Barking and Dagenham Council will be commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Wednesday 27 January. The event will bring together the borough’s civic, faith and political leaders in a special video that will be shared across social media and will also see the raising of a commemorative Holocaust Memorial Day flag above the Town Hall.

 

Cladding. Building safety. Fire regulations. Three connected topics that have continued to dominate UK headlines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, due in part to the Grenfell tragedy in 2017.

Yet despite the media noise and political debate about building safety over the last three years in particular, hundreds of thousands of people continue to feel unsafe in their homes every single night. Their questions haven’t been answered. Their concerns haven’t been addressed.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Barking and Dagenham Council have made it clear that they won’t stand for any residents or businesses breaking the rules and nearly a year on, that is still the case.

 

Last week (11 to 18 January), council enforcement officers visited over 1800 businesses in the borough to check they were following the coronavirus rules, this included checking in on over 600 non-essential shops to make sure they were closed, which they were.

 

Persistent work from the police and Barking and Dagenham Council officers has led to the arrest, charge and recall to prison for a troublesome individual. 

 

Joseph Meade Jnr has been causing disruption and annoyance to the residents of Digby Gardens with his anti-social behaviour, which included drug taking, harassment of residents, littering, shop lifting and the use of foul language. 

 

Barking and Dagenham Council is continuing to support NHS staff and key workers throughout the coronavirus pandemic as it has pledged to extend its free parking for them until the end of March.

 

The current scheme was supposed to end at the end of January, but due to the country being in a national lockdown, the council has decided to extend the offer. 

 

Did you make a few New Year’s Resolutions? Residents in the borough can tick off “going green” and helping the environment by signing up to Barking and Dagenham Council’s Green Garden Waste scheme. 

The fortnightly service, which costs £40 per year, offers residents an eco-friendly way to dispose of garden waste such as flowers and grass cuttings, weeds, leaves, and hedge trimmings.

The scheme launched in 2017 and last year around 7,000 residents signed-up.

Politicians across Barking and Dagenham have written to the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson MP, urging him to reconsider his decision to exclude infant schools from the scheme which allocates devices for remote learning.

Even in these hard times, there are sadly some people who will try and take advantage of others and Barking and Dagenham Council is getting wind of a number of coronavirus scams taking place.



As the vaccine is being rolled out, fraudsters are trying to trick people into booking a fake vaccine and in the last few days, Action Fraud has received a number of reports of people receiving text messages claiming to be from the NHS and offering them the opportunity to sign up for the coronavirus vaccination. 

A new test site will open on Saturday 16 January today to make it easier for residents of Barking and Dagenham with Covid-19 symptoms to get tested for coronavirus, nearer to their home.

The new test site, based at Curzon Community Centre car park, Bastable Avenue, Barking, IG11 0LG, will be open between 2 to 5pm (Saturday 16 January), 10am to 5pm (Sunday 17 January), and then from Monday 18 January it will be open 8am to 8pm every day, seven days a week. 

Residents are being encouraged to give their views on Barking and Dagenham Council’s 2021/22 budget proposals.

Following a decade of severe government cuts, the coronavirus pandemic has brought enormous challenges for our health service and a significant social and economic crises. That’s why the council has taken unprecedented steps to protect our residents and community during this hugely challenge time.

In response to COVID-19, we have provided critical support to residents in need, and together with other partner organisations, we have: