Chetwoods’ London market plans heading to parliament this month

Plans to relocate London’s historic wholesale food markets to a single combined site in Dagenham will go to Parliament for final sign off later this month.

The City of London Corporation voted last week to deposit a private bill in Parliament to seek approval for the £1bn Chetwoods-designed scheme, which will combine Smithfield, Billingsgate and New Spitalfields markets.

The capital’s wholesale markets, and many others across the country, are governed by legislation which means they can only be relocated with consent from Parliament. The deposit of a private bill by the City Corporation on 29 November will start the process.

The 42-acre brownfield site, chosen for its rail and river links, is the former home of Barking Reach Power Station, now known as Dagenham Dock. The scheme was given planning approval last year and is expected to open between 2027 and 2028.

“I’m delighted we’ve reached this next milestone for the relocation of the world-famous wholesale markets to the borough,” leader of Barking and Dagenham council Darren Rodwell said.

“London is moving east, delivering huge opportunities, like this, for new jobs and hundreds of millions of pounds of investment into the local economy.”

The City said the relocation of Smithfield Market, which has operated from the site since at least the 12th century, will offer an opportunity to reinvigorate a historic part of the Square Mile.

The Corporation is the major funder of the new Museum of London, which will move from its current home near the Barbican to occupy the Smithfield Market buildings. This is due to be built by Sir Robert McAlpine under a construction management deal.

The Studio Egret West-designed plans for the buildings were granted outline approval in 2020 and are due to open to the public in 2024. Others working on the project are heritage architects Donald Insall Associates, Alan Baxter Associates, Max Fordham, Greengage, Spiers and Major, PT Projects, Deloitte, Iceni, and This Must Be The Place, specialists in “meanwhile uses”. Hawkins Brown was appointed to design the public realm.

Billingsgate, the UK’s largest inland fish market, moved from the City to the Isle of Dogs in 1982. New Spitalfields, which specialises in fruit and vegetables, moved from Spitalfields to Leyton in 1991.