New Spitalfields Market

Located in Leyton since the early 1990’s in Waltham Forest, New Spitalfields is the largest UK, vegetable and flower market.

Before moving to Leyton, the original Spitalfields was one of the City’s younger markets, starting life as a 13th Century market in a field next to St Mary Spittel on the edge of the Square Mile.

The market has been at heart of the capital’s food industry for centuries, serving Londoners with fresh produce as well as providing tenants with the space to establish themselves as leading traders in their field.

The opportunity 

The relocation of New Spitalfields Market will open up new development opportunities here in Waltham Forest that could help to meet the need for new housing and workspaces for Londoners.

The future of the site is likely to include:

  • A mixed-use development with a focus on delivering new homes, which reflects the site’s position within the Borough’s key corridor for economic growth and intensification.
  • An opportunity to accommodate creative industries to retain employment and respond to the Borough’s status as the first London Borough of Culture.

Plans for this site will be brought forward by a developer and determined by the Waltham Forest Council, in line with Greater London Authority planning policy. Any proposals would be subject to consultation with local communities, residents and businesses, who will have further opportunities to have their say on the plans once they have been developed.

Next Steps

The City of London will be submitting a planning application to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham for the co-located markets site in the coming weeks.

If these plans are approved by the local authority then it will be a step towards to co-location of New Spitalfields, Billingsgate and Smithfield at Dagenham Dock.

The indicative timeline shows the new site at Dagenham Dock delivered by 2026/7, at which point the current New Spitalfields Market site would be available for redevelopment.

How to get involved

If you have any further queries, you can get in touch with us via:

When emailing, please add ‘New Spitalfields’ to the subject line.

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