Following the easing of Covid restrictions and the hospitality sector reopening, Barking and Dagenham Council will be ramping up inspections to improve food hygiene standards in the borough.



Over the next few months, the council’s food safety team will be focussing on premises that currently have poor hygiene ratings of two and below and any newly registered high-risk food businesses.

Barking and Dagenham Council recently conducted a survey to understand where women don’t feel safe in the borough and following on from this, they are now looking to launch a scheme which will provide places of safety for all residents.



The Safe Haven initiative is a project that aims to offer residents and those visiting the east London borough a safe space to approach if they feel they they’re in danger, threatened or harassed, vulnerable or unwell.

A host of famous faces will take to the stage in Barking and Dagenham this summer for a jam-packed weekend of music and entertainment – and residents can enjoy it all for free.

 

The Becontree Forever Weekender, made up of two one-day events – the Becontree 100 Festival and the Roundhouse Music Festival will take place on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 August at Parsloes Park, Dagenham.

 

A two-day roadshow will bring feel good family fun to the borough’s streets this summer to mark the 73rd birthday of the NHS.

 

The Thank You Roadshow will take place over the weekend of Saturday and Sunday 3 and 4 July and will see specially designed floats travel around every ward in Barking and Dagenham.

Decorate your doors, fancify your fences, and make your gardens glow – that’s the call from Barking and Dagenham Council this summer. 

 

The council is urging residents to help brighten up the borough, with special prizes up for grabs for the best and brightest dressed buildings and gardens. 

 

The colourful drive comes ahead of the start of the council’s annual Summer of Festivals programme, which offers a host of free entertainment for people to enjoy.

Nominations are now open for the 2021 Borough Recognition Awards, where residents of Barking and Dagenham have the chance to nominate people or groups who make an outstanding contribution to their community.

Nominations can be sent in for any person or group who you believe has made a valued commitment to the people of this Borough. The Borough Recognition Award is not limited to individuals who have undertaken voluntary work and nominations can be sent in for any person or group who you believe has made a valued commitment to the people of this Borough.

Barking and Dagenham Council is calling on local entrepreneurs and those who would like to try their hand at market trading to step forward and secure a stall at the new Summer Barking Makers Market.

To celebrate and encourage new business ideas and skills the Council plans to expand the market into the Town Square area, providing the opportunity for local traders to make the most of Barking Town Centre, test the local market and promote their products.

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. 

 

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.

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.