Daniel Adeshina, 20, from Barking, was among 10 youngsters from the east London music project Drum Works who performed with Keala Settle at this year’s Royal Variety Performance, which aired on Sunday 19 December. 

As part of senior ensemble Drum Heads, the former Eastbury School pupil, joined Keala on stage for a rousing performance of the hit This is Me from The Greatest Showman.

The latest milestone in the redevelopment of Barking’s Gascoigne neighbourhood was recently marked by a topping out ceremony.

The £56 million development alongside Ripple Road will provide 159 top quality affordable homes for local people, with rents as low as £159 a week for a one-bedroom flat at today’s prices.

Councillor Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement at the council, said meeting this milestone on one of London’s largest redevelopments is a minor miracle.

Barking and Dagenham Council has launched a brand-new advertising campaign to run across the borough encouraging residents to do their Christmas shopping locally this festive season. The campaign, which began this week, will run up until the New Year across all key retail points in the borough, including Barking Town Centre, Dagenham Heathway and Chadwell Heath. 

A new police team focussed fully on addressing locally identified policing priorities in Barking Town Centre launched earlier this week. 



As part of the Metropolitan Police’s Neighbourhood Policing initiative, the team is one of 19 being set up in town centres across London with a view to predominantly tackle violent crime.



The Barking team is made up of 25 officers who have been specifically selected because of their local knowledge and community engagement skills. 

Construction of a ‘garden style’ industrial development got underway by the Thames on Friday, 3 December.

Once completed, ‘Industria’ will be the first multi-storey light industrial development to be built in the UK and it will also feature two ‘living walls’, helping create a more sustainable space for industry to grow and develop.

Barking and Dagenham Council's education team has had its work celebrated in the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce's (RSA) toolkit designed for practitioners in schools, trusts and local authorities.

Are you a resident of Barking and Dagenham and a graduate and have you thought about working for your local council?



If yes, we’re offering care leavers and residents the opportunity to join our 3-month Internship Programme as a Data and Project Officer.



The role will involve analysing data to support planning for services and make a real difference to the lives of our residents. The successful applicant will work with colleagues to make relevant information available across all our buildings.

A host of festive, family-friendly activities have started at Valence House this Christmas, as events return following last year’s lockdown. 

The festivities began on Saturday 27 November with a free two-day Victorian frost fair, where 1,500 visitors took the chance to step back in time and meet Victorians, as well as enjoy a traditional Christmas market complete with mulled wine, mince pies and children’s rides. Visitors would have also noticed royalty as Queen Victoria and Prince Albert paid a visit to Valence House. 

Barking and Dagenham got a festive makeover at the weekend, as a packed day of Christmas events saw the council switch on its Christmas lights in front of 3,000 residents. 

Barking Mad about Christmas returned on Saturday 4 December with a whole host of free festive entertainment including carol singing, arts and crafts, dance performances, magic shows, a Christmas singalong and even real reindeer. 

In its continued efforts to change the perceptions of safety and ease antisocial behaviour at Barking Station, Barking and Dagenham Council has extended Barking Market to the station parade in a trial run throughout December.



Earlier in the year, Barking Station was highlighted as a hot spot in a survey where the east London council asked women to highlight areas in the borough that they didn’t feel safe.