We talk a lot about bringing homes for the future to the borough. But this year, we celebrate what gave us a vital part of our proud history, the Becontree Estate, through our Becontree Forever festival.
Becontree Forever captures our past and looks to the future. It brings together artwork shows, music, community projects and marks the provision of brand new facilities such as new playgrounds on the Becontree Estate.
100 years ago, the very first row of houses were built in Chitty’s Lane, Dagenham on what would become the largest council estate in the world.
The world was not as we know it today. The Becontree Estate was built to house the soldiers and their families who had survived the First World War. Built as homes for heroes, the Becontree offered a beacon of hope and the chance for a better life.
For many, it was their first home with a garden and indoor toilet and wide-open spaces. Around the Becontree, the new borough provided a sense of belonging and security where families could grow and prosper, sometimes living within a few streets of each other.
Those days may be gone, but today we celebrate the young and the old, the people who make the borough what it is today - a place with an East End sense of pride and community.
That sense of community is thriving today. Throughout the pandemic, so many people have given up their time to help those in need.
Our fantastic frontline workers – the unsung heroes of today - have stood alongside us carrying out their jobs through the most difficult of circumstances.
This summer, the Becontree 100 Festival will bring together Love Music Hate Racism, headline acts in Parsloes Park and the return of the popular Roundhouse Music Festival.
There is something for everyone, from beanbag making for the kids to Frank Turner, if rock is your thing.
Full details are available on the Becontree Forever website. Come and join us as we kick off the next 100 years of our history.
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