Residents can paint the Granville underpass mural under the A4 on Sunday 4 October, and name it. The council put £26,000 of developer levy into the underpass.
Reading Borough Council is painting a mural in the Granville underpass, and it wants residents to turn up and paint some of it themselves. The session is on Sunday 4 October, from 10am to midday, and it is free.
The underpass runs beneath the A4 Bath Road. It links the housing of Southcote with Prospect Park, the shops and the school on the northern side (Reading Borough Council).
The artist is Jenna Fox. The council is asking people to bring memories and positive words about the area, which go into the design, and it also wants suggestions for what the mural should be called.
There are two ways to take part:
- Come to the underpass on Sunday 4 October between 10am and midday and write your words on the wall
- Send them in through the council’s online form if you cannot get there
Cllr Jacopo Lanzoni, lead councillor for leisure and culture, said: “The Granville underpass is a well-used pedestrian route which will benefit hugely from this lively and colourful mural.”
The money: £26,000, and where it came from
The council’s announcement says the work is paid for with Community Infrastructure Levy money, the charge it collects from developers. It does not say how much.
Its own statutory report does. “Bath Road/Granville Road underpass enhancement” was allocated £26,000 in the council’s Infrastructure Funding Statement for 2024-25, published in December 2025 (Infrastructure Funding Statement 2024-25, table 2.3).
That £26,000 came out of the 15% neighbourhood portion of the levy. Under the CIL regulations, where there is no neighbourhood development plan, 15% of everything collected has to be spent in the neighbourhood where the development happened. Reading collected £750,537 of neighbourhood CIL in 2024-25, on top of what it was already holding.
Policy Committee allocated £1.498 million of that neighbourhood money in July 2024, split across 31 projects across the borough. The underpass was one of them.
For scale, the biggest single allocation on that list was £200,000 to repaint and resurface the Kennet footbridge between Kennet Walk and Avon Place. The smallest was £1,000, to refurbish a bench at the Southcote Road and Tilehurst Road junction.
The comparison that says most about the Granville underpass is another underpass. Cleaning and enhancing the Katesgrove Lane to County Lock underpass, and the area around it, was allocated £100,000, nearly four times as much.
Southcote did better elsewhere on the same list. £100,000 went to infilling the footpath along the Holy Brook in Southcote Linear Park, and Prospect Park’s playground took £45,767 of the separate strategic pot in the same year.
The council says it needs to spend this money faster
Buried in the same report is a line the council has written about itself. At the end of 2024-25 it was still holding £6.335 million of levy money it had not spent. About half of that was neighbourhood CIL, and the report says the vast majority of it “has been allocated to projects but not yet spent”.
Its conclusion: the council “will need to continue focus on ensuring that CIL funding is allocated and spent in a timely manner”.
A further £647,000 of neighbourhood money was sitting unallocated at the end of the year, waiting for projects. Reading has no parish councils, so unlike most of the country the borough spends the neighbourhood portion itself rather than handing it to a parish.
Why this underpass
The underpass has form. When it was photographed in 2007 the brickwork already carried graffiti and the signs told cyclists to dismount, despite the route being the direct link between the Southcote estate and the park, shops and school on the far side of the A4.
Public art is not a side line in Reading’s levy spending. The council recorded £292,099 spent on “public art and public realm improvements” in 2024-25.
What it means for you
- If you live in Southcote, Coley or off the Bath Road, you can help paint the mural on Sunday 4 October, 10am to midday. It is free and you do not need to book.
- If you cannot be there, you can still send words and memories through the council’s online form, and you can suggest a name for the mural.
- If you want to know what else the levy paid for on your street, the Infrastructure Funding Statement lists every project by name. It is published every December for the year to the previous March.
- If a development near you has just been granted permission, the 15% neighbourhood share of its levy is meant to be spent in your neighbourhood. Our guide to Reading planning applications explains how to follow one through the register.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Granville underpass mural painting session?
Sunday 4 October 2026, from 10am to midday, at the Granville underpass between Southcote and Prospect Park. It is free and open to anyone.
Who is the artist?
Jenna Fox. The council says residents’ positive words and memories about the area will feed into the design.
How much is the mural costing?
The council has not published a figure for the mural itself. Its Infrastructure Funding Statement for 2024-25 shows £26,000 allocated to “Bath Road/Granville Road underpass enhancement” from the neighbourhood share of the Community Infrastructure Levy.
What is the Community Infrastructure Levy?
A charge Reading Borough Council makes on new development, based on floorspace and use. Eighty per cent is strategic, 15% must be spent in the neighbourhood where the development took place, and up to 5% covers administration.
Can I suggest a name for the mural?
Yes. The council is asking for names as well as words, either in person on 4 October or through its online form.
Sources
- Reading Borough Council, Invitation to help create underpass mural, 18 September 2026, for the date, times, location, the artist, the online form and the quote.
- Reading Borough Council, Infrastructure Funding Statement 2024-25, for the £26,000 allocation, table 2.3 in full, the 15% neighbourhood rules, the £750,537 collected, the £1.498m allocated in July 2024, the £6.335m retained, the £647,000 unallocated, the public art spend and the council’s own conclusion on timeliness.
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