Smithfield planning enquiry

Another “nearly on my One Street” photo. A couple of weeks ago, I posted a shot of the still very much used Grand Avenue of Smithfield Meat Market. But round the back of the complex of market buildings there are some disused and now sadly dilapidated Victorian buildings. The arguments have raged over them for more than a decade. The previous redevelopment scheme, which would have knocked them all down, was thrown out in 2007. The most recent scheme involves partial demolition of the Victorian buildings, but keeps some of them, and creates lots of shops and offices in modern buildings behind the Victorian frontage. In July it was approved by the City of London and finally got the nod from English Heritage. But the Twentieth Century Society and the Smithfield Trust have both objected, so now it has been “called in” by the Secretary of State who will have the final say.

Personally I think it is too purist to say that all the Victorian buildings have to be kept. There must be a modern use and relevance, and this current proposal is a decent compromise. I think the developer’s idea is that it will be a bit like Covent Garden and Spitalfields, but with the difference that the core meat market will continue to operate. We’ll see what the Secretary of State has to say…