Today saw a rather special visit to the Spitalfields market of both the Lord Mayor of London, the Lord Mountevans, and Cllr. Peter Herrington the Mayor of Waltham Forest. The civic party toured the market and heard about its 300+ year history.
New Spitalfields is a purpose built site opened in 1991 which can justifiably claim to the largest revenue earning fresh produce and flower market in the UK. The old site of Spitalfields on the eastern edge of the City of London had acted as a market for 300 years making this market one of the oldest in the UK.
New Spitalfields Market is located in a 31-acre (13 ha) site in Leyton, London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. It comprises market hall houses for 115 trading units of wholesalers dealing in fruit, vegetables and flowers. Modern facilities in the market hall include cold storage rooms, ripening rooms and racking for palletised produce. The site has extensive parking facilities for customers, delivery vehicles and market personnel.
The site was visited today by Chairman and Deputy of the Markets Committee, as well as both Sheriffs of London.