London Borough of Barking and Dagenham

Template:Infobox London Borough The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London borough in East London and forms part of Outer London.

History

The borough was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 as the London Borough of Barking. The constituent parts were the greater part of the Municipal Borough of Barking and the entire Municipal Borough of Dagenham, the former area of which was transferred to Greater London from Essex. At the time of the amalgamation the combined population of Barking and Dagenham was around 180,000, the northern tip of Dagenham having been incorporated into Redbridge and a small area of Barking in Newham.
The borough was renamed Barking and Dagenham in 1980.

Neighbours

The borough borders the London Borough of Havering to the east with the River Rom forming part of the boundary. It borders the London Borough of Newham to the west with the River Roding forming much of the border. To the south is the River Thames which forms the borough's boundary with the London Borough of Bexley and the London Borough of Greenwich. To the north the borough forms a thin protrusion between Havering and the London Borough of Redbridge in order to encompass Chadwell Heath.

Settlement

The borough consists of and includes the following areas:

• Barking
• Becontree
• Becontree Heath
• Chadwell Heath
• Creekmouth
• Dagenham
• Rush Green

Most of the housing in the borough was constructed by the London County Council during the interwar period of 1918-1939. Major settlement of the area, mostly escaping slum conditions in the East End of London, occurred during this period when the new motor and chemical industries such as the Ford Motor Company plant at Dagenham were set up. Since the decline of these industries in the 1980s, employment has shifted towards service sector jobs. Much of the borough is within the London Riverside area of the Thames Gateway zone and is the site of considerable house building and other development. A £500 million budget has been earmarked for redevelopment of the borough's principal district of Barking.

Culture

Demographics

According to the Census of 2001 (although these figures are now somewhat old) Barking and Dagenham had a population of 165,500, 48.2% of which were male, and 51.8% female. The racial distribution of the borough are as follows:

• 78.2% White
• 10.5% Black
• 7.2% Asian
• 2.4% Mixed
• 1.7% Chinese

88.98% of these were born in England, 1.53% elsewhere in the UK, 1.35% in the Republic of Ireland, 0.83% in the EU, and 9.31% elsewhere.

These figures are thought to have substantially changed in the last 4-5 years. Large immigration from Africa has substantially increased the Black demographic of the borough.

Borough Council

The composition of the council at each election was:

Election	Councillors						Aldermen
	Labour	Conservative	BNP	Chadwell Heath Ratepayers' Assoc.	Liberals / Liberal Democrats	Independents	Labour
1964	45	-	-	4	-	-	8
1968	32	13	-	4	-	-	8
1971	45	-	-	4	-	-	8
1974	45	-	-	4	-	-	8
1978	42	3	-	3	-	-
1982	37	3	-	3	3	2
1986	35	3	-	3	5	2
1990	44	-	-	3	1	-
1994	47	-	-	3	1	-
1998	47	-	-	3	1	-
2002	42	2	-	4	3	-
2006	38	1	12	-	-	-

51 councillors form Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council. They are elected from the 17 wards which make up the borough. The wards are:

Ward	Coverage	Westminster (future)	Map (PDF)
Abbey	Barking (town centre and west)	Barking	[2]
Alibon	Dagenham (north)	Barking	[3]
Becontree	Becontree (north west)	Barking	[4]
Chadwell Heath	Chadwell Heath (north, inc. Marks Gate)	Dagenham and Rainham	[5]
Eastbrook	Rush Green (south), Eastbrookend Country Park, Dagenham (east)	Dagenham and Rainham	[6]
Eastbury	Barking (south east)	Barking	[7]
Gascoigne	Barking (south west)	Barking	[8]
Goresbrook	Becontree (south), Dagenham (south west)	Barking	[9]
Heath	Becontree Heath, Dagenham (north), Rush Green (north)	Dagenham and Rainham	[10]
Longbridge	Barking (north), Upney (north)	Barking	[11]
Mayesbrook	Becontree (south)	Dagenham and Rainham	[12]
Parsloes	Becontree (south east), Dagenham (south west)	Barking	[13]
River	Dagenham (south), Dagenham Dock (east)	Dagenham and Rainham	[14]
Thames	Barking (riverside), Thames View Estate, Dagenham Dock (west)	Barking	[15]
Valence	Becontree (north east)	Barking	[16]
Village	Dagenham (south east), Dagenham (village)	Dagenham and Rainham	[17]
Whalebone	Chadwell Heath (north)	Dagenham and Rainham	[18]

In the 2006 local elections, the British National Party gained 12 councillors in the borough and now form the second largest party represented on the council, after Labour (who have 38 councillors). There are more BNP councillors in Barking and Dagenham than there are in any other borough in the UK. The other remaining councillor is Conservative. On 3 July 2008, the Conservatives won a second seat off Labour in a by-election. At the count, Labour deputy leader Liam Smith directed a homophobic insult at Sue Connelly, the mother of Conservative councillor Neil Connelly. Mr Smith was given a conditional caution by police.

Twinning

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is twinned with:

• Witten, Germany
• Tczew, Poland

Education

Further information: [[:List of schools in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham]]

There are many schools and further education facilities in the borough. Situated near the Town Hall, the Barking Learning Centre is a learning facility providing a range of courses leading to recognised qualifications. It also includes a library with free public internet access, the Council's first One Stop Shop, conference and meeting space, a gallery and a café.

London Fire Brigade

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has two fire stations within its boundary; Barking and Dagenham. Barking fire station operates two pumping appliances, a bulk foam unit, a breathing apparatus support unit, a damage control unit and a hazardous materials support unit. The support units that are operated here will cover a large selection of station grounds and areas. Dagenham fire station operates two pumping appliances and a hydraulic platform.

Of the two stations; Dagenham is the busier, attending over two thousand incidents in 2006/2007 .

London Fire Brigade - Barking and Dagenham Profile

External links

• Barking and Dagenham Council

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