Following a letter from the Local Court dated 14 April 2026, the merger of Barking and Dagenham Club Witten e.V. with Partnerschaftsverein Witten e.V. has now been officially completed.

The Barking Dagenham Witten Club organised a citizens’ trip to its English twin town from 17 to 21 October with 41 participants.

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.

Carnival quite Caribbean

Now that the carnival in Notting Hill is attracting more and more people, other districts are also trying to organise a similar summer event. The ‘Carnival’ has been celebrated in Notting Hill since 1966, back then with 500 participants. This year, the celebrations will take place from 23 to 25 August and the organisers are expecting 50,000 people to take part in the events, with the number of visitors set to exceed the million mark. In Barking and Dagenham, the organisers are more modest. After all, this is only the tenth carnival in the borough.

National recognition for Valence House

Just in time for International Museum Day (18 May), Valence House has received full recognition from the National Arts Council. This is a much-noticed recognition of the museum’s management and its impact throughout the city. The team has been working towards this recognition since 1988. Valence House is the 110th museum in the UK to receive this honour.

A lot of money invested in land

Now that the plan to relocate Billingsgate and Smithfield Market to Dagenham has been buried, it is not only the Borough that is discussing how to proceed. The costs of the project had continued to rise, but even abandoning it is expensive. 308 million has already been invested in the purchase and preparation of land.

After 94 years since their formation, the Pipers have found it hard to attract new, younger members and they decided to bow out on Remembrance Sunday (10 November 2024), with a final farewell performance.

Riverside project to be doubled

The gigantic new build project ‘Barking Riverside’ with 10,000 flats, seven new schools, 21 hectares of park and sports areas is breathtaking. 2,700 flats have already been occupied and 1,000 more are currently under construction.

The development company overseeing this project has now presented new plans that go far beyond the approved 10,000 flats. The total number is to grow to almost 20,000, four additional schools are to be built and two parks. The plans are already so concrete that they can be discussed by the city council.