TGWU Letters Secured as Reading's Heritage Gem

Letters representing the history of workers on a Southampton Street building in Reading have been protected after councillors agreed to add the TGWU lettering to the councils list of locally important buildings and structures.

The TGWU lettering, for The Transport and General Workers' Union, has been on the building since 1989 when the union moved into new offices. An application was submitted to protect it in case the building is ever demolished or the lettering removed.

The listing was debated at a planning committee meeting. Burcu Can Cetin, the councils conservation officer, said it did not meet the Local Plan criteria and should not be listed, but members strongly disagreed, saying it represents Readings working-class history.

Councillor Josh Williams (Green, Park) said: "I understand the 1990s feels like yesterday, to be honest, so I can understand it doesn't have great age, but in another 50 years' time this will have great age, and when it's gone, it's gone!"

Cllr Micky Leng (Labour, Whitley) said: "When I first saw this report come forward, I thought 'yes, it's here!' Then I read the recommendation, and my heart sank. I pass it on the bus when I catch the bus, but I always thought I'd like to see that not end up in a skip somewhere. It is significant because they are rare, as rare as a rocking horse."

The TGWU name was replaced when it merged with Amicus to form the Unite union in 2007. Ms Can Cetin had argued TGWU lettering is still maintained on Unite buildings in places such as Bristol and London, but councillors said it has been removed there, making the Reading sign rarer.

He said: "They are, to use the Monty Python [phrase], gone, deceased."

Cllr John Ennis (Labour, Southcote) added: "I was a shop steward for the TGWU for 20 years, and used both them buildings, and was a very proud member of a very very high amount of union membership for the TGWU workers in Reading and Oxford. TGWU was a huge part of Reading for a long time, we wouldn't get rid of Huntley & Palmers, Suttons or Courage Brewery."

After the discussion Ms Can Cetin conceded the TGWU is part of Reading's history and shouldn't be lost. No one voted for her original recommendation to reject the listing, and councillors unanimously agreed to add the lettering to the list on October 7.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter