London Borough of Barking and Dagenham | |
|---|---|
 Council logo | |
| Motto(s): Dei gratia probemur rebus (By the grace of God let us be judged by our deeds) | |
 Barking and Dagenham shown withinGreater London | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | London |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Created | 1 April 1965 |
| Admin HQ | 1 Town Hall Square,Barking |
| Government | |
| • Type | London borough council |
| • Body | Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council |
| • London Assembly | Unmesh Desai (Labour) AM forCity and East |
| • MPs | Nesil Caliskan (Labour) Margaret Mullane (Labour) |
| Area | |
• Total | 13.93 sq mi (36.09 km2) |
| • Rank | 269th(of 296) |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 232,747 |
| • Rank | 83rd(of 296) |
| • Density | 16,700/sq mi (6,449/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| Postcodes | |
| Area code | 020 |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-BDG |
| ONS code | 00AB |
| GSS code | E09000002 |
| Police | Metropolitan Police |
| Website | Council Website |
TheLondon Borough of Barking and Dagenham (pronunciationⓘ) is aLondon borough inEast London.[1] The borough was created in 1965 as theLondon Borough of Barking; the name was changed in 1980. It is anOuter London borough and the south is within theLondon Riverside section of theThames Gateway; an area designated as a national priority forurban regeneration. At the 2011 census it had a population of 187,000. The borough's three main towns areBarking,Chadwell Heath andDagenham. The local authority is theBarking and Dagenham London Borough Council. Barking and Dagenham was one of six London boroughs to host the2012 Summer Olympics.[2]
The London Borough of Barking (as it was originally called) was created in 1965 under theLondon Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the formerMunicipal Borough of Barking and theMunicipal Borough of Dagenham, with the exceptions of a small area at Hog Hill from Dagenham which went toRedbridge, and theGallions Reach area, being the part of Barking west ofBarking Creek, which went toNewham. The area was transferred fromEssex to Greater London to become one of the 32 London Boroughs.[3] At the time of its creation the combined population of Barking and Dagenham was around 180,000.[4]
The pre-1965 borough of Barking had evolved from the Barking Townlocal government district, which had been created in 1882 covering the central part of the parish ofBarking. Such districts were reconstituted asurban districts under theLocal Government Act 1894.[5][6] The Barking Town Urban District was incorporated to become amunicipal borough in 1931, at which point the name was changed from Barking Town to Barking.[7][8]
Dagenham was arural parish with aparish council from 1894, subordinate to theRomford Rural District Council. In 1926 the parish council was replaced when Dagenham was made an urban district; it was made a municipal borough in 1938.[9][3]
The council changed the London borough's name from 'Barking' to 'Barking and Dagenham' with effect from 1 January 1980.[10][11] In 1994, the borough was expanded to cover the part of theBecontree estate that until then had been within theBorough of Redbridge[12] and other areas. The area covered byMayesbrook Park in the Borough was once part of the historicManor of Jenkins, seat of theFanshawe family.
Until the mid-2000s, alongside neighbouringHavering due to its geographical location (being one of the most eastern boroughs ofLondon) and regional postcodes, its predominant White British character as well as its working class cultural similarities toSouth Essex, Barking and Dagenham was widely perceived as being culturally part of neighbouringEssex as opposed to London. However, this sentiment faded out sometime after 2006 with the demographic changes as well asgentrification in the borough. InDagenham in particular, the architecture is very similar to many other South Essex towns, etc.Basildon,Chelmsford,Brentwood.
Historic records of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and predecessor bodies, the Borough of Barking and the Borough of Dagenham, are held at the Barking and Dagenham Archive Service, Valence House Museum.
There are a total of 52listed buildings located within the borough's boundaries.[13] TheGrade I and Grade II* listed buildings in the borough includeEastbury Manor House, theChurch of Peter and Paul, Dagenham andValence House.
The borough borders theLondon Borough of Havering to the east with theRiver Rom forming part of the boundary. It borders theLondon Borough of Newham to the west with theRiver Roding forming much of the border. To the south is theRiver Thames which forms the borough's boundary with theLondon Borough of Bexley and theRoyal Borough of Greenwich. To the north the borough forms a thin protrusion between Havering and theLondon Borough of Redbridge in order to encompassChadwell Heath. 530 hectares within the borough are designated as part of theMetropolitan Green Belt.
The borough's major districts includeBarking,Becontree andDagenham. It borders five other London boroughs: Newham, Redbridge, Havering, and Greenwich and Bexley to the south of the Thames.
Much of the housing of the borough was constructed by theLondon County Council during theinterwar period of 1921–1939.[4] Major settlement of the area, mostly escaping slum conditions in theEast End of London, occurred during this period when the new motor and chemical industries such as theFord Motor Company plant atDagenham were set up.[4] Since the decline of these industries in the 1980s, employment has shifted towardsservice sector jobs. There are large areas of logistics and warehouse development around the A13 road. Much of the borough is within theLondon Riverside area of theThames Gateway zone and is the site of considerable house building and other development, such as Beam Park. A £500 million budget has been earmarked for redevelopment of the borough's principal district ofBarking.[14]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 1,937 | — |
| 1811 | 2,647 | +36.7% |
| 1821 | 3,110 | +17.5% |
| 1831 | 3,746 | +20.5% |
| 1841 | 4,151 | +10.8% |
| 1851 | 4,804 | +15.7% |
| 1861 | 5,983 | +24.5% |
| 1871 | 7,162 | +19.7% |
| 1881 | 8,341 | +16.5% |
| 1891 | 16,658 | +99.7% |
| 1901 | 25,080 | +50.6% |
| 1911 | 37,759 | +50.6% |
| 1921 | 67,708 | +79.3% |
| 1931 | 121,410 | +79.3% |
| 1941 | 143,122 | +17.9% |
| 1951 | 168,724 | +17.9% |
| 1961 | 164,639 | −2.4% |
| 1971 | 160,656 | −2.4% |
| 1981 | 148,973 | −7.3% |
| 1991 | 146,154 | −1.9% |
| 2001 | 163,944 | +12.2% |
| 2011 | 185,911 | +13.4% |
| 2021 | 218,871 | +17.7% |
| Source:A Vision of Britain through time | ||
In 1801, thecivil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 1,937; and the area was characterised by farming, woodland and the fishing fleet atBarking. This last industry employed 1,370 men and boys by 1850, but by the end of the century had ceased to exist; replaced by train deliveries of fresh fish from the East Coast ports.[16] The population rose slowly through the 19th century, as the district became built up; and new industries developed around Barking.
The population rose dramatically between 1921 and 1931, when theLondon County Council developed theBecontree Estate. Thispublic housing development of 27,000 homes housed over 100,000 people, split between the thenurban district councils ofIlford,Dagenham andBarking. People were rehoused from theslums of theEast End.[17] In 1931, theFord Motor Company relocated to a 500 acres (2.0 km2) site atDagenham, and in 1932 theDistrict line was extended toUpminster; bringing further development to the area.
AfterWorld War II, further public housing projects were built to rehouse the many Londoners, mainly from theEast End, who were made homeless inthe Blitz. As industry declined during the 1960s, the population entered a long decline, but has now begun to rise again with new housing developments on brownfield sites. In 2013 Barking and Dagenham has England's highest fertility rate: 2.58.[18]
At the2001 census, theWhite British and Irish ethnic group borough was recorded at 82, a modest decline from the 90% estimate recorded in the1991 census.
However, by the time of the2011 census the number of people identifying as White British sharply dropped to 49.5%. Barking and Dagenham has been strongly influenced by immigration, with the white British population having dropped 30.6% from 2001 to 2011 - the largest decrease in the country, and second largest proportional decrease, just behind neighbouringNewham. The population of non-UK born residents increasing by 205%.[19] The largest decrease of White British occurred in theLongbridge ward (79.8% in 2001 to 35% in 2011), and theAbbey ward, which contains the mainBarking area (from 46.2% to 15.8%). The smallest decrease was in theEastbrook and Rush Green ward. The largest minority communities were ofBlack andAsian heritage.
Barking and Dagenham had by far the largest decrease of the 65+ population, having dropped almost 20% between 2001 and 2011. There were 69,700 households in the borough in 2011, up 3.6% from 2001. The borough also had the largest proportion of school-age (5–19) population of all the local authorities in England and Wales, 21.4%, at the 2011 census. The borough's pre-school (0–4) population rose by 49.1% from 2001 to 2011, by far the largest increase in London.[20]
The following table shows the ethnic group of respondents in the 2001 and 2011 census in Barking and Dagenham.
| Ethnic Group | Year | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 estimations[21] | 1981 estimations[22] | 1991 census[23] | 2001 census[24] | 2011 census[25] | 2021 census[26] | |||||||
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| White: Total | – | 98.2% | 141,912 | 95.9% | 133,903 | 93.19% | 139,667 | 85.19% | 108,386 | 58.30% | 98,275 | 44.9% |
| White:British | – | – | – | – | – | – | 132,566 | 80.86% | 91,949 | 49.46% | 67,550 | 30.9% |
| White:Irish | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2,753 | 1.68% | 1,730 | 0.93% | 1,185 | 0.5% |
| White:Gypsy or Irish Traveller | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 182 | 0.10% | 184 | 0.1% |
| White: Roma | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 858 | 0.4% |
| White:Other | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4,348 | 2.65% | 14,525 | 7.81% | 28,498 | 13.0% |
| Asian or Asian British: Total | – | – | – | – | 5,778 | 4% | 9,061 | 5.53% | 29,594 | 15.92% | 56,583 | 25.8% |
| Asian or Asian British:Indian | – | – | – | – | 2,807 | 1.95% | 3,681 | 2.25% | 7,436 | 4.00% | 11,503 | 5.3% |
| Asian or Asian British:Pakistani | – | – | – | – | 1,674 | 1.16% | 3,055 | 1.86% | 8,007 | 4.31% | 15,799 | 7.2% |
| Asian or Asian British:Bangladeshi | – | – | – | – | 200 | 673 | 0.41% | 7,701 | 4.14% | 22,393 | 10.2% | |
| Asian or Asian British:Chinese | – | – | – | – | 593 | 775 | 0.47% | 1,315 | 0.71% | 1,385 | 0.6% | |
| Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | – | – | – | – | 504 | 877 | 0.53% | 5,135 | 2.76% | 5,503 | 2.5% | |
| Black or Black British: Total | – | – | – | – | 3,347 | 2.32% | 11,440 | 6.98% | 37,140 | 19.98% | 46,807 | 21.4% |
| Black or Black British:African | – | – | – | – | 919 | 0.6% | 7,284 | 4.44% | 28,685 | 15.43% | 35,101 | 16.0% |
| Black or Black British:Caribbean | – | – | – | – | 1,790 | 1.24% | 3,434 | 2.09% | 5,227 | 2.81% | 5824 | 2.7% |
| Black or Black British:Other Black | – | – | – | – | 638 | 0.4% | 722 | 0.44% | 3,228 | 1.74% | 5882 | 2.7% |
| Mixed or British Mixed: Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3,076 | 1.88% | 7,878 | 4.24% | 9,320 | 4.3% |
| Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1,420 | 0.87% | 2,669 | 1.44% | 2,974 | 1.4% |
| Mixed: White and Black African | – | – | – | – | – | – | 572 | 0.35% | 2,128 | 1.14% | 2,376 | 1.1% |
| Mixed: White and Asian | – | – | – | – | – | – | 534 | 0.33% | 1,246 | 0.67% | 1,550 | 0.7% |
| Mixed: Other Mixed | – | – | – | – | – | – | 550 | 0.34% | 1,835 | 0.99% | 2,420 | 1.1% |
| Other: Total | – | – | – | – | 653 | 0.45% | 700 | 0.43% | 2,913 | 1.57% | 7,886 | 3.6% |
| Other: Arab | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 973 | 0.52% | 1,489 | 0.7% |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | – | – | – | – | 653 | 0.45% | 700 | 0.43% | 1,940 | 1.04% | 6,397 | 2.9% |
| Ethnic minority: Total | – | 1.8% | 6,063 | 4.1% | 9,778 | 6.8% | 24,277 | 14.81% | 77,525 | 41.70% | 120,596 | 55.1% |
| Total | – | 100% | 147,975 | 100% | 143,681 | 100% | 163,944 | 100.00% | 185,911 | 100.00% | 218,871 | 100% |
The local authority is Barking and Dagenham Council, which meets atBarking Town Hall.
For elections to theGreater London Council, the borough formed theBarking electoral division, electing two members. In 1973 it was divided into the single-memberBarking andDagenham electoral divisions.[27] The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986.
Since 2000, the borough is within theCity and EastLondon Assembly constituency, returningUnmesh Desai as the directly elected Assembly Member.
The borough is covered by two parliamentary constituencies:Barking andDagenham and Rainham. The latter was first contested in2010.
London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is twinned with:
There are many schools and further education facilities in the borough. Situated near the Town Hall, theBarking 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. A study in 2017 found that nearly half of Barking & Dagenham's 19 year olds lack Level 3 qualifications (A Level equivalent) which was the highest figure in London.[29]
Barking & Dagenham College is a generalfurther education college offering courses for leaners 16+. It has four campuses across the borough with their main campus being located inRush Green less than a mile from theRomford town centre. Their other campus is located inBarking town center at the Technical Skills Academy,The Broadway Theatre and Barking Learning Centre.
CU London, a Higher Education institute owned and governed by Coventry University, started offering courses to students in September 2017.[30] Situated in the formerDagenham Civic Centre, they offer a range of subjects across Foundation, HNC, HND and degree level.[31]
TheUniversity of East London formerly had a campus in the borough, however this has now closed with all campuses now being located in the neighbouring borough ofNewham.
In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: driving a car or van, 22.5% of all residents aged 16–74; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 7.5%; bus, minibus or coach, 7.5%; train, 7.3%; on foot, 3.7%; passenger in a car or van, 1.7%; work mainly at or from home, 1.3%.[32]
Barking and Dagenham is served by both theLondon Underground andNational Rail networks. On the London Underground, the Borough is served by bothHammersmith & City Line, andDistrict Line trains.
National Rail c2c trains call atDagenham Dock andBarking railway stations. Most c2c trains terminate atLondon Fenchurch Street, whilst to the east, trains serveGrays,Southend andShoeburyness in Essex.
Barking and, from summer 2022,Barking Riverside railway stations are served by theLondon Overground with frequent services toGospel Oak in theLondon Borough of Camden.[33]
The Elizabeth Line servesChadwell Heath railway station, which straddles the border between theLondon Borough of Redbridge and the borough.[34]
Hammersmith & City Line services terminate at Barking. Some District Line services terminate at Barking, but many also call atUpney,Becontree,Dagenham Heathway andDagenham East in the Borough. Some services terminate at Dagenham East.
SeveralLondon Buses serve the Borough. Night buses 128, EL1, N15 and N86 travel intoCentral London,Stratford,Romford andHarold Hill every night.[35]
Cycle Superhighway 3 begins inBarking, to the south ofGreatfields Park, linking the Borough toCanary Wharf, theCity of London and theCity of Westminster via abike freeway, most of which is segregated from other road traffic.TfL plans to extend the cycle network toBarking Riverside; the first consultations about this closed in winter 2019.[36]
Two majorA-roads cross the Borough: theA12 andA13.
The A12 has one junction in the Borough, to the north ofChadwell Heath. To the west, the A12 carries traffic throughNewbury Park towards theNorth Circular,Stratford andCentral London. To the east, the A12 heads throughRomford towardsthe M25 and south and eastEssex.
The A13 is named Alfred's Way as it enters the Borough to the west. Crossing Barking and Dagenham, the dual carriageway can be accessed via severalgrade-separated junctions. Leaving the Borough to the west via the A13 will lead tothe Docklands and theCity of London. To the east, the A13 passesRainham and the M25 before traffic heads into south Essex.
Other A-roads cross the Borough, including theA118,A123,A124,A1083,A1112, andA1306, although these roads are smaller and generally carry less traffic.
Time 107.5 FM was the commercial radio station broadcasting fromRomford, and served East London and West Essex. On 1 August 2025 the station closed, with the 107.5 frequency transferring toNation Radio London.[37]
Bedrock Radio is a local community radio service based in the nearbyQueen's Hospital inRomford.
The firstHospital Radio Service In Dagenham was founded in 1969 asRadio Rush Green with studios located in the porters’ lodge on the grounds of the formerRush Green Hospital on Dagenham Road. In 1985 Radio Rush Green began serving nearby Oldchurch Hospital, Romford, where the station rebranded toHospital Radio 174 named after the bus route174, which connected the two hospital sites. When Rush Green Hospital closed, the studios where moved into Oldchurch Hospital, the service renamed toOldchurch Radio. The station became Bedrock Radio in 2002, after a merger with Harold Wood Hospital Radio,[38] ahead of the opening ofQueen's Hospital in 2006.
Today, Bedrock Radio serves the local community by broadcasting online and served local hosptials ofQueen's,King George &Goodmayes Hospitals. The station features information about the Hospitals,NHS services, promotes charitable and community organisations and has an extensive local events guide featuring community & non-profit events. Bedrock Radio also provides local news on-air covering East London and South Essex, the station has announced it will launch on a local DAB+ later in 2025.[39]
Barking & Dagenham News, a hyperlocal news service distributes news, weather, travel, sport and entertainment updates onFacebook Watch.
The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has two fire stations within its boundary: Barking and Dagenham.[40] Barking fire station operates two pumping appliances, a bulk foam unit and a command 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 64M turn-table ladder. The turntable ladder is one of three that are in use in london and are the tallest ladders in use in the UK fire and rescue service.[citation needed]
Of the two stations; Dagenham is the busier, attending over 2,000 incidents in 2006/2007.[41]
The coat of arms of the borough displays the Curfew tower ofBarking Abbey in itscrest.
The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
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