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Having been filling the rumbling tummies of hungry Londoners for the best part of a millennium, Smithfield and Billingsgate Markets are two vital cogs in the capital city‘s machine. And so the news of their potential closure was met with some disappointment last year, to say the least. But things are looking up, folks.
This week, the City of London Corporation (who currently operate both markets) revealed that they had been scheming and planning alongside the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Newham Council over the past year to find a new home for the historic markets. And the prospective new site for their relocation has just been confirmed.
The new site in question is a 25-acre unoccupied plot of land near London City Airport. Albert Island is the name of the site, and it’s perched at the eastern end of the Royal Docks in Newham and owned by the GLA.
Credit: City of London Corporation Smithfield Market and Billingsgate Market
Smithfield Market is the oldest wholesale meat market in the UK. The market in its current form has been trading since the 1860s, but its roots date all the way back to the medieval period. Billingsgate Market is the largest inland fish market in the country, and has origins that date back over 1000 years. The current Smithfield Market site is being transformed into a cultural space (complete with the new London Museum), and the Billingsgate site is being turned into flats.
It’s been estimated that the relocation of both markets could generate around £750 million in local expenditure and create over 2,200 jobs. According to the City of London Corporation, most traders have agreed to move to the new site, which could be up and running by 2028. The relocated markets would be named New Billingsgate and New Smithfield.
The move is yet to be confirmed, and there are still a fair few hoops that’ll need to be jumped through before anything is set in stone. Planning permission from Newham Council will need to be granted, and a Parliamentary Bill to cease trading will need to be secured, too.
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Chairman of Smithfield Markets Traders’ Association, Greg Lawrence, said: “Identifying a preferred new site marks a significant step forward – and we’re well ahead of where we thought we’d be by Christmas. This location offers Traders the space and opportunity to grow our businesses while continuing to serve customers across London and the South East.”
Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, said: “Billingsgate and Smithfield are two of the great historic markets that have been feeding Londoners for hundreds of years, and internationally renowned. For Newham to potentially be the new home for the markets over at our majestic Royal Docks would be a great honour and testament to the vision we have for our borough as a place to do business and drive inclusive growth.”