Council enforcement officers and the Police have carried out a major operation to clamp down on contractors illegally employing unskilled labourers in and around Hertford Road in Barking.

The joint operation which took place over 10 days in March and April 2019, also tackled anti-social behaviour, including fly-tipping, littering and urinating in public. In addition, officers carried out focused work to clean up the area.

The operation involved council officers, the Police, Immigration Officers, the HM Revenue and Customs and resulted in:  

With under two months to go, the full line up for the Barking Folk Festival has been announced. 

The two-day, weekend festival taking place at Abbey Green and the Abbey Ruins will be headlined by Dreadzone on Saturday 8 June and Afro Celt Sound System on the Sunday. 

Other fans favourites such as Beans on Toast, Will Varley, Quiet Loner, The Demon Barbers XL, Worry Dolls and TalkingDRUM will also be taking to the stage alongside others. 

Residents of Barking and Dagenham who have concerns about managing money or are worried about getting into arrears with their rent will now be able to access help and advice from Dagenham Library. 

From Monday 13 May, the Home and Money Hub service will open in the Heathway Library - the second in the borough after one opened in Barking Library just over a year ago.

Children from Becontree Primary School returned to school last week to be greeted by some new, vibrant artwork thanks to the Bow Arts Trust working in partnership with the school's Cultural Team Lead, Mantee Doogan.

From the onset, the School Council were deeply involved in the decision process about what the new artwork should look like and where it should be placed. After many discussions with their classes, the council decided that the new artwork should spell the word ‘RESPECT’ as that is part of the current school motto of ‘Respecting one another.’

Residents The role of faith communities in bringing people together was highlighted at an event which saw Barking and Dagenham Council and the Barking and Dagenham Faith Forum sign up to a Charter for Faith and Belief Inclusion.

The charter has been created by the Faith & Belief Forum - a charity whose work aims to create good relations between people of different faiths and beliefs.

Residents of Barking and Dagenham are urged to confidentially identify people who dump rubbish as the latest instalment of the council’s CCTV Appeal has been released. 

 

The latest episode features shameless fly-tipping incidents caught on camera including dumping of washing machines, ‘To Let’ signs, bags of rubbish and even someone urinating next to a bin store. 

 

The council launched the YouTube series last year as part of a campaign to reduce fly-tipping and to create cleaner streets. 

 

The Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council today welcomed news from the City of London Corporation that the borough is the preferred option for the relocation of London’s iconic markets.

This announcement followed plans announced last August to consolidate Billingsgate, New Spitalfields and Smithfield markets under one roof, relocating them to a new site.

Barking and Dagenham Council has launched a new scheme to give adults the opportunity to support local children who may not have had the best start in life. 

The ‘Independent Visitor’ scheme will involve volunteers being matched with a child in the local authority’s care to provide them with opportunities that they may not have had in the past.

Independent Visitors will meet the child six times a year and support them in carrying out a range of activities to help build their confidence and self-esteem. Activities might include:

Barking and Dagenham council has committed another £38m on refurbishing its council housing stock, bringing the total spent so far to £88m on its Decent Homes programme in 2018-19.

The annual programme sets out the council’s commitment to raise the bar and improve the overall condition of its housing stock, while ensuring a safe and comfortable living environment for residents.

There is no beating Barking and Dagenham when it comes to securing primary school places as 94.89 per cent of parents have been given their first preference.

The figures released by the Pan London Admissions Board show that Barking and Dagenham has once again smashed the London average of 85.54 per cent. 

The deadline to apply for a primary school place was 15 January and figures show Barking and Dagenham Council received 3270 applications.