City of London Corporation Pauses Smithfield Market Relocation Plan
- Traders at Smithfield market are uncertain about their future following a pause in relocation plans.
- The City of London Corporation aims to develop the current Smithfield site into an arts and cultural hub.
- The decision will impact the wholesale market's move to Dagenham and leave traders in limbo.
Traders at the historic Smithfield meat market in London are facing uncertainty as their planned move to a new development has been halted. The City of London Corporation, which owns the market, was set to relocate the wholesale market to a new site in Dagenham by 2028. This relocation was part of a broader plan that also involved moving the Billingsgate fish market to the Dagenham site and converting the existing area into a mixed-use housing project. However, the corporation has now decided to pause this £1 billion project and instead focus on transforming the Smithfield site into an arts and cultural hub. The market traders are now left in limbo as they await further developments regarding their future and the fate of the existing market site.