'You can't wipe out Billingsgate Fish Market overnight'

"There will always be a place to buy fish from in London. It might not be here and it probably won't be called Billingsgate but it will continue."

The news that London's oldest fish market is facing permanent closure has shocked and saddened the tenants at Billingsgate Fish Market.

Tony Lyons is the chairman of the London Fish Merchants Association, which represents the tenants, and is confident the trade has a future.

"You can't wipe it out overnight," he says.

"I'd like to see another market like this and we all go together, and I think that's the general consensus."

The site, in Canary Wharf, is to close by 2028 after the City of London Corporation voted to withdraw its support of the market, as will Smithfield meat market.

Billingsgate is the oldest fish market in London, dating back to the 1700s, and is the largest inland fish market in the UK, with an average of 25,000 tonnes of fish and fish products sold there every year.

Initially the corporation had planned to move it to a £1bn purpose-built site in Dagenham.

However, this plan was dropped earlier this month over cost concerns, with the council already having spent over £300m purchasing and remediating the site there.

"When we heard that Dagenham wasn't going ahead it was the worst news we have had for years," Tony says.

"We thought we were going to be there for hundreds of years, and it got pulled from under our feet."

The corporation said it would work with traders to help them find alternative premises.

The market moved to its current site in Poplar, east London, in 1982, where it supplies fish to businesses, fishmongers, fish-and-chip shops, delicatessens and restaurants.

This site has been earmarked as the location for thousands of new homes.

Scott Unwin, who has been working for his family-run business for nearly 40 years, says the news has not yet hit home.

"It's a shock and upsetting. I've been here 36 years and my boy is also involved in the business, so we're all upset."

Scott, whose father used to work at Old Billingsgate, added: "I left school at 14 and came to work as a shopboy with my father and we built the business up.

"Three generations in the business and it's going to come to an end."

He hopes a way can be found to "continue supplying London and Essex with the finest fresh fish in the world".

Chris Lark, who has worked there for eight years, says: "It will be really sad to see this place shut down.

"Let's hope they relocate the market one day, otherwise where will people get their food from?"

He added: "It's such a good laugh down here, with good people. They all look after each other."

Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, said the decision represented a "positive new chapter" as it "empowers traders to build a sustainable future in premises that align with their long-term business goals".

He added: "We're committed to making sure they have the financial support and guidance they need to transition seamlessly and successfully to new locations."

The corporation said traders would be able to continue their operations at the both Billingsgate and Smithfield markets until at least 2028.

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