London’s Smithfield Market to close after 900 years
A vote has sealed the fate of the market, but legal experts say the plan may be unlawful — as City of London Corporation plans to pay traders millions in compensation
by Andy Silvester
Smithfield, the capital’s oldest meat market, is to close — bringing to an end 900 years of trading on the historic site.
The fate of both Smithfield and Billingsgate fish market, in Canary Wharf, was sealed during a private vote by the governing body of their owner and operator, the City of London Corporation, on Tuesday afternoon.
The Corporation had previously planned to relocate both markets to a new site in Dagenham, in the capital’s eastern suburbs.
However, owing to cost overruns, the court approved a new plan to scrap the £1 billion relocation plan but close the market regardless.