It was a busy month of April for Barking and Dagenham Council’s enforcement team as they conducted over 16,000 visits to businesses to ensure they were following Covid regulations and also stepped up their joint patrols with the police.

Barking and Dagenham Council has ordered a local supermarket to shut up shop after it regularly broke the government’s Covid regulations. 

 

Ilford Food Centre of 667-669 Green Lane, Dagenham was visited 18 times by council enforcement officers between 17 February and 16 May and were only compliant with the rules three times.

 

The shop repeatedly failed to enforce face coverings for staff and customers as well as maintaining social distancing. 

 

As we continue the roadmap out of lock down and more businesses re-open, Barking and Dagenham Council is continuing to work with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to carry out spot checks and inspections on local businesses.



The reopening of the economy means that the opportunity for Covid to spread is increased substantially, so it is critical that businesses shouldn’t become complacent. They still need to have Covid-secure measures in place.

Pupils and staff at Eastbury Community School's Deaf Additional Resource Provision (ARP) in Barking are celebrating after being nominated in the category 'Alternative Provision School of the Year' at the 2021 TES Schools Awards.

The TES Schools Awards celebrate the most outstanding individuals and institutions that the education sector has to offer.

If Eastbury wins the award, they will also be considered for the 'Overall School of the Year' category, announced as the finale to the online awards ceremony.

All Saints School in Dagenham has landed a gold standard award for its outstanding mental health and wellbeing provision.

The school has been awarded the School Mental Health Award by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools after being found to be excelling in all eight areas of the award framework.

Headteacher, Clare Cantle, said: "This award recognises that we, as a staff body and school community, care for one another: we express this care in so many ways, and it is humbling to know that it is being celebrated so positively.

Barking and Dagenham Council has joined forces with E.ON and J&J Crumps to ensure eligible homeowners across the borough benefit from up to £10,000 worth of Solar PV (Solar Photovoltaics) panel installs to their home. 

Through the government’s Green Homes Grant, the council has secured £3.3m of funding to carry out energy efficiency and home improvement works to qualifying households. This includes 90 free Solar PV panel installs which involves the generation of electricity using energy from the sun, producing free, green energy that can be used in the home.

Barking and Dagenham Council’s initiative to join forces with the police and regularly patrol antisocial behaviour hotspots in the east London borough is bearing fruits.



Last Friday (14 May), council enforcement officers, police officers and Police Community Support Officers were deployed around Barking Town Centre and Dagenham Heathway, where they patrolled the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) areas and conducted weapon sweeps.

Residents will be able to continue disposing of their old white goods and household items this summer, as the council is continuing to offer lots of free and low-cost ways for residents to dispose of unwanted white goods and bulky items:

Barking and Dagenham Council and the police are continuing to put on a united front to combat crime in the borough.



On Wednesday (12 May), council enforcement officers and the police joined forces to patrol key antisocial behaviour hotspots – Barking Town Centre and Dagenham Heathway.



The first patrol took them to Barking Town Centre where four enforcement officers and four Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) split into four groups to target the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) area, where they achieved the following results:

As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan draws to a close next week, Barking Town Hall will light up green to celebrate the ‘festival of breaking the fast’ – better known as Eid.

 

The colour is synonymous with the religion, often seen on many Islamic nation’s flags and represents celebration, purity and paradise. 

 

Eid comes after followers of Islam have observed a month-long test of their faith, with worshippers undergoing fasting during daylight hours and regular prayers.