News from Barking & Dagenham – July 2025
Moat to be restored
In recent years, a significant amount of money has been invested in the restoration of Valence House. Now, work is also being undertaken on the outdoor area. The city is receiving a grant of £800,000 to restore the northern moat. The grounds have become overgrown, with self-seeded trees and shrubs dominating the landscape, which is why access was blocked in 2020. Work will begin in the autumn, and by next spring there should once again be a publicly accessible green space at the old manor house.
A meal for £1
During the summer holidays, many places in our twin town offer lunch for £1 to replace school meals. A whole range of fast food chains are offering this, as well as department stores, cafés and pubs. Some are restricting the offer and requiring adult companions to pay the normal price, while others are offering the £1 meals with no strings attached. And some providers are offering free meals, whereby children have to register via an app or need a voucher from a brochure.
Kingsley Hall offers Street Kitchen
In Kingsley Hall, where the partnership between Dagenham and Witten began, the community is trying to attract new visitor groups with its Street Kitchen project. The food is not necessarily cheaper than next door, but the quality is intended to attract customers. Lifestyle offerings and the use of ingredients whose origin can be verified appeal primarily to young guests. The bread is baked with the restaurant’s own sourdough, the flour comes from an Italian family business, a farm with a mill, and the mozzarella is supplied by a small dairy in Glastonbury. Six new jobs have been created as part of the project, and all profits go to community work.
Wildfire threatened residential buildings
In mid-July, a fire broke out in Beam Park that could easily have rivalled the major fires reported in America – and that in a large city. Grass, shrubs, trees, fences and garden furniture burned over an area of eight hectares, with the flames coming dangerously close to the residential buildings on Clemence Road. 125 firefighters were deployed with 20 vehicles.
