DESCRIPTION

West Berkshire Council provides important local services for around 155,000 people across the district. We provide education, housing and social services; we're responsible for roads in the area and we provide rubbish, recycling and other waste services. As well as these critical services we also make sure there are other local amenities and attractions such as Libraries, leisure centres, a museum and our Grade II listed Shaw House. We employ around 1,500 staff, not including those based in schools, and currently have three main offices in Newbury as well as smaller satellite offices across the district. Our vision is to make West Berkshire an even greater place to live, work and learn. West Berkshire is an area which offers beautiful countryside, thriving market towns and good transport links to London and southern England. Covering 272 square miles, around 60% of our area is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and our countryside is as varied as it is plentiful. Around 40% of residents live in rural areas although there are plenty of opportunities for urban living as well. Newbury is the largest town in West Berkshire, although Hungerford, Pangbourne, Thatcham, Theale and Tilehurst are also significant communities along with suburbs bordering Reading in the east. The district is widely recognised as an area with a high concentration of high-tech firms and is home to companies such as Norsk Data, Quantel, Vodafone and the Atomic Weapons Establishment. West Berkshire has a thriving economy with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, and is at the hub of what is often called 'Silicon Valley'.