"Regeneration" is still planned for a site in Dagenham previously earmarked for Billingsgate and Smithfields Markets.

The City of London Corporation said it would continue to work with Barking and Dagenham Council regarding the future of the Dagenham Dock site after its plans to relocate the historic markets there was recently scrapped.

The comments came in its announcement that it has agreed to stop running Smithfield and Billingsgate Markets and pay compensation to traders as it looks to shut down the sites.

The chair of policy and resources and de-facto political head of the corporation, Deputy Chris Hayward, said that traders will receive support to move to new locations and that they will continue to operate at Smithfield and Billingsgate until at least 2028.

“The City of London Corporation has a strong relationship with Barking and Dagenham Council and a shared interest in the future of the Dagenham Dock site.

"We will now continue to work with the borough to bring forward uses which deliver regeneration and high-quality jobs for local people.”

The corporation still needs to submit a Private Bill with Parliament to officially withdraw from running them but it has rubber stamped its plans to shut down the famous markets, so the bill is expected to be a formality.

The decision means the corporation will no longer be involved in wholesale meat or fish markets.

The corporation had originally looked to relocate both markets plus New Spitalfields in Leyton to a new facility in Dagenham. 

A 2022 announcement promised an investment of almost £1 billion by the corporation into the move, delivering 2,700 new jobs in Barking and Dagenham and around £14.5bn to the UK economy by 2049.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) however revealed that this particular plan, known as Option 10b, had been paused due to ballooning costs.

Cllr Dominic Twomey, leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, said: “While this is disappointing news, we understand the financial pressures that key investment projects are facing with soaring inflation in recent years.

"We are committed to continue working with the City of London Corporation to unlock the huge potential of the Dagenham Dock site to bring new employment uses and high quality jobs for local people.

“And we will continue to build on the benefits that our partnership work has already delivered, including a fantastic programme of food education across our borough.

"We have many key regeneration projects in the pipeline such as the Eastbrook film studios which are due to open soon and Barking and Dagenham is very much open for business.”

The LDRS further reported over the weekend how members were being recommended to approve the corporation withdrawing from the historic market sites.

While the majority of a Court of Common Council meeting on November 26 and its accompanying report on the markets co-location programme were not open to the public, the LDRS has been told the recommendation was approved.

The corporation has also since put out its own release confirming the decision.

It has already spent £308 million purchasing and remediating the site in Dagenham. The LDRS understands the sum to be paid to the traders exceeds £300m, which still falls far below the projected spend if the relocation was to proceed.

The money is taken from the corporation’s endowment fund, built up over centuries and known as the City’s Cash, rather than taxpayer money.

Smithfield is the largest wholesale meat market in the UK and Billingsgate the country’s biggest inland fish market. Both are widely renowned, with a market existing in Smithfield since the medieval period.

Livestock was traded at the site until the 1860s, which is when it was redeveloped to become a wholesale meat market.

Smithfield is to be used to house new cultural and commercial offerings including the new London Museum, on which work has begun.

Billingsgate, which is in Poplar by Canary Wharf, meanwhile is earmarked to deliver thousands of homes.

The corporation must now deposit its Private Bill with Parliament to withdraw from the sites and close them as markets. Approval will be required by Parliament before the decision can be finalised.