Autism Awareness Week kicked off in Barking and Dagenham with a flag flying ceremony outside Barking Town Hall this morning.

Steve Dixon and supporters from the Sycamore Trust were joined by local councillors and members of the community for the event which launched the week.

Councillor Maureen Worby, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration, said: “I am really proud that we are supporting Autism Awareness Week, and long may it continue.

An exciting new community project is coming to Barking and Dagenham, with local people being invited to get together and create handmade flowers that express their personalities.

Flower Folk will see people from across the borough knitting flowers and making them out of plastic bottles. These will then be displayed during the whole Summer of Festivals programme, which is taking place from June to September this year.

An urban farming project that is set to appear at the Chelsea Flower Show 2019 will be coming to Barking and Dagenham later this year.

“Gardening Will Save The World” sees IKEA team up with British designer Tom Dixon to collaborate on a project that encourages city-dwellers to grow food locally.

The cutting-edge garden will be divided into two levels, with the lower garden featuring natural edibles and the raised level containing trees, flowers and plants with medicinal, health and environmental benefits.

A shop owner has been ordered to pay £3,275 and carry out 100 hours of unpaid work for selling counterfeit cigarettes and alcohol without a licence. 

During a routine inspection by the council's Trading Standards officers on Thursday 8 June 2017, Mr Jahangir Chowdhury, 51, from A1 Cash and Carry, 185 Broad Street, Dagenham RM10 9JD was found to have 600 counterfeit, smuggled cigarettes, 13 pouches of tobacco, and 43 other tobacco products. The tobacco products did not display correct health warnings and were not in standard packaging. 

Local pupils from Manor Junior School aged 7 to 11 helped to launch the Borough and Me homework competition by showcasing their creative talent at Barking Town Hall on Friday 29 March.

The competition asks students to think about the borough of the future and what they think would make it a great place to live in by putting their ideas in art form, ranging from town models and murals, to creative writing and poetry.

Residents are being asked to help identify fly-tippers as CCTV cameras show 14 people fly-tipping within the council’s latest CCTV Appeal film. 

 

The YouTube video series shows footage of people illegally dumping rubbish in fly tipping hotspots across the borough. The enviro-criminals are caught red-handed on CCTV cameras as they shamelessly dumped fridges, shelves, washing machines, sofas and more.

 

St Awdry’s Green in Barking has been transformed from a hotspot for anti-social behaviour into a communal garden, thanks to the efforts of local residents who have been working to revitalise the once unloved green space. 

People from across the borough have come together to collaborate with the council and Every One Every Day – an organisation who work with residents to make their community projects a reality.

Brand new play equipment and sporting facilities in Dagenham’s Valence Park formally opened to the public today (Tuesday 26 March), after council funding totalling £39,000 helped to make the project a reality.

An opening ceremony took place in Valence Park this afternoon to mark the occasion, where a whole host of activities were on offer to residents.

Council enforcement officers have issued 28 fines as part of ongoing work to clean up Sunningdale Avenue in Barking.

 

The enforcement operation took place after residents fed back that people were regularly dumping rubbish and littering the street. 

 

Barking and Dagenham residents will have their pick of a range of opportunities in construction including apprenticeships and training opportunities available from at least 12 local housing and construction companies at the construction jobs fair.

There are apprenticeship opportunities for electricians, carpenters, plumbers, bricklayers, civil engineering, land survey technicians and business; vacancies for drivers, technicians and sales consultants. There will also be opportunities to sign up for graduate trainee schemes.