Ford Dagenham

Ford Dagenham is a major automotive factory located in Dagenham, London, United Kingdom operated by the Ford of Britain subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. The plant opened in 1931 and has produced 10,980,368 cars and over 37,000,000 engines in its history. It covers around 475 acres and has received over £800 million of capital investment since the year 2000.

Vehicle assembly ceased at the plant in 2002 but it continues as a major production site with capacity to assemble 1.4 million engines a year. In 2008 the plant produced around 1,050,000 engines and was the largest producer of Ford diesel engines globally. It was announced in October 2012 that the stamping plant at Dagenham would close in Summer 2013 with the loss of 1,000 jobs. Employment at the plant peaked at around 40,000 workers in 1953, and following specialisation to engines only will be approximately 3,200.

History

Origins to 1945

Planning of the Dagenham plant began in the early 1920s, a time when lorries were small and road networks little developed. In the UK bulk supplies were still delivered by water transport, so the Dagenham plant, like the Ford Trafford Park plant which it would replace, needed good water access. Dagenham on the southern estuarial edge of Essex offered the prospect of a deep water port which would allow for bulk deliveries of coal and steel on a far larger scale than the barges of the Manchester Ship Canal could manage at the old plant. In 1924 Ford Motor Company purchased land in the Dagenham marshes for £167,700.

Dagenham

Coordinates: 51°32′23″N 0°08′32″E / 51.5397°N 0.1422°E / 51.5397; 0.1422

Dagenham is a large suburb of east London, England. It forms part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and is located approximately 11.5 miles (18.5 km) east of Charing Cross and around 9.5 miles (15.2 km) east of the City of London. Historically in Essex, it was an agrarian village and remained mostly undeveloped until 1921, when the London County Council began construction of the large Becontree estate. The population of the area significantly increased during the 20th century, with the parish of Dagenham becoming an urban district in 1926 and a municipal borough in 1938. It has formed part of Greater London since 1965 and is a predominantly residential area, with some areas of declining industrial activity, including the Ford Dagenham plant. The southern part of Dagenham is also known as South Romford and is also adjacent to the River Thames, forms part of the London Riverside section of the Thames Gateway redevelopment area. Dagenham had a population of 43,362 in 2011.

Dagenham (UK Parliament constituency)

Dagenham was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament that elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It was replaced at the 2010 general election largely by Dagenham and Rainham.

Boundaries

1945-1974: The Municipal Borough of Dagenham.

1974-1983: The London Borough of Barking wards of Chadwell Heath, Eastbrook, Fanshawe, Heath, River, Valence and Village.

1983-2010: The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham wards of Alibon, Chadwell Heath, Eastbrook, Fanshawe, Heath, Marks Gate, River, Triptons, Valence and Village.

Boundary review

Following their review of parliamentary representation in North London, the Boundary Commission for England have created a new constituency of Dagenham and Rainham.

History

Before 1945 this Dagenham and surrounds area was part of the Romford constituency.

The MP for the predecessor seat since 1935, Labour's John Parker, stood again on each occasion in this smaller successor area, representing it until 1983. Parker was the last serving MP to have been elected before the Second World War, and with 48 years in Parliament, remains the longest-serving Labour MP in history.