Local London is delighted to welcome our boroughs’ new Leaders to our powerful Joint Committee.

Cllr Erbil becomes the new Leader of Enfield Council

Cllr Ergin Erbil was elected as the new Leader of Enfield Council at the Full Council meeting on 18 September 2024.

Cllr Erbil was elected Labour councillor for Edmonton Green in 2018 and has been serving as the Council’s Deputy Leader since 2022. He has been the borough’s Interim Leader since July 2024 when Nesil Caliskan became the Labour MP for Barking, at the general election.

Read about Cllr Erbil’s priorities and Cabinet.

Cllr Twomey becomes the new Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council

In Barking and Dagenham, Cllr Dominic Twomey was elected as the new Leader of the Council at their full Assembly meeting also on 18 September.

Cllr Twomey has served the borough as a councillor since 2010, and has been Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Core Services for the last 10 years.

He takes over from Cllr Darren Rodwell who was Leader of the Council and former Chair of Local London. Cllr Rodwell championed the needs of the sub-region and under his leadership, Local London expanded its portfolio of programmes, offering greater benefit to all its member boroughs.

Read about Cllr Twomey’s appointment.

Cllr Rai, Leader of Redbridge Council

Following over a decade serving the borough as a councillor and six years as Deputy Leader, Cllr Kam Rai was elected as the new Leader of Redbridge Council at the full council meeting on 25 July 2024.

Cllr Rai succeeds Cllr Athwal, who led the council for over a decade before stepping down following his election as the Member of Parliament for Ilford South.

Read Cllr Rai’s reaction.

Our Joint Committee members

Local London’s strategic direction is set by the elected Leaders of our member authorities, they sit on our Joint Committee, led by a Chair who holds the position for a two-year term.

The Council Leaders and Mayor on our Joint Committee are:

Discover more about Local London’s governance

Representing around 99% of all businesses in the sub-region, SME’s have a huge impact on our borough’s economic and employment prosperity.

Launched in 2021, our E-Business programme is free and open to SME businesses in all sectors to receive expert advice help them build their resilience and thrive in this online age.

Delivered locally by our three partners (South East Enterprise, Newham College of Further Education, and Enterprise Enfield), we have supported businesses in a huge number of sectors in Local London. As of February 2023:

One of the many SMEs who have benefitted from the E-business programme is Barking and Dagenham’s Love Your Look Group (LYL) who make limited edition luxury clothes for unapologetic women.

Through the E-business programme delivered by Newham College, business owner and managing director Chierika mastered online advertising.

With assistance from the E-business team at Newham College, Chierika investigated Google store, Google ads, and Meta (Meta business profile) ad performance for upcoming Christmas and Boxing Day sales.

Chierka took up the opportunity to have a video campaign on The Guardian website with Mailchimp to help to grow the business, with assistance from the E-Business team.

Fashion model - for decorative purposes.

LYL Director, Chierka, said “I’ve found the E-Business project a great benefit as it’s kept me accountable and allowed me to focus on targeting each of our internal business issues one by one.

Working with Pete (Business Advisor) and Ayo (Digital Specialist) has allowed me to access people within the fashion industry that understand our specific needs and has provided an honest space where I can be open about the state of the business and position us for success.”

Who is the E-business programme for?

Local London’s E-business programme provides free face-to-face support and advice for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in north east and south east London who want to know how to make the most of digital software and online marketing to help their businesses thrive.

Watch our video to find out more:

Discover the E-business programme near you

Local London have appointed 3 expert providers to deliver the programme:

Enterprise Enfield deliver our e-business programme for businesses in Enfield, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.
Find out more.

Newham College of Further Education run our e-business programme for businesses in Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Newham.
Find out more.

South East Enterprise support businesses with the E-business programme in Bexley and Greenwich.
Find out more.

Latest news:

Read more news about the E-business programme and the local businesses we’re helping.

 

The City of London Corporation has approved plans for a major regeneration programme, which will see London’s historic wholesale markets relocated to a purpose-built site in Dagenham Dock East London, bringing thousands of jobs to the area.

On 17 November 2022, the Court of Common Council – the City Corporation’s principle decision-making body – voted to deposit a Private Bill in Parliament to relocate Billingsgate and Smithfield wholesale markets.

​The City Corporation will invest nearly one billion pounds directly into Barking and Dagenham to regenerate 42 acres of industrial land into a modern, sustainable wholesale food market, stimulating the local economy and ensuring resilience in the food supply of London and the southeast.

The new market will bring an estimated 2,700 new jobs to Barking and Dagenham and support 7,850 jobs across the UK – an increase of 1,140 (or 17%) on the jobs supported by Billingsgate and Smithfield currently.

The relocation will stimulate economic growth, generating around £14.5 billion in cumulative productivity benefits (Gross Value Added) for the UK economy to 2049.

Relocating Smithfield Market offers the opportunity to reinvigorate an historic part of the Square Mile, preserving and opening up the listed buildings for the public to enjoy. The site will become home to the new London Museum, alongside a complementary cultural and commercial offer.

The land at Canary Wharf that will be unlocked by relocating Billingsgate could provide around 2,000 new homes and other social infrastructure.

Vice Chair of Local London and Leader of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Cllr Darren Rodwell, said: 

“I’m delighted we’ve reached this next milestone for the relocation of the world-famous wholesale markets to the borough.

“London is moving east, delivering huge opportunities, like this, for new jobs and hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the local economy.

“I’m excited by plans we are working on with stakeholders for a new Good Food Economy Partnership to unlock the full opportunities from the food sector for local residents and businesses.

“This includes a pipeline for local talent with tailored training opportunities, apprenticeships and new business start-up opportunities alongside an improved and healthy food offer.”

The City Corporation owns and manages three wholesale food markets – Billingsgate Market in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, New Spitalfields Market in the London Borough of Waltham Forest and Smithfield Market in the City of London.

The City Corporation’s ambition remains to relocate New Spitalfields to Dagenham Dock alongside Billingsgate and Smithfield at a later date.

London’s wholesale markets, and many others across the country, are governed by legislation which means they can only be relocated with consent from Parliament. The deposit of a Private Bill by the City Corporation on 28 November will commence this process.

The new market at Dagenham Dock is expected to open between 2027-2028.

Chairman of the City Corporation’s Policy and Resources Committee, Chris Hayward, said:

“This is a major milestone in an ambitious programme with economic growth at its heart – something our country so clearly needs.

“Our investment in delivering modern, environmentally-sustainable wholesale markets in Barking and Dagenham will boost the economy across east London, supporting jobs, skills and training.

“The existing Smithfield Market site is at the heart of our vision for Destination City, where the new London Museum will showcase the capital’s rich culture and history to millions of visitors.

“Relocating our markets will help ease traffic and improve air quality in inner London, while unlocking land at Billingsgate for new housing.”

The City Corporation is the major funder of the new Museum of London, soon to be rebranded the London Museum, which will be one of Europe’s largest cultural projects.

More information about the City Corporation’s Markets Co-location Programme can be found here.

 

Projects in five Local London boroughs will benefit from Arts Council England’s Creative People and Places fund to make arts and culture more accessible.

Creative People and Places is a three-year programme, that will invest £38.3 million from National Lottery funding to boost access to arts and culture in areas where engagement is far lower than the national average. Creative People and Places has added 39 projects in total across the country to its 2022-25 portfolio.

Five of the six projects in the capital that were awarded this funding are in Local London.

Local London projects that will benefit from Creative People and Places funding:

1.     Barking & Dagenham | Creative Barking & Dagenham

Project partners: Studio 3 Arts (Lead), Barking and Dagenham Collective, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Barking and Dagenham College.

Creative Barking and Dagenham: with a growing network of local resident Cultural Connectors at its heart Creative Barking and Dagenham wants to see local people choosing, creating and taking part in brilliant arts and cultural experiences in the borough.

Find out more >

2.     Bexley | Three Rivers

Project partners: Peabody Trust, The Exchange Erith, TACO!, Orbit Housing.

Made in the Estuary: Three Rivers bring people together to work out how to use art to make a difference. This project will develop community run platforms such as radio stations, festivals and workshops to increase participation in the arts.

Find out more >

3.     Havering | Havering Changing

Project partners: Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch (Lead), Clarion Futures (the charitable foundation of Clarion Housing Group), Havering Colleges, Havering Interfaith Forum, Havering Volunteer Centre, Havering Youth Services and myplace, Rainham Association for Village Events (R.A.V.E.), The Mercury Shopping Centre.

Havering Changing: Havering is changing fast and this funding will be used for additional activities informed by a rapidly developing programme of innovative, community-led arts and culture happening in disconnected communities.

Find out more >

4.     Newham | World on our Doorstep

Project partners: Community Links (Lead), Caramel Rock, Faithful Friends, National Cricket League, University of East London.

World on our Doorstep: Celebrating the richness of the most culturally diverse borough in the country, World on our Doorstep places the community at the heart of decision-making around access, participation, creation and curation of arts in local spaces.

5.     Redbridge | Creative Redbridge

Project partners: Vision Redbridge, Culture & Leisure (Lead), Friends of Loxford, Muslimah Sports Association, Redbridge Council Volunteer Service, SPACE Studios, Mercarto Metropolitano.

Creative Redbridge: Creative Redbridge will build a people-led programme, using creativity to empower and enable lasting positive change with a measurable effect on people’s well-being and levels of social energy and activism.

Watch this video to find out more about the programme or visit www.artscouncil.org.uk/creativepeopleandplaces/projects

Local London member boroughs will receive a slice of the Government’s Levelling Up and UK Community Renewal Funds to support people most in need and make improvements to everyday life.

£40m to help Newham level up

Newham, a Local London borough was successful in the first round of levelling up funding announced in the Autumn Budget.

The East London borough was awarded almost £40m which is more than any other London borough for its two successful bids.

The borough will receive £19.82m for the Connecting to Opportunity programme related to the use of data and digital technologies. While £19.96m was awarded to the borough’s 15 Minute Neighbourhoods. Both are designed to help rebalance inequalities.

The Government’s £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund supports infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, including regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets.

GLA awarded almost £3.79m for skills, employment and business pilot schemes

The GLA was awarded almost £3.79 million in the Government’s recent UK Community Renewal Funding announcement.

The Community Renewal Fund will help local areas prepare for the launch of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2022. This £220 million funding is designed to support people most in need across the UK through pilot programmes and new approaches, that invest in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment.

The GLA won funding to support six projects, including £520k for ‘Unlocking green economy opportunities in the south of Newham’ and over £797k for Barking and Dagenham’s ‘Green skills, green jobs (expanding employment support into green industries)’ bid.

This is a significant boost for East London’s green economy, and will support the predicted boom in green jobs in the capital, and the region, within the next 10 years.

A region left behind

A report by independent think-tank, Localis, called for government to help Local London boroughs in the capital ‘level up’ to deliver its full potential.

The report argued that Government needed masterplan investment to fulfil the immense potential of East London – a sub-region which has more in common with ‘left behind’ parts of the country than the rest of the capital.

Recent Government announcements are a welcome step towards helping the region level up but much more needs to be done.

Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date with developments in Local London.

 

A Thames Freeport involving East London will be created generating thousands of new jobs and generating millions of pounds of investment.

In today’s Budget Statement, Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed that freeports will be located at East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe and Harwich, the Humber region, the Liverpool City Region, Plymouth, Solent, Thames and Teesside.

A bidding consortium involving Ford Dagenham in East London and the owners of Tilbury and London Gateway ports in Thurrock joined forces with Thames Enterprise Park to submit a freeport application to Government. Today’s announcement is a shot-in-the-arm for the region as it recovers from the pandemic.

Freeports are zones where normal tax and customs rules are changed to encourage economic activity. Freeport status also offers wider benefits for businesses such as planning reforms, funding for infrastructure improvements and innovation incentives.

Ford is expected to use the benefits of freeport status to explore new business opportunities including further electric vehicle production,

Welcoming the announcement, Cllr Darren Rodwell, Chairman of Local London and Leader of Barking & Dagenham Council, said: “As diesel engine production ends in 2030, the decision to give the Thames Freeport the go ahead will help secure jobs using greener more sustainable technology on the Dagenham Ford site.

“This complements our own efforts to create more new jobs alongside a new film studio and the three markets of London, as London continues to grow eastwards.”

Local London sits on the Thames Estuary Growth Board, which has campaigned for freeport status.

Kate Willard OBE, the Thames Estuary Envoy, and Chair of Thames Estuary Growth Board, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been selected as a freeport location. We believe that the Thames Estuary is the right place to have freeport status, and are so pleased that the Government thinks so too.

“Getting a freeport is an essential part of the Estuary’s recovery and will help it to level-up at this crucial moment in time, post-Brexit and post-Covid. The Thames freeport will unlock £400 million of port investment in deprived areas and create more than 25,000 quality jobs, with significant investment in upskilling opportunities.

“The Thames Freeport that DP World, Forth Ports, Ford Dagenham and Thames Enterprise Park will deliver will be a pioneering, world-class freeport, and a magnet for inward investment.”

The Thames Freeport will have wide-ranging benefits for local communities with new jobs, up-skilling opportunities and investment in infrastructure. They include:

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For Local London press enquiries please contact Paul Morris, Head of Communications and Public Affairs, by email paul.morris@redbridge.gov.uk

Movers and Shakers

Movers and shakers is our new profile series spotlighting people in East London who are working to grow our region.

In our first interview, we spoke to Lisa Dee, who has led the charge on making Barking and Dagenham one of the UK’s most desirable filming locations. In 2022, a new film studio will go live in Dagenham generating £35 million annually for the local economy and create 1,200 jobs. The project is a game-changer and cements East London as the new home of UK film.

You lead Barking and Dagenham’s film business ‘Film LBBD’. How did that come about?

I’ve been at Barking and Dagenham Council since 2009 and originally worked as a Marketing Officer. We were getting a handful of filming enquires at that same, and I suggested it was something we should explore further. This was around the time of the credit crunch and councils were being challenged to find ways of generating income amidst restructuring and cost-cutting. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial ethic in my life and work, and thought this was an untapped opportunity.

I was also a single mother at that time when jobs were at risk, so I wanted to make sure my son and I had a secure future and out of that was born a new creative direction for the council. I approached my manager at the time about it and she was supportive in allowing me to run with the project. In 2012, we had 4 filming days in the borough. Last year, we had 300.

Filming isn’t your background. How have you built the company from nothing?

It’s taken a lot of hard work and a lot of long days. Support from partners like Film London, fantastic location managers (too many to name) and I had a great mentor in David Shepherd who is now the film commissioner for Vancouver. I was determined to make it work and that’s the beauty of the film and TV world, it allows you to evolve and be creative and welcomed me with open arms for which I am very grateful. We had to create a location portfolio to promote, so that meant scoping out the council’s estate and also looking at what was available in the private sector that would be attractive to film companies.

Once you have that, you need to sell it and that meant networking with location managers, producers and others in the industry. Some were dismissive about east London.  Film making is very west London-centric, so we had to dangle some carrots. We had some great locations, easy parking, wide roads, and would pull out all the stops and be helpful. In the early days, we had an empty magistrates’ court and that was a gem for us. So many dramas and films have courtroom scenes, so that worked well. Five years down the line, I was allowed to bring in someone to help me by way of the fantastic Jayne Baumback, because it was really starting to take off. The fact we get so many return productions now is testament to the fact our set up works.

We now work closely with other boroughs, like Redbridge, to manage some of their assets and partnership working has been important to support our neighbouring boroughs. Our locations portfolio in East London offers everything from beautiful historic grounds and architecture, like Eastbury Manor, Valentines House, Valence House and the Dagenham Civic Centre, through to industrial settings such as warehouses and science parks, and docks and modern riverfront spaces such as Barking Riverside. It’s a film maker’s heaven!

How does Film LBBD give back to the local community?

Giving back is really important to us and we’re uniquely positioned to do that. We have embedded social value targets alongside our commercial targets from the beginning. For example, we provide aspiring student film makers with free locations, and that has led to some brilliant material. A group of German students made a really powerful film about blood cancer with the message to encourage BAME communities to donate blood. We also provide advice and help, especially around certain rules or protocols around filming. For example, we’ve had young film makers who want to have a weapon on set as part of their story but don’t know how to get permission and could fall foul of the law otherwise. We’ve also advised film makers on how to engage with our local businesses and residents. That type of thing.

The other element is education. We want to create pathways between our local education partners  and studios so local young people get opportunities. There is one young man who we placed on a film set as a marshal and by day 4 he was promoted to production assistant. That led to other roles and he has now worked on loads of films – which was testament to his East London go-get-it attitude, which paid off for him. We simply gave him the in-road he needed, and we look to do that on a macro level with the studios.

How have local communities reacted to Barking and Dagenham  becoming London’s Hollywood?

Our communities have been really interested and rarely, if ever, had any complaints. I think in some other inner London boroughs, local people can sometimes see it as an unwanted disruption , but people here so far, are just excited about it. The older people here see the opportunities for their grandchildren, especially with the film studio. It will create a whole new range of jobs behind the scenes as well as in front of the camera; production office work, media law, accountancy, marketing,  the trades in terms of carpenters, electricians and plumbers, lots of roles with transferable skills.

With the planned new studio and confirmation of a major backer last month, the future for East London’s fledgling film industry looks bright, is this a game changer?

This is a massive game changer. The borough has a rich history of making things and to coin a phrase from our good leader Cllr Darren Rodwell, “We will now be known for making films not cars”. Every production that makes their film here will be stamped with the ‘Made in Dagenham badge’ and that’s truly something to be proud of. The studio will be the anchor point for a number of other studios coming online soon along the Thames Estuary Corridor, like Ashford Studios Purfleet and the existing 3 Mills Studios in Bow.

As London is moving a lot of work east, we are finding more crew and production workers are living in east, south-east and north London areas, so we’re on their doorstep, which makes Dagenham studios a great geographical fit for the existing and the next generation of crew and creatives. It will cut down journey times and promote an improved work/life balance for them too. For local people, there’s obviously jobs and opportunities. They’ll be able to say: ‘I’ve worked on a major feature film in the place I’ve grown up’. This will be simply amazing.

What has been the most challenging film project you’ve worked on?

The challenges aren’t usually anything to do with production. I’ve learned so much about the art of the possible with film making. The studios just make it happen, which is really inspiring and I am like a sponge learning and absorbing it all every day. The diversity side has picked up too, but there is still a way to go, and we want to be force for change here and we fantastic opportunity to do so. There are now more female leaders in senior roles. The challenges are usually around legalities and the expectations can be quite complex, especially with the bigger studios. Our legal team at Barking and Dagenham have become very au fait with media law. I’m sure it wasn’t what they signed up for when they joined the council!

Secret Cinema was a challenging yet a career highlight project to stage. They recreated the sets from the Bond movie Casino Royale and people bought tickets to the show.  Bond has a cult following and it’s called ‘secret’ Cinema because they don’t know where the event takes place. They are only told which train station to go to and are directed from there. People get dressed up as Bond characters and pretend they’re in the movie. In one set you can be in Madagascar, in the next you’re in a casino. That generated 120,000 visitors to Dagenham in just a few months and was a huge placemaking boost for the area as many of the audience have probably never stepped foot in Dagenham so it was great to be a part of welcoming to our fantastic borough.

It would be amiss not to mention lockdown! How has COVID-19 impacted the film industry?

We are lucky that now under the guidance of the British Film Institute’s Covid-19 protocols 85% of the film and TV industry have been able to return to work. It’s been a challenging time adapting to the new way of working but essential for us all to return safely and create the essential content everyone is waiting to watch!

Have you ever been star struck?

To be honest, I don’t always recognise famous people on set. The only time I was really star struck was when Richard Gere filmed in Dagenham. His son is a big West Ham fan, so next time he’s in town we’ll be sure to try and arrange a visit to the Irons. Oh, and Chris Hemsworth and I had a slight flutter then, only slight mind ha!

Find out more

You can find out more about film lbbd by visiting their website www.filmlbbd.com and their Twitter and Instagram accounts @filmlbbd

MSQ Partners, a leading UK marketing communications group, has been appointed to deliver wide-ranging communications support to the Thames Estuary.

The Group will support an ambitious vision to unlock the potential of the Thames Estuary region – which includes parts of London, Essex and Kent.

The long-term goal is to generate thousands of new jobs; hundreds of new houses; new transport and digital infrastructure and contribute billions of pounds to the economy by 2050.

The Government has set up a dedicated Thames Estuary Growth Board to drive this work forward and appointed Kate Willard, as Thames Estuary Envoy, to lead it.

Ahead of publication of the Board’s first plan later this year, MSQ Partners have been appointed to deliver wide-ranging communications support to generate domestic and international interest in the region to encourage investment and support.

Their commission, following a competitive tendering exercise, includes provision of campaign development, media relations and content, website development, film making and brand design. The work will be provided through a joined-up team, bringing together two of MSQ’s specialist agency capabilities – Lloyd Northover and Smarts.

Kate Willard, Thames Estuary Envoy, said: “We are thrilled to appoint MSQ. Communicating our vision for the Estuary and generating momentum around our place-making story will be vital from the outset. MSQ pitched a high-quality proposal to us demonstrating a razor-sharp understanding of our brief backed up by a strong technical offer and a real desire to deliver a brilliant project. They will be an excellent partner to the Thames Estuary.”

Simon Ward, the project lead at MSQ (and CEO of Lloyd Northover), said: “The work that the Thames Estuary Growth Board is planning is ambitious, bold and will deliver high impact results for the area. We are proud to be part of the work that helps achieve their goals. We have a history of taking on – and delivering on – complex, multi-stakeholder briefs, and we’re excited to put our skills into practice with Thames Estuary.”