Two of the capital’s oldest food markets are set to close after the City of London Corporation agreed to pull out of running them.
Plans had been made to relocate Smithfield and Billingsgate markets to a new site at Dagenham Dock, but the corporation has now said the move is unaffordable.
There has been a market on the site of Smithfield for more than 800 years, and it is now the largest wholesale meat market in the UK and one of the largest in Europe.
Billingsgate Market is the UK’s largest inland fish market.
The City of London Corporation said it would support traders financially with relocating and was ‘actively supporting’ them to find new sites.
It will deposit a Bill in Parliament today in a bid to end its responsibilities to operate markets at the sites, although they will keep running until at least 2028.
The corporation's policy chairman, Chris Hayward, said: ‘This decision represents a positive new chapter for Smithfield and Billingsgate markets in that it empowers traders to build a sustainable future in premises that align with their long-term business goals.’
Barking and Dagenham leader Dominic Twomey said the news was ‘disappointing’ but the council understood the financial pressures the relocation project was facing.
