Villagers asked who should receive their council tax

In the Berkshire village of Theale residents are being asked to choose between Reading and West Berkshire councils

The last time people in Theale were asked to take part in a referendum was when the country went to the polls to decide whether it wanted to leave the EU.

This week the small village of some 4,000 people, just off junction 12 of the M4, will be asked if it would like local services like bin collections, which are currently run by West Berkshire Council, to be run by Reading Borough Council instead.

Earth shattering consequences on the line? No not exactly.

But asking people in Theale who they want to run their village and who they should pay their council tax to is shining a light on a wider move to reorganise how local government works in this part of Berkshire.

The Theale referendum takes place this Thursday evening, and while it will tell us who the people living there would like to run it, the result won't be binding.

So why run a referendum asking people what they want when the outcome will be virtually meaningless?

Well there's a bigger picture at play here.

The government wants smaller councils to merge so they become bigger, stronger and, it hopes, more financially resilient.

Now it's not forcing our local authorities to merge, but West Berkshire Council, which you'll remember looks after Theale, has decided it wants to join forces with two Oxfordshire councils to create a new local authority - Ridgeway Council.

Its nearest neighbour, Reading Borough Council, says if approved, this would weaken its own position as the new authority would be much bigger, giving it more say over how this part of Berkshire develops in the future.

To counter that possibility, Reading wants to extend its reach as well by swallowing up five villages that currently look to West Berkshire Council for their services.

No prizes for guessing what West Berkshire thinks of that.

Theale is one of the five villages Reding has its eye on. The others are Pangbourne, Calcot, Purley-on-Thames and Tilehurst.

'Suburbs of Reading'

Back then to the matter in hand, the Theale Referendum.

West Berkshire councillor and Theale resident Alan Macro is the man behind it.

While he accepts that even if people vote to stick with West Berkshire on Thursday nothing will actually change, he believes it's still important that the voices of people where he lives are heard.

"Theale is kind of a semi-rural village, and we don't believe that a small city like Reading will understand our needs," he says.

"I believe we'd be much better off staying within our local authority, West Berkshire."

He thinks the referendum will make it clear that people in Theale want to stick with West Berkshire, rather than owe their future allegiance and council taxes to Reading.

Reading Borough Council has proposed bringing five villages on its western fringes under its jurisdiction

But Reading Borough Council isn't so sure.

A spokesperson says: "There is no doubt many residents on the western fringes of Reading look to the town, whether for work, transport connections, higher education, shopping or to use other facilities.

"In that respect, these are already suburbs of Reading and clearly fall within its economic catchment area."

All this leaves people living in Theale sitting at the very centre of a battle for their hearts, minds, and council tax receipts.

This week's referendum will ask them whether they would like to stay with West Berkshire or move over into Reading's jurisdiction.

Ultimately nothing will change as a result of the vote, not least because West Berkshire Council may not even exist a few years from now.

Then again it shows just how seriously the powers that be in two of Berkshire's six councils are taking the call to shake up the world of local government.