London Borough of Barking and Dagenham

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.

## Governance and Politics

Barking and Dagenham Council is elected every four years. The most recent election was on 3 May 2018 and the council consists of 51 councillors with 3 councillors representing each of 17 wards. All councillors are members of the Labour Party.

For elections to parliament, the borough is divided between the constituencies of Barking and Dagenham and Rainham. The latter constituency includes three wards from the London Borough of Havering.

## 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 Royal 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.

## Education

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.

## References

1. ↑ "Labour sweep to victory in Barking and Dagenham Council elections by taking all 51 seats". *Barking and Dagenham Post*.