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Berkshire weekly round-up: 29 October - 4 November 2023

Rex Features Cloudy skies over Reading's Select Car Leasing Stadium.Rex Features
The club has been threatened with liquidation by creditors

The latest development in Reading FC's ongoing financial woes was among our most read stories this week in Berkshire.

A variety of local issues featured on the BBC News website, BBC Radio Berkshire and South Today.

We have picked five stories to keep you up to date.

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HMRC lodges second winding-up petition of year against Reading FC

Rex Features A view from the empty seats at the Select Car Leasing Stadium in ReadingRex Features
In all it is the fifth time Reading have been issued with a winding-up petition

Reading have been served with another winding-up petition by His Majesty's Revenue & Customs over unpaid taxes.

It is the second time in four months the club has been threatened with liquidation by creditors because of unresolved debts.

A winding-up petition can be resolved when a debt is paid or by arrangement of a payment plan with the creditor, in this case HMRC.

If unresolved, it could lead to a business going into administration.

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Slough Labour councillors defy Starmer by calling for Gaza ceasefire

Pavitar Kaur Mann Pavitar Kaur MannPavitar Kaur Mann
Slough Labour group leader Pavitar Kaur Mann said there was some common ground with Sir Keir Starmer

All 18 Labour councillors in Slough have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza - a position at odds with party leader Sir Keir Starmer.

In a joint statement, they said "human rights and adherence to international law must prevail".

Slough group leader Pavitar Kaur Mann told the BBC they had "watched with absolute horror what's been happening".

Labour leader Sir Keir argued on Tuesday that a ceasefire would leave Hamas's infrastructure intact.

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Crumbling multi-storey car park closed down

Bracknell Forest Council High Street car park in Bracknell Town CentreBracknell Forest Council
The car park had already had its middle parking bays closed to the public to spread the weight load

A 50-year-old car park has been shut down after experts found its concrete structure was crumbling.

The 1970s High Street facility in Bracknell Town Centre, Berkshire, closed on Tuesday evening.

Surveyors had warned the multi-storey was corroding because it was not built for modern, heavy cars.

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Town's longest-serving councillor to step down

Reading Borough Council The mayor and the deputy mayorReading Borough Council
Councillor Tony Page (left) with deputy mayor Glenn Dennis

The longest-serving member of Reading Borough Council has announced he is stepping down after 50 years.

Current Mayor of Reading, Tony Page will retire in May 2024.

Breaking the news to his Labour colleagues, he said it had been "a huge honour and privilege to have represented the town centre area".

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Thames Water announces job losses

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Thames Water employs about 8,200 people across its business

Thames Water is set to axe 300 roles after an "extremely challenging year".

The GMB union said it had been told 140 people were at risk of redundancy, including 89 retail roles and 39 digital jobs. The other positions are currently vacant, the water firm said.

The union blamed the company, saying public money had been "drained from the system".

But Thames Water said the plan was necessary, adding it would seek to minimise compulsory redundancies.

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