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28 parks and green spaces

Our twin city is one of the greenest boroughs in London: 28 parks and green spaces with a total area of 463 hectares are available. That’s as much as 1000 soccer pitches. Now the city is asking all citizens which parks they use and how they like them. And above all, it is asking for suggestions on what can be improved, what should be done for safety and whether accessibility can be improved. The survey will run until March 31, when it will be the turn of the administration and planners to put the suggestions into action.

Nowhere so many children

Barking and Dagenham Borough Council has now announced the latest official population figures. According to the figures, the Borough now has almost 200,000 inhabitants, namely 219,992. And: nowhere in England and Wales is there a place with such a large proportion of young people, 57,144 are under 16. The proportion of the “non-white British” population, 69.1%, is not a record for London, however, only 10th place. But the average price of buying a house is the lowest in London at £380,000.

“We have to build”

Darren Rodwell, Leader of the Council, has spoken out under this headline. One in 23 children is homeless in our twin city. He is taking the generation that built the Becontree district after the First World War as his role model. At that time, an entire district was created for war returnees and for the many Ford employees. Rodwell addresses the government. Instead of spending £60 million a week on housing the homeless in London, the money should be spent on creating affordable housing.

Inclusive digital zones

At Barking Learning Center and Dagenham Library, the twin town has set up “inclusive digital zones.” There, computers are available that are specially adapted to the needs of disabled people. These include speech recognition and magnification, for example, as well as special keyboards. The associated furniture is adjustable and can be adapted to the respective needs. Also important for success: there are professionally trained instructors to help with the handling of the equipment.

The Barking Dagenham Witten Club has resumed its tradition of civic trips after a break due to corona. 45 members and friends went to the English twin town from Friday to Tuesday, October 6 to 10.

Expensive cigarette butt

A motorist threw a cigarette butt out of the car window while waiting in front of a traffic light in Barking and Dagenham and was seen by a city employee. This first resulted in a £230 penalty notice. But the man tried excuses and let the matter go to court. It didn’t help that it was a non-smoking rental car and that the driver said he only smoked e-cigarettes. The judge added £825 in city costs and £92 in fees on top of the fine. In addition to his total costs of £1147, the caught driver has the annoyance of being called by his full name in public.

Highest praise: “best in England

Building permits and conversion plans are processed faster in Barking and Dagenham than in any other municipality in England. This is not just a question of the many large projects in our twin town, but the responsible ministry expressly praises the fact that decisions on small projects are also made promptly. This can also be expressed in figures: A decision is made on 96 percent of all applications within eight weeks.

Traditional pub disappears

“The White Horse” in Dagenham is not exactly an internationally recognised architectural monument, but it has at least made it onto the city’s list of buildings worth preserving. Nevertheless, the pub is now to disappear and make way for 104 new flats. The only point of contention is how many of them will be designated as social housing. The investor wants to offer 10 %, the city is demanding 35 %.

30 safe spaces, especially for women

The city has set up 30 “safe havens”, spaces that offer protection to people who feel threatened at the moment. These can be women who feel that someone is following them. Or women or men who feel threatened in their homes. In these shelters there are helpers who, for example, inform friends or relatives, there is information about buses and trains or the police can also be informed.