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Barking’s burgeoning reputation as London’s latest creative hotspot took another boost this week when Be First issued a call for organisations to run new artist’s studios by the River Roding. Barking and Dagenham Council’s pioneering regeneration company hopes the new Abbey Road studios will be as inspiring to artists as its St John’s Wood’s namesake. […]

Young east London cyclists took to the streets in a Tour De Becontree to celebrate 100 years of the Addison Act on Friday, 26 July. Around 50 young people from the Barking and Dagenham Cycling Club, Dorothy Barley Junior School and Manor Junior School Cycle Clubs were led on a special circuit by qualified instructors

Chadwell Heath children have a new state of new state of the art playground to have fun in the sun this summer. Locals say the Tantony Green play area in Marks Gate has been transformed from a tired old boring playground into an exciting new space complete with multi-use games area, a bespoke adventure tree

Councillors gave the green light to proposals to convert a former hospital into an exciting new community facility together with nearly 60 new family homes at a cabinet meeting last night. The redevelopment of Grays Court Hospital in John Parker Close, Dagenham, will deliver a vibrant new community hub, providing a range of services and

East end artist David Bailey’s photograph of the Dagenham Idol will be one of the star exhibits at a new pop-up gallery in Barking this summer. The picture of the prehistoric figurine – believed to be one of the first known examples of figurative art in Europe – will be displayed as part of a

Barking Abbey School pupils were jumping for joy this week as they were put through their paces during a PE lesson in a new, state-of-the-art sports hall.  The hall is part of a £17.9 million expansion which allows the school, which is a specialist sports and humanities college, to accommodate 90 more students each year. 

A team of ‘critical friends’ made up of 25 architects, environmental experts and town planners has been appointed by Be First, Barking and Dagenham Council’s pioneering regeneration company, to act as design champions for the borough. Their appointment to the Barking and Dagenham Quality Review Panel comes as the borough emerges as one of London’s

Local residents are being urged to help shape the next phase of development of the Gascoigne estate, Barking. The council’s regeneration company, Be First, is holding a consultation event next week to allow local people to give feedback on the latest plans for the western side of the estate.  The exhibition sets out the designs

Some of the last remnants of the 1831 London Bridge will be protected and restored as part of £1.8million heritage project by Be First, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The last pieces of the old bridge, which was sold to an American developer in 1967 and relocated to Arizona, will be restored by Barking

As part of its commitment to build a better Barking and deliver 169 affordable and shared ownership homes on a former car park at Linton Road, Be First has announced there will be a series of pavement and road works in Cambridge and Linton roads during the summer. Starting on Tuesday, 18 June, there will