Over three-quarters of young people in Barking and Dagenham will attend their first preference secondary school from September this year.

Figures show that out of 3,372 applications, 2684 (79.60 per cent) of 10 and 11-year-olds have been offered their first preference, far exceeding the capital’s average of 66.63 per cent. 

Councillor Evelyn Carpenter, Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement said: “I am delighted to see that such a large proportion of our young people will attend their preferred secondary school in September.

Today, the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham announces ‘Becontree Forever’ - a programme of art, architecture and new infrastructure to mark 100 years of the Becontree Estate.

The Becontree Estate is the biggest council estate in the UK and the most ambitious of the country’s interwar housing estates. The first of 27,000 houses for returning war heroes and working families were built on the four square-mile estate in November 1921, with the ‘Garden City’ houses and iconic ‘Banjo’ closes recognised across the world.

A Barking man has been fined nearly £1000 after CCTV cameras caught a male who was seen coming out of his car to urinate in the street.



On 24 August 2019, a man was seen relieving himself on Sunningdale Avenue, Barking and then returning to a blue Vauxhall Corsa, that belonged to Mr Raymond Kamara-Taylor.



Urinating in public is an offence contrary to s.67 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014.

Barking and Dagenham Council is holding a Q&A session to discuss the future of two Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) and is encouraging residents to come along and have their say.

 

PSPOs help to deal with antisocial behaviour in a specified area and the two that are due to expire are in Barking Town Centre and Broad Street, Dagenham.

 

This March, Barking and Dagenham residents are being invited to take advantage of a variety of free online events to mark the achievements of women past and present as part of Women’s Empowerment Month.

Now in its seventh year, the month-long programme of events celebrates the contribution that women and girls make to the borough and draws on the official themes marked by International Women’s Day and The United Nations International Women’s Day.

Local creative organisation Sew London is helping residents to upcycle and reuse their unwanted clothing and textiles by running recycling sewing, arts and craft workshops, helping the environment by diverting waste from going into landfill.

Organiser Kemi Oloyede has run workshops on easy, fun ways to upcycle household clothes, helping families to save money and get creative. Easy upcycling ideas include turning old pairs of jeans into shoulder bags and creating sofa cushions covers from scraps of material.

A Cash & Carry in Dagenham that has repeatedly broken coronavirus rules and been doubling up as a substandard hotel has been told to close down by Barking and Dagenham Council’s enforcement team and police officers.



Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Heathway Cash & Carry, 241 Heathway, Dagenham has received a number of warnings for breaches of Covid regulations but continued to flout the rules.

As part of the council’s B&D Working Together initiative to support local people into employment, training and upskilling, a Customer Service Traineeship Programme is being offered to the borough’s residents aged 19 – 24 years-old.

The free 6-week Traineeship Programme will help residents to develop the skills and tools needed to successfully pursue a career in customer services and also includes a work placement within a council department for hands-on experience.

A Dagenham woman has been ordered to pay more than £1,500 for failing to clear a grubby garden strewn with rubbish. 



Barking and Dagenham Council had received a number of complaints from neighbours about the smell coming from the household waste, which littered the front garden of Patricia Newell’s home on Treswell Road. 

A Dagenham driver has been ordered to pay almost £1,500 after throwing a cigarette end out of the car.



The driver of Shyra Knight’s car was spotted by an eagle-eyed Barking and Dagenham Council enforcement officer last February committing the offence on Ripple Road, Barking.



Littering falls under Section 87(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and carries a fine of £150.