New London local news site: Barking and Dagenham Star goes live

Social Spider Community News has launched the Barking and Dagenham Star, a new website dedicated to covering the London borough of Barking and Dagenham. This marks Social Spider’s sixth borough-wide publication, joining titles like Waltham Forest Echo and Enfield Dispatch.

The new site was created after Social Spider secured a BBC Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) contract for East London, which led to the hiring of reporter Nick Clark, whose reporting about Barking and Dagenham was not being published elsewhere. The launch of the Star ensures local residents have access to this reporting — especially ahead of May’s local elections.

Initially, the Star will focus on publishing LDRS stories and a handful of local news updates, with plans to expand coverage as resources grow. Social Spider’s leadership says the move is a low-cost way to make sure important local journalism reaches the community.

Barking and Dagenham Star is now live at barkingstar.co.uk.

This article was drafted by an AI assistant before it was edited by a human.