Councillors in Barking and Dagenham have agreed the budget for the next financial year – pledging extra money for the most vulnerable residents and protecting key services in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The decision was made at a full council meeting, held online, last night (Wednesday 3 March) where there will be no cuts to council services. 

Barking and Dagenham Council plans to spend £174million across all its services including schools, housing, highways and bin collections.

Barking and Dagenham Council are celebrating after being awarded the prestigious Investors in People Gold accreditation, making it one of the best employers to work for in the UK.

The standard is only achieved by around 17% of organisations assessed, and demonstrates the council’s commitment to support and develop its staff, and reflects how everyone, from the Chief Executive to apprentices, take ownership for making the borough a better place for residents. 

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.