on supporting the future social and economic prosperity of all learners, local communities, and businesses. 
• The College uses a placed-based approach to both service and curriculum planning and development. We use local social, economic, human, and environmental data and intelligence to build our local learning offer.  
• The College, its partners and subcontractors deliver an outstanding quality of learning with clear delivery intentions, strong implementation plans and effective methods of monitoring and recording impact.  
• The College is committed to ensuring all learners, including the most vulnerable and those furthest from the labour market, have good and equal access to high quality learning opportunities that meet local need and support progression to employment or further learning. 
• The College develops and harnesses strong and effective partnerships with local employers, sector bodies, business associations and stakeholders such as Job Centre Plus, that widen participation and support learners’ progression to further learning and/or employment relevant to their personal circumstances.   
• The College offers a range of community learning opportunities that provides first rung access to pathways into further learning or employment and support for adults with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to support their personal development and access to independent living. 
• The College prepares learners for life in modern Britain by equipping them to be responsible, respectful, active citizens who contribute positively to society, developing their understanding of fundamental British values and developing their understanding and appreciation of diversity. 
• The College provides an effective careers programme that offers advice, experience and contact with employers to encourage learners to aspire, make good choices and understand what they need to do to reach and succeed in their chosen career, actively supporting readiness for the next phase of education, training, or employment so that learners can make the transition to the next stage successfully. 
• The College is graded Good by Ofsted, financially fit for the future, is well resourced and sustainable and delivers value for money and is prepared to take risks in a balanced and measured way. 

Active Reading – Ben Stanesby 

• Encourage, promote and increase participation in physical activity both within indoor sports facilities and open spaces. 
• Provide tutored/coached activities to improve health for referred customers with leisure facilities. 
• Deliver improvements to the built sport and leisure estate in partnership with Greenwich Leisure Ltd. 
• Support educational attainment and development of life skills in young people including working with vulnerable young people in school settings and targeted support on a 1 2 1 basis. 
• Provide respite care and play based alternative provision for people missing education. 
• Provide outside school activity/care for vulnerable young people, young carers and broader care during holidays etc. 
• Manage build programmes within the Leisure estate. 

B. Key performance indicators

The metrics that tell us how well our business-as-usual services are performing and whether we are delivering the objectives set out in section C overleaf. 

You should aim to have a KPI which describes how well each key business-as-usual activity is operating.  This could be the quantity of work (e.g. bins collected) or/and the quality of work (e.g. missed bins).  These should be focused on the main business-as-usual activities that need tracking and are specifically of interest to senior management and Members. They should be within the council’s control and are your ‘normal level’ of activity. 

If you are proposing to improve the service, through a project or initiative that you may be including below, then you should have a target which shows what that improvement/change will bring (e.g. normal number of bins missed is x%, target following project is y%). 

Under “definition” explain how the indicator is defined and the formula used. E.g. recycling rate = household waste recycled in the month / total household waste collected (kg). “Target type” should say whether the target is “flat”, i.e. the same each month/quarter (e.g. 50%), or cumulative, i.e. increasing each month/quarter (e.g. for measuring total library visits in the year to date). If the target has a variable profile/seasonal targets, please detail this.

Measure	Definition	Unit	Better (bigger or smaller)	Frequency (monthly, quarterly)	Target type (flat or cumulative)	Outturn 2024/25	Normal level/ Target 25/26	Normal level/ Target 26/27	Normal level/ Target 27/28	Council Plan KPI (Y/N)	Data provider
Physical visits to libraries		No.	Bigger	Monthly	Cumulative		220,000	350,000	420,000	Y	Simon Smith
Participation at our theatres and museums		No.	Bigger	Monthly	Cumulative		325,000	335,000	380,000	Y	Sarah Cox
Adults engaged in the Connect to Work programme		No.	Bigger	Annually	Cumulative		20	65	115	Y	Lisa Welch
Annual Attendance at Leisure Centres		No.	Bigger	Monthly	Cumulative		1,050,000	1,051,000	1,052,000	N	Emma Kinghorn
People referred/participating in targeted health programmes run by GLL	including GP referral, Adult Weight Management, and Cardiac Rehab (Healthwise and referred patients)	No.	Bigger	Quarterly	Cumulative		330	330	345	N	Emma Kinghorn
Performance score of leisure operator (to be agreed by 04/24)			Bigger	Monthly	Flat		> 24/45 average score	> 24/45 average score	> 24/45 average score	N	Emma Kinghorn
Annual Visitor Numbers to Ranger Station (Public)			Bigger	Monthly	Cumulative		16,200	16,300	16,400	N	Dan Peters
Annual hours of pupil support offered by Education Play And Support  team			Bigger	Monthly	Cumulative		4,000	4,000	4,000	N	Dan Peters
New Directions College qualification achievement rates			Bigger	Annually	Flat		95.70%	95.70%	95.07%	N	Aliea Rashid
100% draw down of the Adult Education grant from the DfE			Bigger	Annually (Oct)	Flat		100%	100%	100%	N	Aliea Rashid
EL and L1 Qualification achievement rates to be at or above National Rate (NR)			Bigger	Annually (March)	Flat		NR	NR	NR	N	Aliea Rashid
L2 Qualification achievement rates to be at or above the National Rate (NR)			Bigger	Annually (March)	Flat		NR	NR	NR	N	Aliea Rashid
L3 Qualification achievement rates to be at or above the National Rate (NR)			Bigger	Annually (March)	Flat		NR	NR	NR	N	Aliea Rashid
Annual number of visits to the Hexagon			Bigger	Quarterly	cumulative		130,000	140,000 (dependant on new Studio Theatre programme)		N	Sarah Cox
NPS – Net promotor score for The Hexagon and South Street (above 50 is excellent)			Bigger	Quarterly	Flat		67	69		N	Sarah Cox
Annual number of physical visits to Reading Museum			Bigger	Quarterly	Cumulative		185,000	185,000		N	Matthew Williams
Annual number of Issues of library items, including digital				Quarterly	Cumulative		490,000	520,000		N	Simon Smith
Number of different borrowers of children’s stock				Quarterly	Flat		6,400	7,500		N	Simon Smith

C. Objectives for 2025-28

The most important changes your service is aiming to deliver over the period of this service plan. 

This should include Council Plan objectives and any additional objectives at service level. 

Example: “Prevent the escalation of children’s needs through developing family hubs.” Objectives should: 

• Clearly and concisely state the outcome we are trying to achieve and how we will deliver it. 
• Be realistic given available resources and relevant to the priorities set out in the Council Plan. 
• Have an associated KPI that tells us whether we have achieved the objective. 

See the annex for a full list of Council Plan priorities and objectives. 

Identifier	Objectives (one objective per row)	Council Plan objective? (Y/N)	Relevant Council Plan priority
A	Commercialise services and provide financial control to deliver stated savings targets and transition to zero council subsidy.	N	Ensure Reading Borough Council is fit for the future.
B	Continue to deliver quality cultural and leisure services and facilitate exciting improvements to our cultural offer through grant-funded projects”.	Y	Develop fairer communities and affordable housing   Secure Reading’s economic and cultural success  Safeguard and support the health and wellbeing of Reading’s adults and children
C	Deliver key capital projects, including new Central library, new Studio Theatre, Roman Silchester Gallery and client the extension to Royal Berkshire Archives.	N	Secure Reading’s economic and cultural success
D	Lead and motivate our teams to deliver high performing customer experiences.	N	Ensure Reading Borough Council is fit for the future.
E	Effectively and safely manage our assets.	N	Ensure Reading Borough Council is fit for the future.
F	Continue to deliver quality cultural and leisure services and facilitate exciting improvements to our cultural offer through grant-funded projects.	Y	Secure Reading’s economic and cultural success

D. Projects

The specific activities and programmes work that will deliver the objectives set out above. 

Projects should be: 

• Focused on tangible deliverables rather than outcomes (e.g. “build a new library and reception area in the Civic Centre” would be preferable to “celebrate Reading’s arts, culture, and heritage”). 
• Time-limited (with a defined beginning and end) and distinct from BAU activity (ongoing activities should be reflected in the “business as usual” section). 

Reading Libraries and Museum

Project name	What will this deliver and what will the benefits be?	Start date (month-year)	End date (month-year)	Budget	What resources is this project dependent on? (eg finance, legal, IT)	Relevant council/service plan objective (from table above)	Council Plan project? (Y/N)	Data provider
Deliver a new Civic Centre, including a new Central Library and improved Registrars and Customer provision.	A new fit for purpose Reading Library that better meets customer needs.	2023	2026		Finance, Legal, PMO, IT, Property & Assets, Procurement.	Continue to deliver quality cultural and leisure services and facilitate exciting improvements to our cultural offer through grant-funded projects.	Y	Simon Smith
Improve the technology offer and access to library services funded through the Libraries Investment Fund.	Deliver the outputs of the bid across all 7 libraries.	Q1 23/24	Q4 25/26	495k	Legal, IT, Procurement, Project Management Office	Continue to deliver quality cultural and leisure services and facilitate exciting improvements to our cultural offer through grant-funded projects.	Y
Deliver MTFS Saving target of £73k  25/26: 55k 26/27: 16k 27/28:  2k	More commercialised and sustainable service	Q1 (25/26)	Q4 (27/28)	-73	Finance, IT, Procurement	Commercialise services and exert financial control to deliver stated savings targets and transition to zero council subsidy.	N	Simon Smith
Roman (Silchester) Gallery project	Complete Roman project development stage. Secure match funding and submit delivery application to NLHF.  Initiate delivery phase if successful.  New gallery, set out to allow better interpretation and make Reading’s unique items more central to the story	Q1 (25/26)   Q2 (25/26)     Q4 25/26	Q2 (25/26)   Q3 (25/26)     Q4 26/27	45K          944K	Finance, Legal, PMO, IT, Property & Assets, Procurement.        Finance, Legal, PMO, IT, Property & Assets, Procurement	Continue to deliver quality cultural and leisure services and facilitate exciting improvements to our cultural offer through grant-funded projects. Effectively and safely manage our assets.	N	Matthew Williams Christelle Beaupoux
Implement management actions from the audit on Reading Foundation for Art.	Comply with the findings of the audit to minimise the risk to the council.	Q1 24/25	Q4 25/26	0	Finance, Legal		N	Simon Smith
Securing a sustainable future for Caversham Court Gardens	Repair to Caversham Court Garden eastern Wall.   Stabilise Caversham Court Western wall  Gazebo assessment of cost of repair and conservation	Q1 24/25    Q3 24/25    tbc	Q4 25/26    Q4 25/26      tbc		Property Services, Parks, Finance, Procurement	Further improve the physical environment of Reading by improving air quality, access to green space, and the quality of public spaces. Effectively and safely manage our assets.	N	Christelle Beaupoux
Energy and carbon review of libraries	Reduce energy use through energy efficiency in buildings including exploring development of projects for smaller libraries	Q4 24/25	Q3 25/26		Energy Team, Property Services, FM	Promote a sustainable and healthy environment and reduce Reading’s carbon footprint	N	Simon Smith
Develop and agree strategic principles for Reading Libraries	Current plan runs 22-25 and was adopted prior to any knowledge of new library	Q3 24/25	Q4 26/27		Comms, Consultation/Participation	Secure Reading’s economic and cultural success	N	Simon Smith
Deliver Reading Museum’s five-year plan, in line with NPO funding plans including further NPO bid	Museum ACE accreditation retained. Museum Accreditation policies and plans delivered. Museum NPO status retained and programme delivery – further bid to ACE Reports through council and ODNs as needed.	(Q1 25/26)	Q1 26/27		Finance Legal Possible PMO Support	Secure Reading’s economic and cultural success	N	Matthew Williams
Berkshire Archaeology – ongoing delivery of services to Berkshire local authorities as part of the Joint Agreement including anything arising	Ensure that service is delivered as agreed	Q1  25-26	Q4 25/26		Legal	Secure Reading’s economic and cultural success	N	Fiona MacDonald
Continue to deliver fundraising strategy for Culture, to include grants, match funding and linking to wider projects (such as Museum’s Roman Gallery above)	Deliver financial savings to budget through increased fundraising	Q3 24/25	Q4 27/28		Finance, CIT, PMO	Secure Reading’s economic and cultural success	N	Zsuzsi Lindsay
Continue, in partnership, to deliver the statement of intent 2023-26 for Reading’s Culture and Heritage Strategy.	Support and develop the creative sector	Q1, 23/24	Q4, 25/26			Secure Reading’s economic and cultural success	N	Zsuzsi Lindsay
Research and develop a social impact through culture project in partnership with Housing and Communities and the place based pilots in Church and Whitley	Support access to culture within underserved areas of Reading as identified by Housing and Communities.  Deliver social impact outcomes and support cross service strategic priorities through grant funded creative projects, co-produced with Housing and Communities, PBP & Brighter futures For Children colleguescolleagues.   Work with Housing and Communities to scope further potential projects & funding.	Q1, 2023/24	Q4, 2024/25		Cultural Sector delivery partners VCS funders Artswork Funders Brighter Futures for Children Housing and Communities		N	Zsuzsi Lindsay
Deliver Abbey Quarter business plan	To ensure that the outcome identified in SPF plan are delivered	Q1 24/25	Q4 24/25		SPF programme funding, To look at the financial sustainability of the wider Abbey Quarter site. To enable the heritage site to potentially increase its income generation and funding opportunity for a stronger financial stability looking forward to the next 3 years,	Secure Reading’s economic and cultural success  Continue to deliver quality cultural and leisure services and facilitate exciting improvements to our cultural offer through grant-funded projects.  Effectively and safely manage our assets.	N	Christelle Beaupoux
Update plan for Create Reading (Cultural Education Partnership)	Updated strategic plan to guide provision for the town, sector led.	Q1 24/25	Q4 25/26		Relies on external local partners; Ongoing support from Artwork		N	Zsuzsi Lindsay

Active Reading

Project name	What will this deliver and what will the benefits be?	Start date (month-year)	End date (month-year)	Budget	What resources is this project dependent on? (eg finance, legal, IT)	Relevant council/service plan objective (from table above)	Council Plan project? (Y/N)	Data provider
Deliver MTFS Saving target of £-115k  25/26: 19k 26/27: 0k 27/28:  -134k	Deliver financial savings	Q1 25/26	Q4 27/28	-115k	Legal, Finance	Commercialise services and exert financial control to deliver stated savings targets and transition to zero council subsidy.	N	Ben Stanesby
Evaluate and implement Agency model with GLL.	Deliver financial savings	Q3, 2023/24	Q4, 2025/26		Legal and specialist advice. Negotiation with Leisure operator	Commercialise services and exert financial control to deliver stated savings targets and transition to zero council subsidy.	N	Ben Stanesby
Deliver the Whitley Wood Pavilion refurbishment.	Deliver financial saving	Ongoing	Q4 2024/25		Funded via small Leisure Schemes and fettered s106.	Deliver key capital projects, including new Central library, new Studio Theatre, Silchester Gallery and client the extension to Royal Berkshire Archives.	N	Ben Stanesby
Assess options for upgrading facilities at Christchurch Meadows	Better resident offer.  Cost avoidance in future years.	Q1, 2024/25	Q4 25/26		This will need to be jointly taken forward by Streetscene, Assets and Active Reading with legal and procurement support. Subject to funding for feasibility study.	Effectively and safely manage our assets.	N	Ben Stanesby
Continue to implement the review of Parks Pavilion provision	Match building provision to customer needs disposing of excess provision. Delivering savings	Q1 2024/5	Q4 2026/7		This will need to be jointly taken forward by Assets and Active Reading with legal support.	Effectively and safely manage our assets.	N	Ben Stanesby
Review services provided by Education Play/Ranger Station.	Maxing use of resources to deliver services and close budget gap (increase income)	Q4 2023/24	Q4 25/26		No resources required to review.	Commercialise services and exert financial control to deliver stated savings targets and transition to zero council subsidy.	N	Review services provided by Education play/Ranger Station.

New Directions College

Project name	What will this deliver and what will the benefits be?	Start date (month-year)	End date (month-year)	Budget	What resources is this project dependent on? (eg finance, legal, IT)	Relevant council/service plan objective (from table above)	Council Plan project? (Y/N)	Data provider
In partnership with other Berkshire councils, facilitate the Connect to Work programme to support residents with long term health conditions into work.	A Berkshire supported employment programme to facilitate people with long term health conditions into work.	2025	tbc	tbc	New Directions, PMO, REDA	Promote the economic success of Reading by working with councils across Berkshire and the wider Thames Valley.	Y	Lisa Welch
Develop and deliver improvement plan following Ofsted inspection.	Continuous improvement of the service and an Outstanding judgment at the next inspection.	Q3 25/26	Q4 29/30			Develop and deliver our place-based approach to how we deliver our services, to enhance access to education, skills, and training.	N	Lisa Welch
Berkshire wide work on Employment & Skills Theme for the Shared Prosperity Board.	To support the employment and skills theme.	Jan-24	Nov-25		NDC Principal	Develop and deliver our place-based approach to how we deliver our services, to enhance access to education, skills, and training.	N	Lisa Welch
Actively participate in the Screen Industries Workforce Development Partnership (LSIP) and link to the work of Screen Berkshire	Ensure RBC is engaged in skills and employment initiatives linked to screen industries, to promote this to local residents and ensure employment opportunities are maximised.	Jan-24	Jan-26		This work is linked to the Berkshire LSIP and the work of Screen Berkshire.  REDA	Develop and deliver our place-based approach to how we deliver our services, to enhance access to education, skills, and training.	N	Lisa Welch

Reading Arts and venues

Project name	What will this deliver and what will the benefits be?	Start date (month-year)	End date (month-year)	Budget	What resources is this project dependent on? (eg finance, legal, IT)	Relevant council/service plan objective (from table above)	Council Plan project? (Y/N)	Data provider
Deliver MTFS savings of -£462k in 25/26:  Reduce Town Hall Operations budget gap £-56k Reduce Hexagon budget gap £-75k Improved Commercialisation of South Street Theatre £-16k Hex revenue impacts of studio theatre £-315k   Total over 3 years to 27/28 is £-249k	Deliver financial savings	Q1 25/26	Q4 25/26		IT, Procurement.	Commercialise services and exert financial control to deliver stated savings targets and transition to zero council subsidy.	N	Sarah Cox
Deliver the new Studio Theatre at the Hexagon.	A new Studio Theatre extension for the Hexagon.	Q1 23/24	Q4 26/27		Finance, Legal, PMO, IT, Property & Assets, Procurement.	Continue to deliver quality cultural and leisure services and facilitate exciting improvements to our cultural offer through grant-funded projects.	Y	Sarah Cox
Reduce energy use through energy efficiency in buildings (GSHP project at Hexagon)	Reduce carbon and provide efficiencies in heating the venue by replacing ageing systems with new technology and systems	Q1 24/25	Q4 26/27		Facilities, finance, Sustainability team, M&E consultant	Continue to deliver quality cultural and leisure services and facilitate exciting improvements to our cultural offer through grant-funded projects.	Y	Susan Jones (Delivery)
Reduce energy use through energy efficiency in buildings – explore potential works at Town Hall, for further decarbonisation/heat pump projects.	Reduce carbon and provide efficiencies in heating the venue by replacing ageing systems with new technology and systems	Q4 23/24	Q4 26/27		Sustainability team, Facilities, finance	Continue moving towards a net zero, resilient Reading and council by 2030.	Y	Sarah Cox
Continue to explore feasibility of replacing main house seating and refresh of front of house bar areas.	To protect the Hexagon revenue stream and remain competitive.	Q1 2024/25	Ongoing		Finance, procurement, legal, fundraising	Continue to deliver quality cultural and leisure services and facilitate exciting improvements to our cultural offer through grant-funded projects.	N	Sarah Cox
With property & Assets develop long term management plan for RAAC in the Hexagon auditorium.	Costed options appraisal to be produced for long term management plan.	Q1 2024/25	Ongoing		Property & Assets	Continue to deliver quality cultural and leisure services and facilitate exciting improvements to our cultural offer through grant-funded projects.	N	Yvonne Mubanga  Sarah Cox

Royal Berkshire Archives

Project name	What will this deliver and what will the benefits be?	Start date (month-year)	End date (month-year)	Budget	What resources is this project dependent on? (eg finance, legal, IT)	Relevant council/service plan objective (from table above)	Council Plan project? (Y/N)	Data provider
Complete the extension.	Enhance heritage offering across the county, improve service for residents and expand community engagement. To do so by providing safe and sustainable storage until at least 2099 for analogue archives of importance to local communities, and by the cost-effective, joint provision of this storage.	Q1 24/25	Q3 26/27 tbc		West Berkshire property team and external contractors.  Reports are provided to Archives Board, Standing Conference on Archives and BPSN or Berkshire treasurers as necessary.	Effectively and safely manage our assets.	N	Complete the extension.

Cross cutting

Project name	What will this deliver and what will the benefits be?	Start date (month-year)	End date (month-year)	Budget	What resources is this project dependent on? (eg finance, legal, IT)	Relevant council/service plan objective (from table above)	Council Plan project? (Y/N)	Data provider
Continue to deliver against DEGNS People Plan	Improved staff survey scores. Happy and retained workforce.	Ongoing	Ongoing		HR		N	Donna Pentelow
Continue to shape services to reduce barriers to access.	Broaden audiences; Social stories created for all Culture Service public buildings; Carry out Dementia Friendly audits and implementation of actions.	Q1, 24/25	Q4, 26/27		None		N	Donna Pentelow
Embedding carbon reduction and climate adaptation into BAU:  Service Managers are certified carbon literate;  Deliver Climate Anxiety training to embed learnings and understanding into our cultural programming; Review of comms in our buildings to nudge behaviour change;  Review hospitality functions to prioritise locally-sourced seasonal options and provide wide range of vegetarian and vegan dishes with meat and fish also available.	Help deliver actions in Climate Strategy	Q1, 24/25	Q4, 27/28		None		N	Donna Pentelow

Annex: Council Plan priorities and objectives 

Vision: Our Vision is to help Reading realise its potential and to ensure that everyone who lives and works here can share the benefits of its success.

Priority 1: Promote affordable housing and more equal communities 

• Tackle economic inequality by taking a place-based approach to how we deliver all our services, and enhance access to education, skills, and training opportunities.  
• Deliver new energy efficient council homes and improve tenant satisfaction with social housing.  
• Prevent the escalation of children’s needs through developing Family Hubs. 
• Promote best practice across Reading’s schools, helping to improve educational attainment and narrow the gap for disadvantaged and vulnerable children. 
• Prevent and reduce health inequalities within the population of Reading and improve and protect the health and wellbeing of all its communities. 
• Through the community safety partnership, focus on reducing community-based drug activity, knife violence, violence against women and girls and youth reoffending. 
• Work with partners to prevent homelessness, provide value for money accommodation for those that are homeless, and move people onto settled accommodation as quickly as possible. 

Priority 2: Secure Reading’s economic and cultural success 

• Enable the delivery of over 800 high-quality new homes a year in Reading, along with the infrastructure to support new development. 
• Promote the economic success of Reading by working with councils across Berkshire and the wider Thames Valley. 
• Maximise the benefits available for Reading from opportunities arising from the English Devolution White Paper. 
• Continue to deliver quality cultural and leisure services and facilitate exciting improvements to our cultural offer through grant-funded projects. 

Priority 3: Promote a sustainable and healthy environment and reduce Reading’s carbon footprint 

• Make use of central government funding to deliver improvements to public transport, cycling and walking infrastructure in Reading. 
• Keep Reading moving by delivering investment in highways, including roads, bridges, streetlighting and traffic signals. 
• Continue moving towards a net zero, resilient Reading and council by 2030. 
• Further improve the physical environment of Reading by improving air quality, access to green space, and the quality of public spaces. 
• Deliver major changes to our waste and recycling service to ensure compliance with new legislation. 

Priority 4: Safeguard and support the health and wellbeing of Reading’s adults and children 

• Reduce the number of children in care and the number of children in residential care. 
• Improve our local Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) offer and support education settings to develop inclusive practice, so children receive high quality education locally, and achieve their potential. 
• Support those who need social care services to live as independently as possible in a place they call home with improved wellbeing. 
• Improve our offer for unpaid Carers, ensuring they are supported to live well and can sustain their caring role. 
• Work with our partners in health and the voluntary sector to provide support solutions for those with complex health and social care needs to improve outcomes. 

Priority 5: Ensure Reading Borough Council is fit for the future 

• Deliver good, accessible services for our customers. 
• Invest in technology that is secure and helps deliver effective services. 
• Use procurement of goods and services to secure greater social value and spend locally. 
• Bring Brighter Futures for Children (Children’s Services) back to the council. 
• Be a fair employer with an attractive and competitive offer and a workforce that is representative of the local community.