This is an uneven matchup: a few fishmongers from East London are going up against the exceptionally affluent City of London Corporation.

In a bid to prevent the closure of London’s historic fish and meat markets, the market vendors have collaborated with a food poverty charity to contest the organization’s plans for permanent shutdown.

The City Corporation recently revealed its intention to permanently close the cherished Smithfield meat market and Billingsgate fish market by late 2024, scrapping a proposed £1 billion redevelopment to a new location in Dagenham. This decision signifies the cessation of centuries of meat and fish trading traditions in the capital.

Three fishmongers from Hackney’s Ridley Road market rely on Billingsgate for their livelihoods and warn that their businesses would fail if it shuts down. Together with Alicia Weston, the founder of Bags of Taste, an organization that teaches culinary skills to individuals facing poverty, they are advocating against parliament approving the markets’ closure.

The City Corporation, which governs London’s Square Mile, owns and operates both markets but cannot independently authorize their closure.

Due to the unique circumstances of their long histories, these markets were established through acts of parliament that tie them to their current locations. Consequently, closure can only occur upon the passage of a private bill in parliament, which would repeal the existing legislation and permit the land to be repurposed.

The markets have been granted a temporary reprieve until 2028. During this period, the Corporation has stated that it will provide compensation to traders at Smithfield and Billingsgate and assist them in locating new premises, although it has abandoned plans for a new joint site.

Fishmongers Waheed Aslam, Zafar Iqbal, and Mohammed Amjad Choudry have expressed their opposition to the proposed bill and claim to have the backing of a small number of MPs who share their view against the closure.

Aslam recalls that the Mediterranean fish shop on Ridley Road was founded 30 years ago by his father. Aslam and his partner, Aras Swara, head to Billingsgate market, the largest inland fish market in the UK, every weekday morning to select fresh sea bream, snapper, salmon, and coley.

“As we purchase from the market, we have the power to choose our stock. Without it, sellers will monopolize the supply,” Aslam stated. “Without Billingsgate, we lose access to this variety,” Swara added, indicating a freezer stocked with 13 different types of frozen prawns.

Aslam has attempted to source from wholesalers in the past but found himself unable to secure an adequate quantity or was dissatisfied with the quality.

“We supply several local restaurants, and the market’s closure would impact them as well,” he noted, as his employees prepared sea bass for a nearby Caribbean restaurant.

Smithfield, located near Farringdon train station, boasts over 800 years of market history. The London Museum is currently relocating to part of the site, which is intended for cultural redevelopment. Billingsgate, moved in 1982 from its riverside location to a site near the Canary Wharf financial area, has been targeted for residential development.

According to a report commissioned by the Corporation that examined the importance of food markets, trade volumes for meat and fish at Smithfield and Billingsgate have significantly decreased from their early 20th-century highs, largely due to the rise of supermarkets.

Despite the decline, the report found that both markets are crucial in supporting independent butchers and fishmongers, indicating that Billingsgate accounts for approximately 9%-11% of fish consumption in London and the southeast.

The Corporation abandoned plans for relocating both markets, as well as the New Spitalfields fruit and vegetable market, to a new purpose-built facility at Dagenham Dock, citing inflation and rising construction costs as barriers to the project’s viability.

Managing assets worth billions and collecting £1.3 billion in business rates annually (most of which is allocated to central government), the Corporation is now facing pressure from fishmongers and Weston to identify an alternative location for the markets.

“We placed our trust in them, believing the Dagenham site would come to fruition, but that trust has been broken,” Weston remarked. “The closure will lead to unforeseen repercussions.”

A representative from the City of London Corporation stated that the authority is “actively aiding the traders at Billingsgate and Smithfield in securing new sites for their wholesale operations within the M25, providing practical support such as facilitating discussions with landowners and developers to ensure a seamless transition.”

“We simply ask for confirmation that a replacement market will be established,” Aslam urged. “Our livelihoods are at stake, and we feel overlooked in the decision-making process.”