Barking and Dagenham Council last night revealed that it will be extending its offer of free parking for NHS staff and key workers until the end of January 2021.

The extension of the offer was made at the council’s Cabinet meeting, will see NHS workers and key workers, such as some frontline council staff, carers, volunteers, teachers and police will be able to park in the borough’s car parks and in Residents and Paid Parking Bays in the controlled parking zones for free.

Blue Badge fraudsters and persistent parking ticket evaders have seen their vehicles being taken away by a very happy tow truck.

In the last month, Barking and Dagenham Council’s Parking Service has ramped up its on enforcement on people falsely using Blue Badges, and drivers who think it is okay not to pay parking tickets, especially where the offending vehicles are either unregistered or foreign vehicles.

Residents of Barking and Dagenham will see new Covid Marshals patrolling areas with high footfall providing guidance and reassurance across the borough.

Officers, wearing highly visible Covid Marshal jackets, are already patrolling the borough’s streets to offer guidance and advice to businesses and residents on staying safe, obeying the rules and acting responsibly during the pandemic, including providing information on social distancing and the wearing of face coverings.

The Marshals will also support the council’s enforcement officers with:

Barking and Dagenham Council wishes a very happy Diwali to its residents who are celebrating this weekend.

The council knows this is a special time of year, usually a time for coming together with family and loved ones. 

But as new lockdown restrictions came into place last week, the council wants to remind residents that it’s vital that they celebrate at home and only with those from within their household or support bubble.

Dagenham Park CofE School has created a stunning display as part of a whole school Remembrance Day project.

Staff and pupils made 963 poppies to create a wonderful four-metre high structure to commemorate those who lost their lives during the wars. Pupils learned the meaning behind different colours of poppies and included these in the display to honour all members of the community.

Councillors from across the capital with responsibility for the safety and educational needs of children have written to the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson MP, asking for more support to make school settings safe for staff and young people.

In their letter, the Councillors made clear their desire to work closely with the government to minimise the impact of Covid-19 on the health, wellbeing and education of children. 

The Barking and Dagenham catering service BD Together is celebrating the recognition of two of its school catering teams in the LACA Awards for Excellence.

The LACA Awards acknowledge individuals and teams who make a real difference to school food and education catering. William Bellamy Primary School and Eastbury Community School were shortlisted in the Primary School Team of the Year and Secondary School Team of the Year categories, respectively. 

Barking and Dagenham council’s ground-breaking Wall of Shame web series has reached its 50th episode.

The pioneering series, which premiered in August 2018, aims to identify and fine fly-tippers caught on camera with the help of eagle-eyed viewers.

Residents of Barking and Dagenham on the lookout for their next job are being encouraged to get in touch with the council’s job shop to take advantage of a number of jobs available this week.

Barking and Dagenham is celebrating Interfaith week this week which runs from 8 to 15 November. 

This is a national event designed to focus on interfaith understanding and cooperation, strengthen good interfaith relations, increases awareness of the different and distinct faith communities and increases understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs.