After being closed for seven months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Valence House will be opening its doors once again. On 20 October, Valence House will be welcoming visitors back with a new-look visitor experience.

It’s always important to go down official lines when looking to make changes to your property as two home owners in Barking and Dagenham found out in recent weeks after their appeals were rejected.

Firstly, council enforcement officers received a complaint that a property located in Arnold Road, Dagenham was being used as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) without obtaining the correct planning permission. Following the complaint, a council enforcement officer visited the property in August 2019 and confirmed this was the case.

Pupils and staff at Dagenham Park CofE School are celebrating after receiving a prestigious Platinum Artsmark Award.



Artsmark is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited by Arts Council England. It supports them to develop and celebrate arts and cultural education across the whole curriculum, bringing learning to life for children and young people.

As the government announces tier two restrictions for London, employment and business support is needed now more than ever. The council is launching a campaign to showcase a range of employment and training support available to residents and businesses across the borough. The campaign will serve to ensure as much support as possible reaches those in need, to reduce the impact Covid-19 has had on many, while ensuring the borough continues to work for everyone.

Today, parks and green spaces across the country will be raising their Green Flag Award with pride in a year when millions of people have seen the value of having great quality green spaces on their doorstep.

 

Among them will be Barking and Dagenham’s very own Eastbrookend Country Park, which is raising a Green Flag Award for the second time, as it previously held the award back in 2004.

 

During what has been a difficult and unprecedented time for everyone, with more to possibly come, Barking and Dagenham Council want to recognise the incredible work that not only our local NHS staff and keyworkers have done, but every other individual who continued to work during the Covid-19 pandemic and kept our community safe. To celebrate those who have consistently gone above and beyond, the council will be creating a ‘Forest of Thanks’ over at Parsloes Park in Dagenham.

 

Nobody should ever be a victim of hate crime and that’s why Barking and Dagenham Council is marking National Hate Crime Awareness Week.

Alongside the police and partner organisations, the east London council is standing up against hate crime, intolerance and extremism.

National Hate Crime Awareness Week runs from Saturday 10 October until Saturday 17 October and on Saturday, the police will have an information and advice stall in Barking Market.

What is hate crime though? It is any crime that targets a person because of hostility or prejudice towards that person’s:

The views of people living in Barking and Dagenham are being sought as the council looks to improve the air quality in the east London borough. 

Earlier this week (Monday 5 October), the council launched its draft Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP), which outlines the actions that it will take to make air quality better in Barking and Dagenham between 2020-2025.

A party host has avoided prosecution after paying a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for throwing two parties on two consecutive nights in July.

On the evening Thursday 23 July, council enforcement officers responded to a number of resident complaints about a loud party taking place in Thames View, Barking. On arrival officers were confronted by drunk revellers, loud amplified music and approximately 40 people in a small garden area.

A shisha bar and lounge in Barking and Dagenham has been forced to close for two weeks after it continuously broke the government’s coronavirus rules.

Kaafi Studio Lounge in River Road, Barking was issued with a prohibition notice back on Friday 1 May 2020 following numerous reports that it had been trading when it should have been closed during lockdown.