Barking and Dagenham residents are being invited to meet and discuss the re-establishment of the ‘Friends of Eastbrookend’ by the council’s Rangers Service.

The group will cover Eastbrookend Country Park and The Chase Nature Reserve, working with the Rangers to help maintain and improve these sites. Members of the group will also have the opportunity to take part in the management of the two locations.

It was a successful day at the East London round of the London Youth Games for Robert Clack School on Tuesday, as two teams made it through to the finals.

The Year 7 girls and Year 8 boys made it through after competing in the speed bounce, vertical jump, four lap race, shot put and many other events.

The deadline is fast approaching for community groups, charities and social enterprises across Barking and Dagenham to bid for funding of up to £10,000, as the council gets set to distribute money raised from the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL).

NCIL is a fee the council charges developers when they are building new housing developments in the borough, to make sure any such developments also benefit the local community.

More fly tippers have been caught on camera in Barking and Dagenham Council’s latest CCTV online appeal. 

The thirteenth instalment in the YouTube series takes a look at fly-tipping hotspots in St. Chad’s Road in Chadwell Heath and Rowallen Parade, Dagenham. The council is encouraging residents to get in touch in confidence if they recognise any of the fly-tippers featured in the latest episode. 

The borough flag was flown at half mast on Monday 11 February as a mark of respect in memory of former Councillor Mabel Arnold, who sadly passed away peacefully in a nursing home on Sunday 10 February at the age of 102.

Mabel served as a Councillor between 1974 and 1998 serving initially the Manor Ward.  She represented the Parsloes Ward between 1978 and 1986 and then the former Cambell Ward between 1986 and 1998.

Students from Sydney Russell School enjoyed a day of learning about the future last week as former pupils returned to the school for a visit.

The first of many Alumni workshops welcomed back six former pupils who have gone on to have successful careers in a variety of fields including two business owners, an IT engineer, civil servant, trainee primary school teacher and a lawyer.

The former pupils joined up with a group of Year 7 pupils to help them build confidence by celebrating their skills and strengths.

A rogue landlord who converted three family homes to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) without securing planning permission has been jailed for falsifying documents designed to prevent enforcement action. 

Siddarth Mahajan, 38 from Milton Crescent, Ilford purchased a three-bedroom property in Sherwood Gardens, Barking in July 2015. Council officers investigated following concerns that building works had been carried out at the property without prior planning permission. The investigation revealed the property had been converted to a HMO, without planning permission. 

Are you looking after someone else’s child? If so, you need to let the council know as it means you are fostering privately. 

If you are currently caring for someone else’s child who is under the age of 16 years (or 18 years if disabled) for longer than 28 days or more at any one time, you are privately fostering and must inform the council immediately unless you are a close relative. Close relatives include step-parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles or aunts.

A market trader has been fined £120 and ordered to pay £1,000 costs for selling fake Chanel products in Dagenham Sunday market.

Lauren Selby, 28, from Billericay Essex, was caught selling items bearing the “Chanel” trademark by Council Enforcement Officers on 5 November 2017.

Hasan Ozcan was remembered today (Monday 11 February 2019) at a memorial ceremony led by his family and friends at Barking Town Hall.

Over 80 people attended the memorial event for Hasan who was fatally stabbed on 3 February 2018. The event included a Turkish flag raising ceremony and a speech from the Turkish Ambassador.