RG1 8LL Reading
Live postcode, introduced April 1987. Ward: Thames. Region: South East.
Streets
- Cardiff Road, Reading: 4 addresses
- Weighbridge Row, Reading: 1 address
Council tax
What each band costs in Reading in 2026-27: Band D £2,613 a year on average, including the police, fire and any county and parish charges.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,742 | £2,032 | £2,322 | £2,613 | £3,193 | £3,774 | £4,355 | £5,226 |
Homes by band in the neighbourhood around this postcode: most are in band C (49% of about 980 homes).
Planning and heritage
- Conservation area: no postcode centre in this postcode is in one.
- Listed buildings within 100 m of this postcode: none.
- Article 4 direction (removing permitted development rights): none recorded, though not every council has published theirs.
- Tree preservation orders: none recorded, though not every council has published theirs.
- Green belt: no.
Brownfield land registered for housing within 1.0 km
- Former Cox & Wyman Site, Cardiff Road, Reading: up to 96 homes, permissioned (220 m)
- 2 Ross Road and part of Meadow Road, Reading: up to 60 homes, not permissioned (270 m)
- 26-30 Swansea Road and 28-32 Northfield Road, Reading: up to 8 homes, permissioned (450 m)
- Cattle Market, Great Knollys Street, Reading: up to 490 homes, not permissioned (460 m)
- West of Caversham Road, Caversham Road, Reading: up to 115 homes, not permissioned (520 m)
- Unit 16 North Street, Reading: up to 10 homes, pending decision (540 m)
- Former Reading Family Centre, North Street, Reading: up to 47 homes, permissioned (550 m)
- Great Knollys Street and Weldale Street, Reading: up to 29 homes, not permissioned (550 m)
Flood risk
Rivers, the sea or surface water: in this postcode, 0 addresses are in areas at high risk, 0 at medium risk and 3 at low risk. Each address counts once, at the higher of its rivers-and-sea and surface-water risk.
Rivers and the sea alone: no home is in an area at risk.
High: 3.3% (1 in 30) or more chance of flooding a year. Medium: 1% to 3.3%. Low: 0.1% to 1%. Very low: under 0.1%. The rivers and sea figures allow for flood defences. Counts cover whole postcodes, which can include other streets.
Flood zone for planning: the postcode centre is in flood zone 2. Zone 2 is between 0.1% and 1% a year from rivers (0.1% and 0.5% from the sea), ignoring defences.
Height above sea level
The postcode's addresses are about 39 m above sea level.
Broadband
Superfast 100%, ultrafast 100%, gigabit 100% of premises; 0% cannot get 10 Mbit/s. Ofcom Connected Nations, data as at January 2026.
Getting around
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Railway stations | Reading West 482,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 870 m |
| Reading 14 million journeys in 2024–25 | 880 m | |
| Tilehurst 385,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 3.4 km | |
| Bus stops | 6 stops within 400 m, 26 within 800 m; nearest Rivermead Leisure Centre | 240 m |
| Bus or coach station | Reading Rail Station - buses | 930 m |
| Car parks | 3 within 800 m; nearest Car Park on Milford Road, RG1 | 110 m |
| EV charging points | 1 within 1.6 km; nearest Apcoa Charging Station | 930 m |
| Airport with scheduled flights | London Heathrow Airport LHR | 36.4 km |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | 5 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Chatham Street Surgery | 730 m |
| Pharmacies | 9 pharmacies within 1.6 km; nearest Saood Pharmacy | 800 m |
| NHS dentists | 10 practices within 1.6 km; nearest 20 Bridge Street (Dental Surgery) | 690 m |
| Hospital | Battle Hospital | 1.1 km |
| Police station | Thames Valley Police | 1.1 km |
| Cash machines | 4 machines within 800 m; nearest Snax 24 - Reading 840 Cashzone | 200 m |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | 1 within 800 m; nearest Caversham Court Gardens 1.0 ha | 720 m |
| Play area | 6 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 140 m² | 230 m |
| Playing field | 3 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 1.4 ha | 420 m |
| Allotments | 2 within 800 m; nearest George Street Allotments 2,430 m² | 440 m |
Within 800 m: 1 park or garden, 1.0 hectares in all.
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is Caversham Court, a registered park or garden (Grade II), 670 m north. 60 listed buildings are within 1.0 km, 1 of them Grade I and 1 of them Grade II*.
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Caversham Court | Registered park or garden, Grade II | 670 m north |
| Church of St Peter | Listed building, Grade II* | 740 m north |
| Greyfriars Church | Listed building, Grade I | 770 m south-east |
| The Forbury Garden | Registered park or garden, Grade II | 1.3 km south-east |
| High Bridge | Scheduled monument | 1.4 km south-east |
| Reading Abbey: a Cluniac and Benedictine monastery and Civil War earthwork. | Scheduled monument | 1.4 km south-east |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Piper's Island | Island | 630 m north-east |
| Fry's Island | Island | 820 m east |
| Holy Brook | Lake or reservoir | 1.3 km south-east |
| View Island | Island | 1.4 km east |
| The Warren | Wood | 1.4 km north-west |
| Gravel Hill | Hill | 2.3 km north-west |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 10.2 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 7.0 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 10.8 | 40 | 15 |
All three are within the UK legal limits; nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 are above the WHO guideline, as in most towns and cities.
Road and rail noise
Noise figures are still being loaded.
People and work
Who lives here
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Median age | 33 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 15% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 4% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 47% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 18% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 0% | 1% |
| Social rented | 2% | 17% |
| Private rented | 50% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 83% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 3% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 4% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 4% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 52% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 24% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | 4% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 5% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 16% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km of home (of those who travel to work) | 70% | 65% |
| Work 30 km or more away | 8% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 56% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 10% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 4% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 77% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | 2% | 2% |
Deprivation
The neighbourhood around this postcode is in decile 7 of 10 on the English Indices of Deprivation 2025, where 1 is the most deprived tenth of England's 33,755 neighbourhoods and 10 the least.
The full dossier for this postcode's main street is on Cardiff Road.