The Museum of London’s plans to create a £337m new home at Smithfield Market have been recommended for approval by planners at the City of London Corporation.
“Overall, it is considered that the proposal represents an exceptional opportunity to sensitively revive an underutilised area of Smithfield into a new destination that would be accessible for all and have substantial economic, environmental, cultural and social benefits,” the planners said in the report.
The Museum of London is aiming to create a new 358,868 sq ft complex on the 5.4-acre site out of a series of historic buildings at West Smithfield, including the Poultry Market, General Market and The Annexe.
It will include a new museum within the two market buildings and a range of retail, office, gym, restaurant and cafés around the perimeter of the General Market and the Annexe site.
The City’s planners did acknowledge that changing the use of the Poultry Market would diminish the capacity of Smithfield Market through the loss of 27 trading units.
However, the planners also noted that reviving the old buildings at West Smithfield aligned with the City’s plans for the creation of a culture mile and the relocation of Smithfield Market in its entirety to the site of the former Barking Reach Power Station, for which the corporation has submitted plans to Barking and Dagenham Council earlier this month.
The City of London Corporation has invested £197m in the project to move the Museum of London to Smithfield.
The proposals will go up in front of the City’s planning committee on 23 June.
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