News from Barking-Dagenham – June 2024
Rents: breathtakingly high
Living in London is an expensive pleasure. Overall, the UK has high housing costs. The national average is £1246 per month. All East London boroughs are above this average, with Havering being the cheapest at £1338. In Barking and Dagenham, you’ll have to fork out £1404. If you move to the sought-after Tower Hamlets, on the other hand, you will have to pay £2185 per month. This is according to the Office for National Statistics.
Tug of war over old pub
A pub in Dagenham, The Bull Inn, which has been closed for several years, is to be demolished to make way for the construction of 72 flats. This has historians and local history buffs up in arms, firstly because of the size of the two planned blocks of flats, and secondly because a piece of the old village of Dagenham is being bid farewell. The buildings are to have six and nine storeys. The protected area of Old Dagenham lies in the neighbourhood, although it is not directly adjacent.
The inn was built a good hundred years ago and was in operation, most recently as a music hall, until 2013. Then an Afro-Caribbean and an Eastern European supermarket moved in. After the latter closed in 2020, the unused building became a centre of attraction for adventurous young people and anti-social drinkers.
New mayor takes office
On 17 May, Barking and Dagenham Council elected Moin Quadri as the new Mayor and on Sunday 23 June he will officially take office at the Civic Parade from Barking Park to St Margaret’s Church and on to Town Square. During his one-year “reign”, he will prioritise support for the “Future Youth Zone” as his charity.
