As we enter 2025 it looks like a lot is going to change if you fancy going out in the evening and into the night in Reading. Our team put on their glad rags and headed out on the town to find out what's likely to occur to our night time economy in the year ahead..

The New Year is a tough time for pubs and restaurants and this year may prove more challenging than ever for the few pubs left in central Reading, and perhaps even more so for the many restaurants who seem to do better from delivery than they do from bums on seats. So, what are the trends we can expect to see

 

Ryanair-Type Dynamic Pricing For Drinks ?

The average cost of a pint in town has crept beyond the six pound mark in most pubs, but even this does not seem to balance what punters are willing to pay against what pubs need to turn a profit.

Massive chains such as Weatherspoons, with two pubs in town, and the Lounge Group, with outlets in Caversham, Woodley and Wokingham, are able to provide keenly priced food and drinks and have become a haven for those on tighter budgets.

But a new trend is appearing. In London, other pubcos are introducing a surcharge on drinks served after 10pm – pushing the cost of a pint to just under £10. Could this happen in Reading?

The O’Neill’s branch in London's Wardour Street is one of several establishments adopting a dynamic pricing model, with the company owner Mitchells & Butlers citing a request from the Metropolitan Police and Westminster City Council as the rationale behind the move.

The policy has been in effect since 2022, and a company spokesperson told inreading.co.uk that the goal is to ensure that all venues in Soho’s heart maintain similar pricing to help enhance the safety of the night time economy. The reasoning is that if one venue were significantly cheaper, people would flock there, potentially creating safety concerns.

A spokesperson for Mitchells & Butlers stated:

“The policy at Wardour Street reflects a request from both the licensing authority and the police that we increase prices after 10pm to a level generally in line with the late-night market. This policy has been in place for about two years.”

The company explained that there are circumstances across its portfolio that necessitate this policy - the portfolio includes All Bar One, Harvester, Sizzling Pubs, Stonehouse Pizza and Carvery, Toby Carvery, and Vintage Inns. Additionally, its Castle brand inclusdes Reading's The Oakford Social Club and, at Cemetery Junction, the Hope and Bear.

The Mitchells & Butlers spokesperson continued:

“Most hospitality businesses and retailers deploy a form of dynamic pricing, which can include both price increases and decreases through tactical discounts or time-limited promotions. Dynamic pricing varies on a site-by-site basis, reflecting local market conditions. However, temporary price increases tend to offset additional costs, such as when extra door security is required.”

You have long been able to enjoy two for one deals on drinks and food in the late afternoon and early evening, so it would nto be surprising to find this concept extended in the future - £4 for a pint at 5pm and £10 at midnight ?

 

Safety Measures in Reading’s Nightlife

Reading unfortunately saw some rather nasty incidents in 2024 related to drinking establishments, such as the stabbing of Bajan visitor Tharel Thompson, who sustained life-changing injuries in the Walkabout Bar in Reading at the beginning of the year.

Reading Borough Council has introduced several measures to ensure public safety during late-night activity. These include:

  • Installing additional CCTV cameras across the town.
  • Enhancing street lighting in areas such as Chain Street and Smelly Alley.
  • Providing additional training and support for pub and club staff.

These training sessions have included self-defence techniques and Welfare and Vulnerability Engagement (WAVE) training, with a focus on drink spiking and its prevention. To support this, all town centre venues have been equipped with drinking spiking and urine-testing kits.

Council efforts also include supporting the Ask for Angela campaign, an initiative that allows individuals who feel unsafe to request assistance from bar staff by asking for a fictitious person named Angela.

Additional assistance comes from Reading Street Pastors, a volunteer program that patrols the streets from 10.30pm to 3am on Fridays and Saturdays. Volunteers offer assistance at night time on the town’s streets. In October, the initiative celebrated its 25th anniversary and has expanded its activities to events such as Reading Festival and Freshers' Week, as well as launching a rail pastors’ scheme.

The Street Pastors also collaborate with First Stop Reading, which operates out of the Safe Space in Chain Street next to Bill’s Restaurant. This service runs from 9pm to 3am on Fridays and Saturdays and provides medical attention, respite, and basic first aid for minor injuries, intoxication, and other medical needs. It is estimated that this service prevents over 300 emergency department visits each year.

This effort is part of a partnership between Thames Valley Police, the Council, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, and Reading’s Business Improvement District (BID).

Additionally, the Pubwatch initiative has brought improvements to security and implemented a banning system, resulting in over 100 individuals being barred from venues for periods ranging from three months to five years.

Getting Home Safely

After a good night out, and perhaps being rather more vulnerable after a drink or three, getting home safely is a night time priority for Dings. We have excellent buses, but on many routes they become sparse after 7pm.

Many older people, especially, do not feel safe going out at home. After a lifetime in the town, one elderly resident told inreading.co.uk that she will no longer visit local pubs after her local closed down, since she does not feel safe in East Reading after dark. 

Cllr John Ennis, Reading’s lead for climate strategy and transport, commented:

“Private Hire and Hackney Carriage customers deserve to trust that their driver is properly insured and licensed. Our officers routinely conduct operations in town centre hotspots to enforce these standards. We are thankful for the support from the majority of Reading's law-abiding taxi trade. Unlicensed drivers who undermine this trust will be dealt with firmly to maintain public confidence and ensure safety in our nighttime economy.”

Other safety measures include spot checks on private hire and taxi drivers to ensure they are licensed and insured. For instance in July 2024, an Uber driver was fined over £1,000 and received eight points on their licence after being caught illegally operating as a driver for the second time. They were also ordered to pay £775 toward prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £120.

However, hailing a cab in Reading remains difficult, especially if you are not in an area with a taxi rank - such as St Mary’s Butts and the station. There is no app which users can use to hail a taxi, with many reverting to still using Uber - ostensibly banned in the town - and hailing cabs with licences to operate in other areas as a result.

Earlier this year Mr Ennis told inreading.co.uk that he was looking into this issue, but to date there seems to be no resolution to the substantial problem of getting home safely after a night out in Reading.

Making Women Feel Safe

In addition to the Ask Angela initiative, leader of Reading Borough Council’s Environmental Services and Community Safety, Karen Rowland, emphasized the Council’s commitment to addressing violence against women and girls in the community ahead of White Ribbon Day. She said:

“This Council takes very seriously the issue of reducing violence against women and girls in our community. Substantial effort goes into ensuring we’re constantly working on strands within the Council and with our partners to support their safety. This includes supporting Reading BID’s training of venue staff, enhancing lighting and CCTV in the town centre.”

 

Social Trends

The UK has experienced a notable number of nightclub closures, with reports indicating the loss of three nightclubs per week since the start of 2024. Reading has lost legendary venues such as After Dark (once subject to a discussion between Kate Winslet and Ricky Gervais on a primetime US chatshow) and the Q Club.

Music Venues are also challenged, although there seems to be a healthier roots music scene in Reading with Calico on London Road  offering jazz and blues evenings and the legendary Purple Turtle looking to expand. Gigs at Blue Corner and music sessions in bars such as The Oakford Social and pubs such as The Fisherman’s Cottage have also proven that there is still life in our music scene.

The decline of Reading’s pubs has long been noted on these pages. The thirsty biscuit makers have been replaced by more abstemious IT workers, who are often teetotal. Equally, students seem to have become a lot more serious about their studies. A former Reading student, more recently a Professor at another university, commented: “Students these days seem to spend more time in lectures that they do in the pub. I’m not surprised that Newtown only has two pubs left.”

 

Music Venues

Reading has long lacked a primary venue, and the scaled-back refurbishment of the Hexagon may prove to be a massive missed opportunity. The venue is too small to attract a decent schedule of music acts. The reality is that Reading probably has too many small venues and lacks a decent venue to rival Oxford’s New Theatre or Bath’s Forum. A capacity of 2,000 seems to be the magic number these days and the Hexagon will remain at around 1,200 and deemed too small for many comedy and music tours.

 

Cinemas

Cinemas have had an especially rough time in recent years, failing to recover after the pandemic, despite some notable blockbuster box office hits. During 2025, it looks like Reading will lose its major multiplex with the closure of Vue at Oracle Riverside for redevelopment into flats, leaving only the wonderful Biscuit Factory as the only cinema in the town. Otherwise it's a drive to Winnersh and the Showcase cinema or to the Everyman in Wokingham. Or sitting at home in front of a 75" screen.

 

Economic Impact

It is likely that 2025 is going to be a year that is economically challenging to local people in our town and the surfeit of restaurants along with increased costs thanks to increased regulation, clamp downs on illegal working, increases in employment taxes and a reduction in rates relief are going to result in a perfect storm for many establishments.

 

A Bright Spot – Bowling

It is pretty clear that "experiences" are the way forward for the night time economy. There are already many escape room experiences in Reading (see our Directory), and 2025 is going to become the Year of Bowling.

The major development in 2025 will be the advent of not one, not two, not three, but potentially four bowling alleys to add to the small existing facility at Spinners.

It is astonishing that this has been a glaring hole in the town's social scene - Wokingham and Bracknell have long had bowling alleys. You can read more about this in this recent report in the Chronicle.

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/24811042.bowling-alleys-restaurants-coming-reading-2025/

 

If you’re looking for something to do in Reading, check out our Do Things section.