It’s been a year we will all remember for the virus which has changed our lives. But 2020 wasn’t all about Covid.
January
Great-grandmother Evelyn Karstadt was awarded the BEM in the New Year Honours list for services to the community. The 91-year-old started volunteering as something to keep her occupied after the death of her husband. She ran the tea bar at Barking Hospital and volunteered at Barking Learning Centre. In 2018 she was made a Freeman of the Borough.
A planning application was made to the council to build a nine-storey block of flats in Barking town centre on the site of the Iceland and Poundland shops. The proposal was to provide retail space for Iceland and three other shops, plus two restaurants, as well as 79 flats.
A stone lemonade bottle thought to date back at least 100 years was discovered on a building site in Meadow Road, Barking. The R White and Sons bottle was found on the site where Sebastian Court once stood. The fizzy drinks company had a factory in Barking until the 1970s.
February
Shopkeepers on the Thames View Estate in Barking said parking charges were putting off customers and threatening their livelihoods. They said they had seen a drop in customers following the roll-out of the council’s controlled parking zone scheme. The council said all RingGo bays allow 30 minutes free parking but motorists need to set up an account and register their stay through the app or by phone.
Bishop of Brentwood, the Rt Rev Alan Williams visited All Saints Catholic School in Dagenham to dedicate its chapel to a new British saint, Cardinal John Henry Newman.
Plans for the film studios proposed for the former Sanofi Pharmaceuticals site in Dagenham were unveiled to the public. Be First’s head of regeneration David Harley said studio space is in demand and Dagenham’s location near central London would make it a huge draw.
Barking teenager Micky Jamieson, 17, raised more than £2,200 for Saint Francis Hospice by playing a 24-hour pool marathon.
March
The Duchess of Sussex made a surprise visit to Robert Clack Upper School, Dagenham, to deliver an International Women’s Day message. It was one of her last solo engagements as a working royal. Meghan told boys at the school “continue to value and appreciate the women in your lives”. Her introduction in the main hall brought gasps of surprise and thunderous applause from the 700 students. Meghan told them: “I thought you knew I was coming, so I’m sorry for the surprise.”
And then Barking and Dagenham recorded its first confirmed cases of Covid-19. Infections spread rapidly and the country went into lockdown, but after the initial shock at the seriousness of the outbreak, the crisis started to bring out the best in our communities. Volunteers teamed up to help those in need through Mutual Aid groups, and restaurants forced to close delivered food instead to NHS workers.
April
Dave and Julie Oswald, whose wedding reception was cancelled because of the pandemic, shared their first dance in the street. Friend and neighbour Tony Goddard – who was due to be the DJ at the reception, played a driveway set instead so that the newlyweds could dance in Fitzstephen Road.
Carlie Townsend put on an impromptu garden concert in Peartree Gardens for neighbours and it racked up more than 56,000 views on Facebook.
The council introduced free parking for keyworkers during the pandemic. Emergency staff and frontline workers helping vulnerable people were told they could apply to park for free in council-owned car parks and bays across the borough.
Plans were approved to build 87 affordable flats at the corner of Stebbing Way and Roxwell Road, Barking.
NHS volunteer responder Hamyar Ali had to stop delivering medicine and food supplies to vulnerable people after thieves stole his moped from Reginald Ellingworth Street, Dagenham.
May
Postal worker Jeff Hollis was killed when a speeding car smashed into his at the junction of Oxlow Lane and Heathway, Dagenham. The other driver was jailed for four and a half years in November for causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop and failing to report a collision.
Residents marked the 75th anniversary of VE Day by decorating their homes in red, white and blue and holding socially distanced celebrations in gardens and on doorsteps.
Plans for the former Abbey Sports Centre site in Barking were revealed - an arthouse cinema, affordable housing and a healthy ageing centre. Aberdeen Standard Investments announced it had bought the site and was investing £50m in the redevelopment.
At least 30 people flouted lockdown rules by attending an all-night party in the back yard of a property in Linton Road, Barking, with the noise disturbing neighbours from 10pm until the following afternoon.
June
As businesses prepared to reopen, Dagenham Sunday Market announced it was closing permanently after 18 years because it was unable to meet social distancing requirements.
Hundreds of protesters took part in an anti-racism march in Barking town centre to spread the message that black lives matter. It was the latest in a series of public protests around the country in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in the US. The event was organised by a group of students who wanted to “show the future generation that our skin colour isn’t an impediment to our success”.
Dame Vera Lynn, who lived in Upney Lane, Barking, during the Second World War, died aged 103.
A 71-year-old woman fought off a home intruder with a “brain-wobbling” slap to the head she had learned in council-run self-defence classes. Kaye Parish had answered the door to a man who shoved her up against the wall and demanded money. But he ran off after she hit him.
July
The Post visited a very special back garden in Ivyhouse Road, Dagenham filled with flowers. Shibukumar Gopalan Sarala can spend up to seven hours a day nurturing the plants in more than 150 flowerpots and plants. He said: “Gardening is my passion.”
New play areas for Central Park were approved by the council. The plan was for two playgrounds, an interactive maze and nature areas. There would also be a grass amphitheatre, new paths and space for public art.
A crackdown on fly-tipping was launched with a Wall of Shame identifying the perpetrators. Signs were being put up at hotspots telling people they were being watched and if they dumped rubbish their faces would be shared on social media by the council. Cllr Margaret Mullane said: “We do not stand for people littering and fly-tipping their rubbish. We’re determined to beat them and we will do everything in our powers to do exactly that.”
August
Three newborn kittens, still with their umbilical cords attached, were found tied up in a black bag and dumped in a rubbish bin in Broad Street, Dagenham. They were found by a street cleaner doing his rounds and collected by Katie Moore, of rescue group Scruffy’s Angels.
Construction began on the arthouse cinema, homes and healthy ageing centre which were replacing the old Abbey Sports Centre site in Barking.
A campaign was launched to tackle youth violence. Through a combination of targeted advertising and an evocative film, Lost Hours urges parents to know where their children are at all times. Its name refers to the “lost” period between 3pm when pupils finish school and 7pm when parents return from work.
A-level and GCSE students received their exam results after an even more stressful wait than usual thanks to a fiasco over grading. Finally, after a government U-turn they were awarded the grades their teachers had predicted.
September
Four hundred years of history went up in flames when fire gutted the old White Horse pub in Chadwell Heath. About 40 firefighters tackled the blaze in the High Road. The former coaching inn had been empty since closing in 2017. John Bevis, who was a regular at the pub, said it should be rebuilt.
The first of three Covid testing centres in the borough opened at Mayesbrook Park car park. It would be open 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.
A planning application to build tower blocks rising to 28 storeys next to Barking station was approved by the council. Trocoll House office building would be demolished to make way for 198 homes. Seventy would be affordable, 21 offered at London living rent and the rest at discount market value.
The borough’s annual literary festival, ReadFest, was held online with a programme of free events, classes and workshops held over Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Barbara Nadel and Claire Buss were among the authors taking part.
October
The Post launched our Shop Local campaign to try to help our struggling independent businesses by telling their stories and encouraging the community to support them during the pandemic.
A boxing club opened a hub in Ripple Road, Barking, in a bid to stop young people falling victim to crime or ending up in jail. Box Up Crime offers mentoring and free training, a music studio and educational rooms.
Eastbrookend Country Park, which attracted recorder numbers of visitors during the pandemic, was awarded a Green Flag – the second time it has held the award after its success in 2004. The Green Flag scheme, managed by Keep Britain Tidy, recognises well-managed parks and open spaces and sets the benchmark for parks across the UK.
Covid survivor Anil Patel, of Chadwell Heath, finally left hospital 149 days after being admitted suffering from the virus. He spent four months in intensive care.
November
The deal to build a Hollywood-style film studios at Dagenham was sealed. A US investment company which owns the studios where The Sopranos, Sex and the City and 30 Rock were recorded signed the deal to build Eastbrook Studios. It will have up to 12 sound stages, three acres of backlot for scene sets and offices. Work is expected to begin next year.
The usual Remembrance Sunday services had to be scaled back because of Covid-19. People were asked to pay their respects at home but council leader Darren Rodwell and mayor Cllr Peter Chand were among a few who laid wreaths at war memorials across the borough.
Former rough sleeper Ray Bryant, who used to bed down in a tent in Short Blue Place, Barking, thanks supporters for getting him off the streets as he marked one year with a roof over his head. He said: “I want to thank everybody that supported me through the years and let them know that I’m still around – a lot of people think I’m dead.”
December
The council announced it would be banning most drivers from using the road outside Barking Station from January. Those without permission would be fined. The ban will operate for an 18-month trial period in a bid to reduce the number of road accidents in Station Parade.
Thirty-seven people faced being fined for breaching Covid restrictions after attending a wedding in Creek Road, Barking. Police heard loud music and saw lights coming from the address. When they investigated they found more than 50 guests, including children, and the bride and groom. At the time the borough was in Tier 2 which meant wedding ceremonies and sit-down receptions could only have 15 people. The bride and groom argued they had only invited 15 guests but other people kept turning up with gifts and then stayed.
A Forest of Thanks with 29,000 trees was planted in Parsloes Park in tribute to keyworkers and to commemorate those who died in the coronavirus pandemic. It is thought to be the largest of its kind in Europe.
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