"There will always be a place to buy fish from in London. It might not be here and it probably won't be called Billingsgate but it will continue." The news that London's oldest fish market is facing permanent closure has shocked and saddened the tenants at Billingsgate Fish Market.

Two of London's oldest markets, Billingsgate Market and Smithfield Market, are facing closure after a move to Dagenham was abandoned

A market has existed in Smithfield since the medieval period. It was revamped as a wholesale meat market in the 1860s and is today the largest of its kind in the UK. Billingsgate meanwhile moved from the City to its current site by Canary Wharf in the early 1980s and is the country's biggest inland fish market.

The Smithfield site is particularly historic. Meat has been traded from the same spot since the 14th century. Billingsgate boasts similar antiquity, but its ancient home near London Bridge was closed in 1982 in favour of a larger site in the Docklands.

The Smithfield And Billingsgate Markets were originally due to be relocated to Dagenham, but will now close permanently.

Butchers at London’s historic Smithfield market have spoken of their devastation after City bosses took the decision to close the world’s oldest meat market after almost 900 years of trading. The City of London Corporation (CoLC) said its council voted on Tuesday afternoon to stop operating both Smithfield and Billingsgate fish market.

Two of London's iconic markets, Billingsgate and Smithfield, will close in the coming years, ending centuries-old traditions. The City of London Corporation has opted out of relocating these markets due to rising costs.

The City of London Corporation has shelved plans to relocate Smithfield and Billingsgate fish markets to a £1 billion development in Dagenham. | ITV News London

Billingsgate is the largest inland fish market in the UK, with an average of 25,000 tonnes of fish and fish products sold there every year. The original market traded in Lower Thames Street in the City for 900 years, before moving to its current site in Poplar, east London, in 1982.

Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world London's historic Smithfield meat market is at risk of being closed for good at a vote in the City of London.