{"id":9979,"date":"2024-11-27T06:35:06","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T06:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/?p=9979"},"modified":"2024-11-27T00:50:32","modified_gmt":"2024-11-27T00:50:32","slug":"smithfield-market-to-close-after-900-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/smithfield-market-to-close-after-900-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Smithfield Market to Close After 900 Years of Iconic Trade \u2013 The End of an Era"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Smithfield Market, one of\u00a0<strong>London\u2019s<\/strong>\u00a0oldest trading sites, is set to close after nearly\u00a0<strong>900 years<\/strong>\u00a0of operation. This decision, made by the\u00a0<strong>City of London Corporation<\/strong>, marks the end of a chapter for a historic institution central to the capital\u2019s\u00a0<strong>meat trade<\/strong>\u00a0for centuries.<\/p>\n<h2>Controversy Erupts Over Smithfield Market\u2019s Future<\/h2>\n<p>The\u00a0<strong>City of London Corporation<\/strong>\u00a0sealed Smithfield Market\u2019s fate during a private vote. Initially, the Corporation had planned to relocate the market to\u00a0<strong>Dagenham<\/strong>, in east London, but escalating costs forced the abandonment of the\u00a0<strong>\u00a31 billion<\/strong>\u00a0relocation scheme. Instead, the market will close, with traders receiving compensation packages totalling more than\u00a0<strong>\u00a3300 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Legal challenges have arisen over the decision, with three\u00a0<strong>barristers<\/strong>, Gregory Jones KC, Suzanne Ornsby KC, and William Upton KC, warning in a letter that \u201cunderstanding the social and economic importance of the existing markets is vital to any decision by the court to abolish them, as is the social and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/four-day-work-week-uk-public-sector-economie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">economic implication<\/a> of doing so.\u201d They argue that the necessary\u00a0<strong>food security study<\/strong>, demanded by the Corporation itself, has not been completed, rendering the decision potentially unlawful.<\/p>\n<p>The Corporation, however, defended its position, stating its\u00a0<strong>lawyers<\/strong> were satisfied with the vote&#8217;s legality. Chris Hayward, the Corporation\u2019s policy chairman, insisted that the move was necessary, stating that \u201cpeople are eating less\u00a0<strong>meat<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>fish<\/strong>. An increasing amount of trade is handled directly online, and we understand that a majority of\u00a0<strong>traders<\/strong>\u00a0will continue with their businesses.\u201d He further described the\u00a0<strong>market buildings<\/strong>\u00a0as no longer essential to the traders\u2019 operations, asserting that \u201cthe strength of the markets has always been in the traders, not the buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A New Vision for the Site<\/h2>\n<p>Plans for the historic Smithfield site include transforming it into a mixed-use\u00a0<strong>cultural development<\/strong>. This will include the new\u00a0<strong>Museum of London<\/strong>\u00a0and form part of a broader effort to revitalise the\u00a0<strong>City<\/strong>. Hayward described the decision as \u201ca positive new chapter for Smithfield and Billingsgate Markets in that it empowers traders to build a sustainable future in premises that align with their long-term business goals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These redevelopment efforts, part of the Corporation\u2019s \u201c<strong>Destination City<\/strong>\u201d initiative, also include major projects such as the <strong>Salisbury Square development<\/strong>, which will house new\u00a0<strong>police headquarters<\/strong>\u00a0and a\u00a0<strong>multi-court complex<\/strong>. Proponents argue that these transformative projects will create \u201ca vibrant, world-class city for workers, residents, and visitors alike.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Traders Left in Limbo<\/h2>\n<p>Despite the official announcements,\u00a0<strong>traders<\/strong>\u00a0at Smithfield remain sceptical. \u201cI\u2019ve been working here for\u00a0<strong>30 years<\/strong>, and it\u2019s been about to close for 30 years,\u201d one remarked, capturing the mood of uncertainty. The Corporation has no obligation to find traders new premises, leaving many in limbo. The\u00a0<strong>compensation<\/strong>\u00a0on offer has also been criticised by some council members, who fear it could amount to a misuse of public funds.<\/p>\n<p>Financial pressures also cloud the issue. The Corporation has already spent\u00a0<strong>\u00a3308 million<\/strong>\u00a0on the failed relocation plan, including\u00a0<strong>\u00a3115 million<\/strong>\u00a0in compensation for Smithfield\u2019s poultry market, which closed last year. Henry Pollard, chairman of the\u00a0<strong>markets&#8217; committee<\/strong>, expressed his frustration in a letter to colleagues, describing the process as \u201c<strong>wrong<\/strong>\u201d and questioning the lack of a <strong>food security report<\/strong>. He warned that the additional\u00a0<strong>\u00a3300 million compensation<\/strong>\u00a0could be \u201ca misuse of public funds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Internal documents reveal that keeping the markets operational for another 20 years would cost a similar amount as scrapping them entirely. Nevertheless, the decision to close, rather than maintain or relocate, is seen as a way to avoid selling off valuable\u00a0<strong>investment assets<\/strong>\u00a0and to restore\u00a0<strong>financial sustainability<\/strong>\u00a0to the Corporation\u2019s estate.<\/p>\n<h2>A Historic Loss for London<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/smithfieldmarket.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Smithfield Market<\/a> has been a fixture of\u00a0<strong>London<\/strong>\u00a0life since the\u00a0<strong>12th century<\/strong>. William Fitzstephen, a clerk to Thomas Becket, described it in 1174 as \u201ca smooth field where every Friday there is a celebrated rendezvous of fine horses to be sold, and in another quarter are placed vendibles of the peasant, swine with their deep flanks, and cows and oxen of immense bulk.\u201d Its closure signals not only an economic shift, but also the loss of a site steeped in <strong>history<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>tradition<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After nearly\u00a0<strong>900 years<\/strong>\u00a0of trading, London\u2019s historic <strong>Smithfield Market<\/strong> is set to <strong>close<\/strong>, marking the end of an era.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":9980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-market-stock","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9979"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9991,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9979\/revisions\/9991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}