The Young Mayor of Barking and Dagenham, Labella Anum, has smashed her fundraising target of £4,000 for her chosen charity Refuge, which supports people fleeing domestic abuse. 

The youngster has worked hard with her peers in the Barking and Dagenham Youth Forum group to raise money for the charity through a series of events and challenges during her year in office. 

Barking and Dagenham Council is reminding residents that they still have time to get greener this year by signing up for the 2022 Green Garden Waste Collection service.

If residents sign up before Valentine’s Day, Monday 14 February, they can benefit by receiving all 19 scheduled collections for the year, making it the perfect green gift to give a loved one this Valentine’s Day.

Residents and local businesses will have the chance to hear about the benefits and opportunities of apprenticeships next week, as part of a series of free events.

Barking and Dagenham Council is hosting three events during the 15th annual National Apprenticeship Week, which takes place across England between 7-13 February.

Barking and Dagenham Council has launched a campaign calling on residents to help create a cleaner and greener borough.

The new campaign comes after a drive to improve bin collections, increasing the amount of household waste that can be recycled, investing in 18 brand-new bin trucks and lots of new street cleaning vehicles and equipment to help spruce up streets across the borough.

The rainbow flag is proudly flying over Barking Town Hall throughout February, as the council marks LGBT+ History Month.

It’s the fourth time Barking and Dagenham Council has joined in the national event, which launched as a way of marking lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, as well as celebrating gay rights and the civil rights movements.

This year sees a return to in-person events after last year’s plans were forced online due to coronavirus restrictions.

A Dagenham woman who ignored repeated warnings to tidy up her eyesore garden has been ordered to pay over £1,000 following a court hearing.

 

Tania Cole, of Hedgemans Road, was first contacted by enforcement officers from Barking and Dagenham Council on 3 August 2018 following a complaint about an unsightly garden.

 

On visiting the address, officers found several black bin bags sprawled across the front garden of the property as well as an overflowing, and incorrectly used recycling bin that contained rotting waste.

 

Barking and Dagenham Council is continuing its work to improve perceptions of safety and crime in the borough and last Thursday (20 January), it joined forces with the police to talk to residents and commuters at Barking Station about any concerns or issues they may have.



The Metropolitan Police initiative, known as Walk and Talk, aims to start a conversation between members of the public and police officers about any worries that they have, what can be done to address them and for members of the public to walk with a police officer to highlight areas of concern.

A company that provides care for vulnerable and elderly people has been ordered to pay over £1,500 after it failed to provide documents that showed how it disposed of its waste.

A court heard how the owners of Sweet Home Care Ltd, in Great Cullings, Dagenham, failed to provide their waste transfer notes during an inspection by Barking and Dagenham Council enforcement officers on 26 November 2019.

Eastbrook School in Dagenham is celebrating after being judged as a ‘good’ school following its Ofsted inspection last month.

The all-through school was deemed to have improved significantly in all areas since its last inspection in 2018 when it was judged to require improvement.

During the two-day inspection, Ofsted inspectors visited lessons, spoke to staff and pupils, and looked at curriculum plans and safeguarding records. They also observed behaviour at lunchtimes and considered the responses from parents, staff and pupils to Ofsted’s surveys.

Barking and Dagenham Council will be commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Thursday 27 January. The event will bring together the borough’s civic, faith and political leaders in a special online event and will see the Town Hall lit up in purple and the raising of a commemorative Holocaust Memorial Day flag.