Historic Smithfield Market’s new site set to be Barking Reach
The preferred choice for the new location for Smithfield Market has been revealed as Barking Reach in East London.
The 800 year old meat market, along with Billingsgate and Spitalfields will move under the proposals presented by the Court of Common Council, which is the City of London Corporation’s decision making body.
The move, which has been on the cards for many years, still requires a private bill to be passed by Parliament, which will be the next move.
Policy chair at the City of London Corporation, Catherine McGuiness, said: “The City’s three world-leading wholesale food markets at Billingsgate, New Spitalfields and Smithfield have been serving our citizens for hundreds of years, and we are committed to their future for London.
“In order to secure their continued success, and after careful consideration of a number of options, Barking Reach has today been agreed as the preferred site for consolidating the City Corporation’s wholesale markets. We intend to use this new site to offer more modern facilities and space for traders to grow so that they can continue to support the capital’s food economy.
“We will soon be launching a public consultation on our preferred option. As part of this process, we will continue to engage with market tenants, traders and their customers, and other key stakeholders across London.
“Our number one priority is to maintain a top-quality market environment serving London.”
Smithfield Market has a proud history and is the only one of London’s three main markets to still be in its original location.
Over the years it has undergone many changes. Renamed as London Central Markets officialy in 2013 its Victorian buildings, the external market, we see today, were designed in the 1860s by Sir Horace Jones.
It has risen from tragedy including the Blitz during the Second World War and a major fire in 1958.
800 years of history look set to take a new turn for one of the landmarks of the British and London meat industry.
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