Plans to relocate Smithfield market approved by City Corporation
The City of London Corporation has approved plans to relocate Smithfield and Billingsgate markets to Barking and Dagenham.
The Court of Common Council – the City Corporation’s principle decision-making body – voted to deposit a Private Bill in Parliament to relocate both wholesale markets.
The Corporation said it will invest nearly one billion pounds directly into Barking and Dagenham to regenerate 42 acres of industrial land into a modern, sustainable wholesale food market, stimulating the local economy and ensuring resilience in the food supply of London and the southeast.
The new market will bring an estimated 2,700 new jobs to Barking and Dagenham and support 7,850 jobs across the UK – an increase of 1,140 (or 17%) on the jobs supported by Billingsgate and Smithfield currently.
The relocation is anticipated to stimulate economic growth, generating around £14.5 billion in cumulative productivity benefits (Gross Value Added) for the UK economy to 2049.
The current Smithfield site will become home to the new London Museum, alongside a complementary cultural and commercial offer.
Greg Lawrence, chairman of Smithfield Market Tenants’ Association, told the Islington Tribune: “I’ll be very, very, very, very sad. I joined here in 1966 when I was a teenager – 16 – and I’ve built up businesses on the market. I’m a liveryman in the City of London. I am a freeman of the City of London. It’s all I’ve ever known. And everyone will be sad because it’s a wonderful place to work.
“The characters are what make it a wonderful place – it’s like no other place you’ll ever work in your life. Seriously. It’s fun for people to come to work every single day. We will just miss it. Your life revolves around it because of the hours you do. It will be very sad but you have to move on; if it was a landlord you could say this is the time to move. Down in Barking there’s no Congestion Charge.”
Comments on social media, following the announcement included former National Craft Butchers CEO, Roger Kelsey who said: “An art to survive Smithfield’s culture and social environment???…….” Immediate past master of the Worshipful Company of Butchers, Margaret Boanas added: “Mixed emotions, as someone with fond memories of moving to Smithfield in 1978.”
The land at Canary Wharf that will be unlocked by relocating Billingsgate could provide around 2,000 new homes and other social infrastructure.
Chairman of the City Corporation’s Policy and Resources Committee, Chris Hayward, said: “This is a major milestone in an ambitious programme with economic growth at its heart – something our country so clearly needs.
“Our investment in delivering modern, environmentally-sustainable wholesale markets in Barking and Dagenham will boost the economy across east London, supporting jobs, skills and training.
“The existing Smithfield Market site is at the heart of our vision for Destination City, where the new London Museum will showcase the capital’s rich culture and history to millions of visitors.
“Relocating our markets will help ease traffic and improve air quality in inner London, while unlocking land at Billingsgate for new housing.”
The new market at Dagenham Dock is expected to open between 2027-2028.
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