Smithfield market maybe one of the winners in the credit crunch as plans to redevelop the site have effectively been given the chop caused by the credit crunch.
The controversial redevelopment of the historic London meat market Smithfied has been according to a report in The Times “become a casualty of the credit crunch”.
The plan to build a new office block on the historic site is now in jeopardy as the financiers for the project HBOS are “loath to spend millions of pounds” and the developer Thornfield which in any case went contrary to the view of the Government which opposed the scheme. Lehman Brothers also provided finance for the project along with HBOS.
The Corporation of London who supported the projected has also now accepted that the project is effectively dead by saying at a planning meeting “Smithfield could go on the back burner given the current climate”.
Smithfield market is the soul of the capitals meat production and distribution market with many hundreds of traders and suppliers depending on the market for its income. This news will be received positively by the campaigners who opposed the market.