URBAN DESIGN AND PLANNING
SMITHFIELD MARKET
CLIENT: SAVE BRITAIN’S HERITAGE
On 8th July 2014, following the recommendation of the Inspector at the Public Inquiry, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, rejected proposals for the building of new office blocks at Smithfield General Market, which would have retained only parts of the façades.
This decision saved Smithfield General Market and its magnificent market halls and had wider implications for the built environment and planning.
John Burrell’s drawings, hailed visionary by SAVE, first revealed the full splendour and scale of the interiors and vaulted market halls. They also showed the vast extent of the basements which run under the buildings and the streets.
BFF’s designs showed how the market halls could be attractive public spaces for new cultural and public facilities. This idea has been adopted by the Museum of London in their current plans.
“The significance of what Pickles has done... will stretch into the future and go far beyond Smithfield or the capital itself. For it says all buildings in conservation areas enjoy protection.
Pickles... turned the tide of demolition sanctioned by the City and by London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, in which, until now, anything went. They have revalued heritage within the planning system for decades to come.”
