Two of London’s oldest and most traditional food markets, Smithfield and Billingsgate, are set to start a new chapter in the Docklands after the City of London Corporation confirmed Albert Island as their future location.
The decision marks a dramatic U-turn after both markets appeared to be facing closure last year when rising costs forced the company to abandon a £740 million move to Dagenham. At the time, traders feared that the historic meat and fish centers that have supplied London for more than eight centuries would be completely lost.
Instead, the company has now identified a 10-hectare brownfield site at the Royal Docks next to London City Airport, providing a lifeline for traders and preserving a piece of the capital’s commercial heritage. The move is subject to planning approval by Newham Council and the passage of a private bill by Parliament to repeal laws that legally bind both markets to their current locations.
The company estimates the project will generate £750 million of local economic activity and create around 2,200 jobs in one of London’s most deprived boroughs. Plans for Albert Island also include a new Thames shipyard, a marina and other redevelopment initiatives.
Greg Lawrence, chairman of the Smithfield Market Traders’ Association, welcomed the news, calling it a “significant step forward” for the industry.
“This location provides retailers with the space and opportunity to grow our business while serving customers across London and the South East.”
For traders who have been in the markets for generations, the announcement ends months of fear and uncertainty. Many had feared a permanent closure would destroy long-standing supply chains and devastate independent fishmongers and butchers across the capital.
At the beginning of the year, the group faced heavy criticism from retailers and restaurants who warned that closing the stores without replacement would cause irreversible damage. Fishmongers at Hackney’s Ridley Road Market, many of whom shop daily in Billingsgate, publicly warned that the loss of the wholesale site would put them out of business.
Alicia Weston, founder of food poverty charity Bags of Taste and spokesperson for the fishmongers, said the new site was “the best we could have hoped for”.
“It was absolutely important to the fishmongers that there should be a replacement market. Albert Island is not far from the current location and offers the traders an opportunity.”
Smithfield has operated near Farringdon for over 800 years and has become one of the oldest continuously operating markets in the world. Two of its buildings will be converted into the new London Museum, scheduled to open in 2026.
Billingsgate moved to its current location next to Canary Wharf in 1982 and has long been earmarked for conversion into housing as part of a wider redevelopment.
Despite lower volumes compared to their pre-supermarket heyday, an independent report concluded that the two markets still supply around 10% of all meat and fish consumption in London and the South East, underlining their continued importance to the region’s food economy.
The company said dealers will be able to remain in their current locations until at least 2028, allowing time for construction on Albert Island and finalizing agreements with developers. The new New Smithfield and New Billingsgate complexes will also include a food school and continue training programs to support future generations of traders.
Chris Hayward, political chairman of the City of London Corporation, described the move as “undeniable progress” but admitted the project was still at an early stage.
