Bus tours to see Dagenham film studios and council housing

Everyday council housing estates are being included as “tourist attractions” with bus tours that take in prestigious film studios in Dagenham and the new Barking Riverside neighbourhood.

The tours are being laid on to showcase award-winning housing developments like the Gascoigne neighbourhood and the House for Artists complex in Barking town centre which recently topped the London region design awards by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The tours organised by Barking and Dagenham Council’s Be First urban regeneration company take in the six soundstages of the Wharf movie studios to be joined by another 12 at Dagenham’s Eastbrook complex, the largest studios to be built in the UK in 25 years, and the country’s only freeport with new rail, river and road connections at Barking Riverside.

“The area has become a phenomenal blueprint for the regeneration industry,” Be First’s development director David Harley said. “So we’re keen to show people what has been achieved so far.”

The area is full of surprises and this bus tour will reveal how we’re using the past to inspire our future.”

The “tourists” are being shown the rich historical backdrop with places like Barking Abbey built in 666AD and Eastbury Manor House completed in 1573.

The local authority aims to cultivate the area’s rich history by attracting more artisans and creatives with cheap housing and working space to rent.

It wants to establish Barking and Dagenham as “the most affordable London borough” with 50,000 new homes and 20,000 new jobs planned by 2037.

Council leader Darren Rodwell claims: “This is the most special place in the country. We are London’s gateway to the global economy, building the UK’s first technology hub, building thousands of homes and attracting more than £4billion in investment prestigious film studios in Dagenham — and that’s just in the last five years.

“We’re looking forward to showing this to people on these bus tours.”

Three new major transport network links were completed last year alone, the new Elizabeth Line through Chadwell Heath and the Overground rail extension and Thames Clippers’ new pier at Barking Riverside.

Bus tours have been scheduled throughout the summer, with the first taking place on May 30.

They start at Barking Town Hall at 10am and last two-and-a-half hours. Places can be booked online at eventbrite.co.uk/event/barking-dagenham-bus-tour-join-us-for-a-whistle-stop-tour-and-see-it-all-tickets-639308999427