End Of An Era: City Of London Axes Smithfield And Billingsgate Plans Amid Cost Row

The City of London Corporation has officially abandoned its long-term plan to relocate Smithfield meat market and Billingsgate fish market to Dagenham Dock, opting instead to end its role as landlord and compensate traders to vacate their existing sites.

When first announced in April 2019, the plan to co-locate Smithfield, Billingsgate and New Spitalfields onto 42 acres at Dagenham Dock was hailed as a forward-looking move. Catherine McGuinness, then chair of the City’s policy and resources committee, declared the chosen site a “number one priority” for preserving “a top-quality market environment serving London.” James Tumbridge, chair of the markets committee, described it as “another positive step forward” for London’s food infrastructure.

By November 2022, the project was formally approved, with the City committing “nearly one billion pounds” to regenerate the site as a wholesale food hub for London and the southeast—with an opening goal before the end of 2028. However, in November 2024, the Corporation announced the scheme had been abandoned. It also revealed plans to close Smithfield and Billingsgate altogether, pledging support to help traders find new sites.

What went wrong

Chris Hayward, current leader of the Corporation, said the original estimate of “around £600 million” had “ended up at about a billion pounds,” driven by construction inflation. Continuing would have required “selling a substantial chunk of our investment properties,” which he rejected—“You can only sell the family silver once.”

Hayward emphasised that the move was not forced upon traders: “They said to us, very politely but very firmly, the time has come when we no longer really want you as our landlord, we want to do our own thing.” Traders at both markets, he added, had long expressed a desire for modern premises and greater autonomy.

Compensation, de-marketisation, and the City’s vision

Theresa Grant, an independent consultant brought in by the Corporation in 2024, prepared a report recommending that the City support compensation payments to Smithfield and Billingsgate traders, enabling them to relocate independently. The report urged a new Private Bill to Parliament to “de-marketise” the sites, freeing former market property for redevelopment for housing at Billingsgate and cultural use at Smithfield.

Grant’s proposal estimates that the new approach could realise around 63 percent of the “gross value added” originally anticipated by the relocation plan, while ending the City’s ongoing liability and risk as operator of the markets. The report suggests that large cash-outs to traders would secure their backing and help avoid punitive compensation demands in Parliament.

Voices from the markets

Trader reaction has mixed pragmatism with regret. Tony Lyons, chair of the London Fish Merchants’ Association, said: “When we heard that Dagenham wasn’t going ahead, it was the worst news we have had for years. We thought we were going to be there for hundreds of years, and it got pulled from under our feet.”

Greg Lawrence, of the Smithfield Market Tenants’ Association, said: “There’s no one going to be sadder than me, because I’ve been there all my life, since I was 16 and I’m quite emotional about it.” He added: “I think it will be better, really… make no mistake, we’re not silly people, we know this is the best for the tenants and I can understand it’s the best for the City as well.”

Critics remain uneasy about the process and implications. Peter Acton, who launched a petition opposing the closures, warned of risks to heritage and food security. Some City insiders argued that the governance was opaque and that key decisions were rushed or poorly scrutinised.

What’s next

The Corporation has already submitted the Private Bill (on 27 November 2024) and it had its first reading in the Commons on 22 January. The bill is nearing committee stage. Meanwhile, Smithfield's historic general and poultry market buildings, and Billingsgate in Poplar, are now set for de-marketisation and redevelopment under the City’s wider Destination City strategy.

For Chris Hayward, the withdrawal from wholesale markets accompanies a wider “renaissance period” for the Square Mile. He points to a 25 percent increase in jobs since Covid and claims demand for new office development is outstripping supply. But for many, the departure of Smithfield and Billingsgate marks an end of an epoch in London’s civic and commercial fabric.

Read more from OnLondon