We are excited to announce that following months of hard work to improve the lake and surrounding area, it is ready to be handed back to the Marks Gate community.

Join us from 11am - 2pm on Saturday 26 November to celebrate the reopening of Padnall Lake. There will be refreshments, live music and children's entertainment for everyone to enjoy.

It's free to attend and you don't need to register beforehand, simply show up on the day!

As the event is taking place outdoors, please check the weather forecast in advance and dress appropriately.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Following public consultation events in March and May 2022 and seven co-design workshops with the Marks Gate Community Forum, the final design plans for Padnall Lake Phase 2 were submitted to the council in September 2022, the application number is 22/01564/REM. Updated plans for Padnall Lake Phase 1 were also submitted to the council, the application number is 22/01492/VAR.

You can view these on the council's website by typing the postcode RM6 5ER in the search box and see the plans comes to life in the new virtual walkthrough video.

The Jobs Fair returns to Marks Gate Community Hub on Wednesday 14 September from 12 – 2pm!

Drop by for a chat about current vacancies or careers advice to help you with your next step.

Some of the sectors covered on the day include: Cleaning, Construction, Health & Social Care, Childcare, Hospitality
For any questions, please email vacancies@lbbd.gov.uk

Following our last public consultation in March, the project team return to Marks Gate to show how your feedback has helped to improve the home and landscape designs for Padnall Lake phase 2.
We will once again be asking for your views on the latest designs as we work towards producing final versions for July 2022.

Come and see the latest designs for Padnall Lake phase 2, where we will be providing up to 219 affordable new homes on the eastern edge of Marks Gate next to the A12.
Chat to our architects and landscape designers about how you think these current plans for new homes and outdoor community space could be improved.

Artwork inspired by the environment and wildlife is now being displayed on hoardings surrounding a new housing development in Marks Gate.

The paintings and drawings by students from Rose Lane Primary school were created as part of a competition run by the council’s regeneration organisation, Be First, with help from Studio 3 Arts.

This week local councillors, Cllr Sade Bright and Cllr Simon Perry, visited the site where the work is now displayed to meet the young artists, Assistant Deputy Headteacher, Lara Marsh, and Elaine Tribley.

Cllr Perry said: “The children’s work is awesome and inspirational. It’s great to see young people getting involved and expressing their love of nature and their local environment through art.”

Beth Cross, Community Engagement Coordinator at Be First, said: “It’s so important to involve the local community and young people with what we’re trying to build here – a great place for all, with quality new homes for local people and an improved and more bio-diverse environment.”

Lara Marsh, said: “The history of Marks Gate has been long and varied. It started with a moated manor house surrounded by three small hamlets at the entrance to Hainault Forest and then blossomed and grew in the 1950s. Since then, the school has been at the heart of the community and this is still our role today.

“At Rose Lane we pride ourselves on the breadth and depth of our curriculum ensuring that our pupils leave us engaged with the society they live in. The creative arts are a hugely important aspect and this project not only encouraged the children to express themselves through art but also developed their knowledge of the community they live in and added something beautiful for them, their families and their neighbours to look at.”

Rosie Ross, Senior Creative Producer at Studio 3 Arts, said: “Studio 3 Arts is delighted to have collaborated with the children from Rose Lane Primary. Their work celebrates the history and natural landscape of Padnall Lake which they developed in responses to artpacks compiled by artist Elaine Tribley during lockdown.

“It’s fantastic that the children can now see their ideas realised within this informative and colourful design and share it with their families and the wider Marks Gate community.”

The artwork is displayed on the hoardings which surround the new development at Marks Gate which will feature 81 quality new affordable homes for local people.

Come along to the Jobs Fair being held at the Marks Gate Community Hub On Tuesday 20th July from 10am - 1pm to learn more about employment opportunities with Murphy Group, Care City, and the Met Police.

You will also be able to chat to Barking and Dagenham Job Shop and meet PPCR Associates, who are looking to speak to residents about their views on Marks Gate now and in the future.

Click the image for further details.

Students from Rose Lane Primary School were presented prizes by local councillors for their winning entries in an art competition run by Be First, Barking and Dagenham Council’s regeneration organisation.

Councillors Sade Bright and Simon Perry handed out the prizes to 11 children who took part in the Your Marks Gate competition inspired by the plants and wildlife that inhabits Padnall Lake and the Marks Gate area and also the wider history and heritage of the estate, homes and its close proximity to Hainault Forest.

The competition ran for a month and included all year groups across the school.

Assistant Deputy Headteacher Lara Marsh said: “Participating in the ‘Your Marks Gate’ art competition has been a fantastic opportunity for our school. We launched the competition by dedicating a whole day to the study of the history of our local area and doing art workshops in connection with this. We were delighted with the take up from our students and as a result of the enthusiasm about the launch day we have introduced extra local history and geography study into our curriculum.

“At Rose Lane we are passionate about the creative arts and teach much of our wider curriculum through this medium so the competition sat beautifully within this. It’s wonderful that our pupils have been able to use the creative arts to get in touch with their local cultural identity and be proud of their community.”

Sadia Ur-Rehman, Community Engagement Coordinator at Be First said: “It’s been wonderful working with Rose Lane Primary School and its community on this competition. We had such fantastic entries to the competition, our judges had a challenging time whittling it down to the winners! Well done to everyone involved.”

Up to three winners were chosen from each Key Stage, including Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS): Nursery and Reception, Key Stage 1 (KS1): Year 1 and 2, Key Stage 2 (KS2): Year 3-6. There were also two 'Special Mention' awards given to two students.

Be First is working with local arts organisation Studio 3 Arts and artist Elaine Tribley to incorporate all of the children’s entries into a final digital artwork that will be displayed on the hoardings for the Padnall Lake development site. This will ensure that there is a legacy to the competition and give the children and school a sense of pride and achievement for the wonderful artworks produced for the competition.

You can see all the winning entries here.

EYFS Winners

Animals at Padnall Lake by Aaliyah Khan Rubber Band Rainbow by Benjamin Tanner Marks Gate Houses by Noah Lyan-Rana

KS1 Winners

Windmill by Akeem OsinakeHeritage of our Marks Gate by Muhammad Mohid Saleem

Windmill and Lake by Loki Bailey

KS2 Winners

The Apple Tree by Ianis Abel PatrascuFeatures of Padnall Lake by Lola Dauti

Special Mention Awards

Mayor gives green light to new homes

The Mayor of London has now given the green light to our plans to build new homes alongside Padnall Lake.

This means that we have cleared the final hurdle in our bid to build much-needed affordable housing for the local community. We will now appoint a contractor so that the first phase of building work can start, which we hope will be towards the summer.

Our aim is to build the homes as fast as possible with the minimum inconvenience to local residents.

We plan to build the housing in phases, and we will use modern construction methods. Many parts of the new ‘modular’ homes will be built off-site in factories and assembled and finished on site. This can be up to 40 per cent faster than building using conventional methods. It also reduces disturbance and is much more environment friendly.

The first phase of 81 homes will be built at the western end of the site, nearest the Lake. You can see a detailed map on our website and our planned timetable is below.

From now We will appoint a building contractor.

Spring 2021 Ground preparation works could start for the first phase

Autumn 2021 The first modular elements could be delivered to site and assembled

Late 2021 We will submit what is known as a 'reserved matters planning application' for the second phase of new homes

Early 2023 The first phase could be completed and tenants could move in

By 2024 The second phase tenants could move in

Be First is calling on local residents who want to know more about the archaeological excavations in progress at Marks Gate, to pose their questions in a special online interview with the archaeologists.

The council’s regeneration organisation has been carrying out a number of surveys and archaeological excavations since November when the council granted planning permission for new affordable homes on the land adjacent to the A12. The digging got underway while the plans are being considered by the Mayor of London.

The aim is to help progress the design of the new homes and ensure that any archaeological remains are salvaged.

The only find so far is a small fragment of what might be Saxon pottery on the site (pictured above). This is being examined by a pottery specialist and the archaeologists hope to have a better idea of how old it is and how it was used in the past. The initial view is that it might have been part of a cup or bowl.

However, there have been no other significant finds so far and the archaeologists have said they want to do more investigations in the week commencing 18 January. They will dig four more deep pits to look for anything of interest.

The Be First team will be interviewing the archaeologists in a short You Tube video next week and are calling on local residents to ask the questions.

If you have a question you would like to pose to them, please send your questions to communications@befirst.london

The interview will be available from 25 January at https://yourcall.befirst.london/marks-gate