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Businesses including bars, pubs, cafes not following government guidelines on social distancing and the rules on reopening in Barking and Dagenham run the risk of being shut down.

In a stern warning, the Leader of Barking and Dagenham, Councillor Darren Rodwell, said: “Now more than ever, it is vital that people continue to follow government advice on social distancing, wearing face coverings and practising good hand hygiene, in order to keep down the number of cases across the borough.

Barking and Dagenham Council in east London has vowed to take a zero-tolerance approach to people who show disregard for resident safety by thinking they can hold illegal gatherings in the borough.

The pledge comes after council officers and police closed an illegal party with upwards of 260 people in Broad Street, Dagenham on the night of Friday, 31 August.

From today, Monday 3 August, businesses such as cafes, restaurants and bars, will be able to apply for and secure a licence which will enable them to place furniture on the highway.

The Business and Planning Act 2020 provides measures intended to support economic recovery from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, including provisions to make it easier for businesses that sell food and drink for consumption on or off the premises to seat and serve customers outdoors by the introduction of a new type of licence, called a pavement licence.

With the government bringing coronavirus business grant funding to a close on Friday, 28 August, businesses across Barking and Dagenham are being urged to check if they are eligible for the grant.

Since the start of the pandemic, the council has been supporting local businesses and administering the government’s rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, as well as the grant schemes for small businesses.

A council officer had a great week as his investigative nature and persistence led to him closing two fly tipping incidents.

Firstly, the officer visited Faircross Avenue, near the junction with Monteagle Avenue where rubbish had been dumped and following an investigation, he came across some evidence that pointed him in the direction of a property.

Barking and Dagenham Council has lent it support to Keep London Safe – a London wide campaign to raise awareness of Covid-19 testing after research showed 46 per cent of Londoners don’t know how to get a test.

The campaign, launched today Wednesday 29 July, is a collaboration between London Councils, the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation, supported by Public Health England (PHE), the NHS, and Greater London Authority (GLA), the partnership will span borough boundaries and address the challenges of London’s diversity, deprivation and density.

Residents of Barking and Dagenham are benefitting from cleaner streets and tidier neighbourhoods, after the council invested in ten electric blowers to help keep the borough clean.

The new electric blowers are very effective for getting litter and leaves out of difficult to reach places, for example in and around parked vehicles on streets, while also being easy to use for long periods. 

The new cleaning blowers are electric, rather than running on petrol or oil, quieter to use in residential areas, and more environmentally-friendly as they have zero-emissions.

New parents in Barking and Dagenham are being urged to claim their Child Benefit, even if they have not yet been able to register the birth of their new-borns, to ensure they don’t miss out.

Claims can only be backdated by up to three months, so it’s important that new parents claim as soon as they can to receive the maximum support available.

Usually, to claim Child Benefit parents must register their child’s birth first. However, due to the pandemic the local register office is operating at a reduced capacity and some parents have been unable to register their child.

Residents in Barking and Dagenham facing reduced income as a result of lockdown, or that have been made redundant and now claim Universal Credit, are being encouraged to take advantage of the council’s Cosy Homes scheme.

Cosy Homes is a partnership between the Council, E.ON energy and installers J & J Crump, and aims to help residents make their homes warmer and cheaper to heat.

A government backed initiative which has the potential to create 1.5 million jobs and bring in up to £115 billion into the UK economy has been launched.

The Thames Estuary Growth Board, led by Government-appointed Envoy Kate Willard, and includes Councillor Darren Rodwell, Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, launched ‘The Green Blue’, which sets out plans for the region over the next two years, looking ahead over the next ten years.