London Borough of Barking and Dagenham

The London Borough of Barking was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covered almost all the area of the Municipal Borough of Barking and the greater part of the area of the Municipal Borough of Dagenham, both of which were abolished by the same act. At the time of its creation the combined population of Barking and Dagenham was around 180,000,[3] 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.[4] In 1994, the borough was expanded to cover the Becontree estate that until then had been within the Borough of Redbridge. The area covered by Mayesbrook Park in the Borough was once part of the historic Manor of Jenkins, seat of the Fanshawe family.

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 52 listed buildings located within the borough's boundaries.[5] The Grade I and Grade II* listed buildings in the borough include Eastbury Manor House, the Church of Peter and Paul, Dagenham and Valence House.

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. 530 hectares within the borough are designated as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt.

The borough's major districts include Barking, Becontree and Dagenham. 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 the London County Council during the interwar period of 1921–1939.[3] 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.[3] Since the decline of these industries in the 1980s, employment has shifted towards service sector jobs. There are large areas of logistics and warehouse development around the A13 road. 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, such as Beam Park. A £500 million budget has been earmarked for redevelopment of the borough's principal district of Barking.[6]

Population pyramid of Barking and Dagenham in 2021

Religious makeup of Barking and Dagenham by single year age groups in 2021

In 1801, the civil 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 at Barking. 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.[8] 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 the London County Council developed the Becontree Estate. This public housing development of 27,000 homes housed over 100,000 people, split between the then urban district councils of Ilford, Dagenham and Barking. People were rehoused from the slums of the East End.[9] In 1931, the Ford Motor Company relocated to a 500 acres (2.0 km²) site at Dagenham, and in 1932 the District line was extended to Upminster; bringing further development to the area.

After World War II, further public housing projects were built to rehouse the many Londoners made homeless in the 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.[10]

At the time of the 2011 census, 49.5% of the borough's community identified themselves as white British. Barking and Dagenham has been strongly affected by immigration, with the white British population having dropped 30.6% from 2001 to 2011 - the second largest decrease in the country, behind neighbouring Newham. The population of non-UK born residents increasing by 205%.[11] The largest decrease of White British occurred in the Longbridge ward (79.8% in 2001 to 35% in 2011), and the Abbey ward, which contains the main Barking area (from 46.2% to 15.8%). The smallest decrease was in the Eastbrook ward. The largest minority communities were of Black and Asian 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.[12]

The following table shows the ethnic group of respondents in the 2001 and 2011 census in Barking and Dagenham.

Ethnicity

Ethnic makeup of Barking and Dagenham by single year ages in 2021

Ethnic Group	1981 estimations[13]		1991[14]		2001[15]		2011[16]		2021[17]
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
White: Total	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	6,063	4.1%	9,778	6.8%	24,277	14.81%	77,525	41.70%	120,596	55.1%
Total	147,975	100%	143,681	100%	163,944	100.00%	185,911	100.00%	218,871	100%

A map showing the wards of Barking and Dagenham since 2002

Barking Town Hall, the former town hall of the Municipal Borough of Barking

Prior to Brexit in 2020, Barking and Dagenham was part of the London constituency in the European Parliament.

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. 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.[21]

CU London, a Higher Education institute owned and governed by Coventry University, started offering courses to students in September 2017.[22] Situated in the former Dagenham Civic Centre, they offer a range of subjects across Foundation, HNC, HND and degree level.[23]

The University 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 of Newham.

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%.[24]

Time 107.5 FM broadcasts local news from nearby Romford.

Bedrock [29] is the local Hospital radio service available on-line and broadcasts a range of health related information focused around the local Hospitals; King George Hospital and Queen's Hospital.

Barking & Dagenham News, a hyperlocal news service distributes news, weather, travel, sport and entertainment updates on Facebook Watch.

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham has two fire stations within its boundary: Barking and Dagenham.[30] 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 hydraulic platform.

Of the two stations; Dagenham is the busier, attending over 2,000 incidents in 2006/2007.[31]

The coat of arms of the borough displays the Curfew tower of Barking Abbey in its crest.

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

• List of people from Barking and Dagenham

• Barking and Dagenham Council
• NHS Barking and Dagenham
• Borough of Dagenham historic records
• Borough of Barking historic records

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