Two historic London food markets, hundreds of years old, to permanently close
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A pair of historic wholesale meat and fish markets in London will permanently close in the coming years.
The Smithfield Market and Billingsgate Market will remain open for meat and fish sales, respectively, until «at least 2028» but will ultimately close their doors, the City of London Corporation said.
The closure of the two markets was precipitated by the City of London Corporation deciding to «end its interest in co-locating» them to a new site at Dagenham Dock.
The City of London Corporation also said it would on Wednesday seek the «ending of the City Corporation’s responsibilities to operate a market at these sites» via a bill in Parliament.
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Both of the markets have a long history in London.
A cyclist passes Smithfield Market in London on Feb. 13, 2023. (Carl Court/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Smithfield traces its origins to the medieval era, BBC News reported. The current market has been around for over 140 years, according to its website.
Billingsgate has a similar storied past, first trading in 1327.
The City of London Corporation has agreed to give «financial support» to meat and fish sellers who work out of the Smithfield and Billingsgate markets to «help them relocate to new premises.»
The yearslong timeline for the wind-down of operations at Smithfield and Billingsgate was meant to give «ample time for planning and collaboration on next steps,» according to the corporation.
A look at the Thames River in London. (iStock / iStock)
High project costs led the City of London Corporation to seek to end the Smithfield and Billingsgate operations. They were exacerbated by inflation and
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