Council Leader, Darren Rodwell, visited the Pocket Living Harbard Close development in Barking today 20 August 2020 with deputy Leader Councillor Saima Ashraf, to officially launch 78 brand new affordable homes.

The Pocket Living development, designed by Reed Watts, offers local first-time buyers the opportunity to get onto the housing ladder with 100% ownership affordable homes sold at 80% of local prices. The homes have been prioritised for key workers and the first home to be reserved is to a local community school teacher.

It was relief and joy in schools around Barking and Dagenham today as youngsters celebrated their GCSE results.

Many young people and their parents were rightly worried following the debacle of A-Level results last week, but following the Government’s U-turn that Centre Assessed grades would be used, for many, the concerns turned to moments of joy.

Residents of Barking and Dagenham interested in a career or jobs in the construction industry should get in touch as there a number of roles currently available.

There are vacancies for groundworkers, steel fixers, shuttering carpenters, labourers and concrete finishers all to work locally and for an immediate start.

September sees the wider re-opening of schools for all pupils in Barking and Dagenham, with safety measures now in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

After months of lockdown, parents are encouraged to send their children back to school when they re-open in September. For some pupils, this could be their first year at a new school and for many others it will be the first time they’ve gone back to school since March.

A number of senior councillors in London with responsibility for education and schools have written to the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson MP, expressing their relief at the government’s U-turn and the decision to fall back on using teacher assessed grades and to put on record their objections to the standardisation of grades by Ofqual.

Residents of Barking and Dagenham who are interested in a career in health and social care are being invited to attend an online careers fair in September.

The event, which will give participants access to a number of employers and live vacancies will take place on Thursday 17 September, from 10am to 11am and will be done using Microsoft Teams, so access to a computer is essential.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today given his approval to major new film studios in Dagenham.

The Mayor has backed plans by Barking and Dagenham Council to build the capital’s largest film studios in Dagenham East, boosting the borough and London’s growing film and TV industries.

The plans were approved by the council’s planning committee last month, and as with all major developments like this, plans are then submitted to the Greater London Authority for final approval.  

Despite all the difficulties, most students in Barking and Dagenham have secured places at their chosen destinations.

There were celebrations at Robert Clack School of Science, where over 100 pupils will be taking up places in their first-choice university including offers at Russell Group universities with three of them securing places to study medicine.

Barking and Dagenham Council CCTV cameras continue to prove its worth in the fight against grime crime as a local woman has been caught and fined for dumping black bags.

Enforcement officers were made aware by CCTV operatives of a woman living on Sunningdale Avenue, who was seen dumping rubbish at the end of the road.

Following this, officers visited the property and were able to speak to the woman, who was immediately identified, as she was still wearing the same clothes as when she was caught by council CCTV cameras.

Barking and Dagenham Council launches campaign to address youth violence, after a spike in incidents across the capital in recent years.

The campaign, called Lost Hours, will see the council tackling the issue head on and speaking to parents directly, urging them to take more responsibility for their children by asking them where they are, before it’s too late.