Thames and Riverside

Residents of Barking and Dagenham interested in a career or work in the construction industry are now able to benefit from a new training centre right on their doorstep.

The Barking Riverside Innovation in Construction (BRIC) Training Centre will see the council working closely with Barking Riverside Limited and construction firms to help local people access training and career opportunities in construction and green skills.

The new centre will provide the borough with its first live construction training facility specifically aimed at residents and staff working with local contractors, to build their career in construction and the built environment industry.

Cllr Sade Bright, Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Aspiration said: “We are pleased to be opening this construction centre, which will not only benefit our residents wanting training, skills and employment opportunities, it will benefit the whole borough.

“Already the service has worked with over 450 school pupils since September last year and will continue to provide career guidance, curriculum support, site visits and other experts to ensure the borough produces a new generation of construction professionals.”

The council have committed £300,000 to the project through its Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which uses a tax on new developments to raise money for improvements that benefit the local area.

Interested residents can find out more by email at: adultcollegeenquiries@lbbd.gov.uk or telephone 020 8270 4722.

On Saturday 19 March, Barking and Dagenham opened three of its new Community Hubs; Sue Bramley Centre, Marks Gate, and William Bellamy.

Formerly opened by Cllr Darren Rodwell, Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, and Cllr Maureen Worby, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration, the hubs aim to provide residents and neighbourhoods with the support they need, closer to home.

Working with partners from the community and voluntary sector, the council is committed to building strong relationships with communities and residents to address the key issues and challenges the borough faces. The concept of the Community Hubs is to provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for residents to provide a local network of help and support. The Hubs reflect the council's desire and ambition to put public services at the heart of our communities.

The east London council will be opening further hubs throughout the year across the borough and will provide information, advice, and support with:

• Jobs, training, and courses
• Housing and homelessness
• Money and debt
• Health and wellbeing
• General council services
• Help getting online
• Events and activities

Working in partnership with the police and the council’s enforcement team, one of the future key functions of the Community Hubs will be to help residents report a crime online, such as an incidents of antisocial behaviour or fly-tipping. Our Safer Neighbourhoods Police Team will also be running drop-in sessions for residents.

Councillor Maureen Worby, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration at Barking and Dagenham Council, who has spearheaded the launch of the Community Hubs, said: “As Saturday’s launch events showed, the new hubs are about working with our local community and voluntary sector partners to bring together the people who make things happen with the people who take part, putting on activities that bring residents together, and providing the space to do so.

“It’s about providing residents with face to face help and support, closer to their home, when they need it.

“Following the opening of the new hubs at Sue Bramley, William Bellamy and Marks Gate, I look forward to opening a further 16 hubs across the borough in the coming months”.

For more information about Community Hubs visit: https://www.lbbd.gov.uk/community-hubs

Barking Riverside will soon be even better connected to central London, as River Bus services are set to start in the area in May, Barking Riverside Limited, has announced.

The opening of the Barking Riverside stop is part of the eastern expansion of the Uber Boat by Thames Clippers’ service, extending the existing RB1 route. Services will run at peak times on weekdays and throughout the day at weekends – ideal for commuters and sightseers across the borough who want to explore the capital, and visitors from Central London travelling to Barking Riverside and the rest of Barking and Dagenham.

Journey times from Barking Riverside to Greenwich and Canary Wharf will take less than 30 and 40 minutes respectively, with central London (Tower Millennium) accessible in approximately 50 minutes.

The service will create a much-needed link between the North and South of the River, with journeys to Woolwich taking less than 10 minutes. Elizabeth Line services at Woolwich will soon offer onward connections to the West End in under 25 minutes, providing transformative new travel times into Central London for Barking Riverside residents.

To mark the opening of the service, Barking Riverside Limited will soon announce a programme of events and activities that will take place on the riverfront. Further details of the opening date will be confirmed shortly.

London’s Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Shirley Rodrigues, and Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, officially opened the newly designed Ripple Greenway linear park on Thursday 24 June 2021.

The 1.3km park provides a beautiful new walking and cycling route for thousands of local people and a much-needed green space for residents.

The park links the existing community with Barking town centre and the fast-growing Barking Riverside area. This includes new housing, the new Riverside School campus and Barking Riverside Overground Station to be opened in 2022.

The Ripple Greenway now has natural “Play on the Way” features: wooden climbing logs; mini wooden bridges and a group swing. These are designed for children to have fun on their journey to school or when they are in the park.

There is an exercise equipment trail for anyone wanting to keep fit as well as picnic tables and benches. The smooth tarmac path is lined with oak benches which makes it easier to walk, wheel and cycle to work, school or just for fun.

This ambitious transformation of the Ripple Greenway was made possible with £440,000 from the Mayor of London’s Capital Green Grant and £350,000 provided by Barking and Dagenham regeneration experts Be First.

Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Public Realm at the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham said:“I’m delighted to see that residents have designed such a beautiful, accessible art-trail, with play on the way, on this increasingly important green artery which connects the growing communities at Barking and Barking Riverside. I commend everyone involved for making it such a success.”

Local residents’ groups have been central to the design process which has given new life to this previously underused area that was overgrown and not easily accessible.

The following changes were popular among residents:
• Removal of spiked metal fencing
• Introduction a smooth tarmac path to make it easier to walk, wheel and cycle
• Addition of new oak benches
• Building natural play features for children to play on the way
• Lighting for personal safety which is sensitive to local wildlife
• New artwork commissions
• Planting hundreds of new trees and bulbs.

Find out more:

Be First- Linear park opens

Plans for the project