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Hey, hey are you ready to play? It’s time to come out to play for National Play Day.

On Wednesday 7 August, Valence Park will be hosting National Play Day for children and families in Barking and Dagenham. 

Kicking off at 11am, there will be something for all children to get involved in at the FREE event including arts and crafts, soft play, inflatables, face painting and much more.

An 18th century painting stolen from Valence House during a burglary has been returned to the museum - almost half a century after it was taken.

The oil painting of Rear Admiral Charles Fanshawe was one of six family portraits looted during a break-in in September 1971.

The thieves made off with the pictures, which had been valued at more than £1,500 at the time, in a stolen council van and despite having little evidence to go on, the Met Police quickly recovered two of the missing pieces along with all six frames. 

Barking and Dagenham Council has agreed a new Recognition and Facilities Agreement for non-teaching staff trade unions. The agreement with the trade unions GMB, Unison and Unite, will revamp employee relations and reinforce the council’s commitment to providing paid facilities time for TU representatives.

It replaces the previous agreement which dated back to 2008 and no longer represented where the council wants to be as a modern exemplar employer.

A Barking shop owner have been fined £1,000 for illegally selling alcohol to two underage teenagers.

 

3D Food and Wine Ltd trading as Westbury News on 180-184 Ripple Road, Barking, sold a bottle of WKD Blue Original to two 14 year olds without confirming their ages or asking for identification.



The offence took place on Thursday 12 April 2018 during a routine test purchase exercise carried out by the council’s Trading Standards officers. 

 

Each year we organise a range of events and projects to celebrate and promote equality and diversity within the borough

Last weekend, 20 and 21 July, Barking and Dagenham did the time warp back to the 80s with the One Borough Festival, followed by the Roundhouse Music Festival, which turned things all the way up to 11! 

The views of people living and doing business in Barking and Dagenham are being sought as the council is proposing to establish a policy which will guide its decision on licensing sex establishments.  

The council is currently able to licence sex shops and sex cinemas, but it has no ability to licence the most recently introduced category of sex establishment, namely sex entertainment venues – which include lap dancing establishments.

Last week Riverside Secondary School had a special visit as they welcomed students and staff from a school in China.

Visiting from Beijing Capital Normal High School, the Chinese students spent three days at the Barking School to experience English culture and school life.

As the students wanted to learn about life in an English school, each pupil was buddied up with a young person from the Riverside on their first day and spent a large part of their visit in lessons with their buddies. 

Residents in Barking and Dagenham can enjoy a free trip to Southend this summer.

A specially chartered C2C train will depart from Barking and Dagenham Dock stations on Sunday, 11 August.

The trip, which is being supported by the rail provider, will leave Barking station shortly after 9am and depart from Southend Central station just before 5.30pm.

The family-friendly event is being organised by the Dagenham group Reede Road Tenants and Residents Association (TRA).

Barking and Dagenham’s latest neighbourhood watch group hopes to utilise the powers of technology in a bid to create a network of crime fighters.

Marks Gate Neighbourhood Watch, which was originally formed in the 1980s, is undergoing a 21st century reboot thanks to new online crime alert system called Online Watch Link (OWL). 

The free service allows people to sign-up using their email or phone number and receive instant crime alerts, join in virtual police surgeries or see up-to-date fraud warnings.