Barking and Dagenham businessman to run for Council after car park row

Barking and Dagenham businessman to run for Council after car park row
Credit: barkinganddagenhampost.co.uk, pjmc.com

Barking and Dagenham (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A Barking and Dagenham business owner says he will run for council in the next election after anger at his business being hit by a local car park’s closure.

Born in 1988 at Rush Green Hospital, Sam Dear first resided in Maxey Road before transferring to the Alibon ward at the age of eight, where he has stayed ever since.

Having worked at Robertson’s Fishing Tackle on Oxlow Lane since he was sixteen, he took over the store early this year.

His business was “dying” after the Wantz Road parking lot closed in November of last year, so he and a friend just opened a tattoo parlor in the back of the store to make up for the lost revenue.

Sam said:

“My life has been turned upside down – and it shouldn’t be allowed to happen to anyone else.

To be honest, the thought (of running as a local councillor) came out of anger and wanting to put things right.

Your area should be tidy and safe – they’re the necessities and they’re what need to be ticked off before worrying about anything else.”

He also confirmed that he will be running as an independent candidate in Alibon ward with no affiliation to any political party.

“I think it’s time for the residents to stand up and do a job because this is our town and we’re the ones who will benefit from the improvements,

he said.

“I hope more and more people stand up – I don’t care if they do it for the reds, blues or yellows but it needs the input from the people who live here.

If I’m walking around and I see the local green looks a mess, it’s not hard to grab a bag and a litter picker so I’ll go and do that. I just want to run the ward properly, make sure bins are collected on time, make sure there’s not fly tipping everywhere and make sure crime isn’t through the roof.”

Sam said he wants to increase the community spirit in the ward.

“I also want to get people together and have community days,”

he said.

“We need to talk to each other – we’ve got people of all races here and we all live in Dagenham and it’s great.

We need someone to say ‘we’re not all on our own, let’s join together and make things a bit better’ and then see how that goes.”

Local elections are scheduled for May 2026.

According to Barking and Dagenham Council, the election notice will be posted in March of the following year, and nominations for candidates will be accepted starting the day after the notice is published and ending on April 9.

The announcement will be posted on the council’s website under the voting and elections section.

“What’s happened to me has happened but I can’t let it happen again because it’s not fair.

I’ve got to put things right while I can otherwise I’m going to regret it for the rest of my life.

I’m not saying I have all the answers but the people around here will have the answers if we work together.”

A council spokesperson said:

“We understand the pressures local businesses are facing and are committed to doing what we can to support them in the backdrop of a challenging financial climate.

We’re currently in ongoing conversations with the business owner to explore the support available.”

What is the council’s official reason for closing the car park?

The typical formal explanations councils give for car park closures are safety issues regarding the structural integrity; they believe it is too financially burdensome to fix; or, simply, it is a matter of aligning with planning strategies for or aspects of urban redevelopment or air quality improvement.

In specific examples, councils have closed car parks following engineering reports, as a safety risk exists, part of the upper levels or the entire car park is closed, then parking space is restricted, as a means to prevent a possible accident while they take their time to decide whether to demolition it entirely or refurbish the closing levels.

Another formal context is if the car park closure is going to coincide with redesigning the road network to improve air quality, as in car park regulatory closures where the council is part of wider traffic and environmental plans to maintain efficiency.