Reading Location Tour 13: Inner Distribution Road

Indicative of one of the more unseemly chapters of inter-county rivalry, the IDR was not, as is usually supposed, an attempt by planners to alleviate road congestion, but a concerted effort by deep-cover pro-Swindon activists within the planning authority to make Reading into a no-visit area. The Inner Distribution Road was the first wave of a six-pronged attack that would have included the bulldozering of the city centre to be replaced by varnished cardboard affordable housing, the destruction of all historical buildings and construction of nine glue factories in the Vastern Road area. Luckily for Reading this destructive 'year zero' policy on city planning was thwarted before it could properly get underway, and following a lengthy court case Swindon were ordered to pay reparations and inflict upon themselves the 'Magic Roundabout', which can still be seen in Swindon to this day.