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 areas were virtually all of the Municipal Borough of Barking plus the greater part of the Municipal Borough of Dagenham, the former location of which was transferred to Greater London from Essex. It's an Outer London borough and the south is inside the London Riverside section of the Thames Gateway, which is an area designated as a national priority for urban regeneration. It covers a total area of 13.93 square miles.
In line with the 2011 census, the area features a population of around 198294, the majority of which reside inside the Becontree estate. Significant settlement of the area, largely escaping slum conditions inside the East End of London, occurred during the era when the new motor and chemical industries, such as the Ford Motor Company plant at Dagenham were established. Since the decline of those industries during the 1980s, employment has shifted much more towards service sector jobs.
Much of the borough is within the London Riverside part of the Thames Gateway zone and it's the site of considerable house building and other development. The local authority is Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council.