The Markets Board of the City of London Corporation met on Thursday 6 November 2025 to discuss the revenue and capital budgets for 2026/27, the climate action strategy at the markets, and updates from the general managers of Smithfield, New Spitalfields and Billingsgate Markets. They were also scheduled to discuss pipe subways of Holborn Viaduct and Snow Hill over Thameslink.

Revenue and Capital Budgets 2026/27

The Markets Board were scheduled to review and approve the draft revenue budget for 2026/27, which was composed in line with Resource Allocation Sub Committee (RASC) guidelines, for submission to the Finance Committee. They were also scheduled to review and approve the draft capital and supplementary revenue projects budgets for 2026/27 for submission to the Finance Committee.

The report pack included a summary of the proposed budget:

The 2026/27 Draft Estimate, presented in this report, totals £1.341m, compared to the 2025/26 Original Budget net expenditure of £1.509m, a decrease of (£168k).

The report also included a staffing statement for 2026/27, as well as an operating statement for both the approved revised budget for 2025/26 and the original budget for 2026/27 for the areas under the board's control, which was included in appendix 4 - operating statement.

The report pack noted that the Cyclical Works Programme (CWP) figures included in the report related to the Market's Board elements of the newly approved £133m programme for the City overall. The capital projects that are being delivered as part of the 5 year programme are set out in appendix 5 - capital forecast.

Climate Action Strategy at the Markets

The Markets Board were scheduled to receive an update on the proposed markets' climate performance to date, and initiatives to be undertaken over the next 1-3 years at Billingsgate and Smithfield Market, and beyond that at New Spitalfields Market.

The report pack noted that the Court of Common Council approved an ambitious Climate Action Strategy (CAS) in October 2020, with a vision of creating a responsible, sustainable and competitive City. The CAS sets out four ambitious targets:

• Achieve net zero in the Corporation's operations (scopes 1 & 2) by 2027
• Achieve net zero across the Corporation's full value chain (scopes 1, 2 & 3) by 2040
• Support net zero in the Square Mile by 2040
• Build climate resilience in our buildings, public spaces and infrastructure

The report pack stated that the operation of the Markets contributes 14% of the Corporation's scope 1 and 2 net emissions, and 1% of the Corporation's full value chain emissions. It also noted that since 2018/19, landlord emissions from the markets have decreased by 59%, and tenant emissions have decreased by 52%.

Updates from the General Managers

The Markets Board were scheduled to receive updates from the General Managers of Smithfield, New Spitalfields and Billingsgate Markets.

Smithfield Market

The update from Dan Ritchie, Superintendent (GM) for Smithfield Market, noted that there were several vacancies within the in-house maintenance team, but these were currently being covered by experienced agency staff. The Head of Market Security role has been shared with Billingsgate for several years but will return to 100% site based before Christmas. The final remaining cleaner position has been appointed to and is scheduled to begin in role prior to the meeting of Markets Board.

Mr Ritchie also noted that quotes were being pursued for deep cleaning of all the fridge decks and glass roofs which, once completed, will then be maintained by the in-house team. Following the successful trial of waterless cleaning of the urinals at Smithfield, this has been rolled out to the majority of the market facility, which is estimated to save 3,000 litres of water a day.

Mr Ritchie also stated that Smithfield Market corporately continues to enjoy a better than average Safe365 score, which has improved from 58% to 66%, ahead of the Town Clerk's corporate target.

Following the September meeting of Markets Board, Mr Ritchie stated that he challenged colleagues at London Borough of Islington regarding the TMO consultation for the closure of St John's Street. Islington relaunched the consultation and following discussions with City of London Highways officers and consideration at Streets and Walkways, a response was submitted to Islington.

Billingsgate Market

The update from Julia Kanji, Superintendent (GM) for Billingsgate Market, noted that there was one vacancy for a General Maintenance Operative that they hope to recruit to presently with a view to recruiting an operative with a plumbing speciality.

Ms Kanji also noted that tenants continue to be satisfied with the level of cleanliness being delivered by Mitie the cleaning contractor. Quotes are being obtained to create a compound for Mitie to ensure that the waste processing facilities and WEE¹ and scrap metal are only accessible to authorised members of staff. The team are engaged with identifying the best water meter possible for their needs that controls billable supply whilst maintaining frictionless operation on the market floor.

The installation of ANPR cameras is now complete and enforcement has commenced. A new process has been created around permits for visitors and contractors using existing Guardtec technology and are working on a site induction including a filmed sequence to orientate people who may be unfamiliar with the site.

Tenants have engaged with the ANPR installation and have been proactive in signposting their buyers and supplying vehicle details to ensure that implementation is frictionless. There have been recent mouse reports in upper offices and engagement with the Environmental Health Officer to resolve this alongside Beaver, the Pest Control Contractor.

New Spitalfields Market

The update from Emma Beard, Superintendent (GM) for New Spitalfields Market, noted that they are in the process of recruiting a Markets Operations Manager, this appointment will provide essential support to the General Manager in delivering improvement projects, maintaining service excellence, and ensuring compliance with health and safety standards.

Ms Beard also noted that Mitie continue to deliver a high standard of service. Due to rising waste disposal and transportation costs, tenant charges for waste disposal have been reviewed for the first time in many years with a new pricing structure going live on 1 October, to help to better recover the variable waste costs and ensure that tenants are mindful about the waste they produce, further promoting the 'polluter pays' principal.

In late October a project will commence in conjunction with the Energy Team and funded by the Climate Action Strategy to see a major upgrade to the existing office cooling system in Allen House to enable a sufficient heating and cooling provision and the decommissioning of the gas boiler. Options are being reviewed to consider options for adding solar PV panels to the market pavilion, catering supply buildings and car parking areas, and options to replace the outdated emergency lighting system within the main market pavilion.

During October, the security team has focused on addressing the issue of market visitors selling produce from the car park, and a new contract has been entered into with a parking enforcement provider.

GW4: Pipe Subways of Holborn Viaduct and Snow Hill over Thameslink

The Markets Board were scheduled to receive a report on the pipe subways of Holborn Viaduct and Snow Hill over Thameslink.

The report pack noted that all the pipe subways that are the subject of this project have been found to have weak roof elements that fail for accidental wheel loading. Since the inception of the project, other remedial works to keep the pipe subways in a good state of repair have become necessary, including concrete and metal repairs, as well as undertaking waterproofing.

Following the Gateway 4 report dated Oct 2019, the project has progressed by completing a design for the Snow Hill Pipe Subway traversing over the railway and present under both the footways on Snow Hill, collectively known as structure number 33/P11.

The report pack stated that the consultant has identified possible reserve capacity from interconnected elements that may potentially have a load sharing effect. It is proposed to use 3-D computer modelling software to structurally analyse the form of the subway in a holistic manner rather than rely on the assessment of individual elements in the way that has been done previously.

The report pack recommended undertaking further assessment that would help understand the capacity of elements for which no such information is available, to help reduce the possibility of having to strengthening or replace some elements, and in doing so potentially de-risk the project by needing to manage more complicated works over the railway.

The report pack included a risk register, which is available as a separate document: 20190315_Risk Register.