Conservatory Base in Barking and Dagenham

Barking and Dagenham

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is a London borough in East London, England. It lies about 9 miles (14.4 km) east of Central London. The borough was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 as the London Borough of Barking. The constituent parts were almost all of the Municipal Borough of Barking plus the largest part of the Municipal Borough of Dagenham, the former location of which was transferred to Greater London from Essex. It is an Outer London borough and the south is inside the London Riverside portion of the Thames Gateway, which is an region designated as a national priority for urban regeneration. It covers a total area of 13.93 square miles.

According to the 2011 census, the area features a population of about 198294, the majority of which reside inside the Becontree estate. A lot of the housing within the borough was constructed by the London County Council throughout the interwar period of 1921-1939. Since the decline of those industries during the 1980s, employment has shifted much more towards service sector jobs.

A great deal of the borough is inside the London Riverside part of the Thames Gateway zone and it is the site of considerable house building along with other development. The local authority is Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council.