As many as 10,000 homes could be built in and around Billingsgate Fish Market, according to Tower Hamlets Council.
The council said it is working with the City of London Corporation on plans to redevelop the site after the market moves to the Royal Docks in Newham. That’s according to a new council pamphlet aimed at promoting the borough to developers.
It says the market, along with nearby Poplar DLR depot and the New City College campus “could deliver up to 10,000 new homes and significant employment floorspace”.
The City of London Corporation, which runs the site, announced in December that the market would relocate to Albert Island in Newham.
Tower Hamlets Council is now promoting Billingsgate as a “top opportunity” for developers in 2026.
The site features in a promotional pamphlet touting development opportunities across the borough, approved by leading Aspire Party councillors this week.
It says: “The council is both the local planning authority and a joint landowner of the current Billingsgate site.
“We’re working with the City of London to bring forward the redevelopment of the site that will create a significant new mixed-use quarter with improved connectivity between Canary Wharf and South Poplar, providing thousands of homes and jobs.”
The pamphlet adds: “We’re interested in hearing from interested parties on their views on delivery options”.
Billingsgate is one of “multiple sites in public ownership” that could be redeveloped into “a whole new mixed-use neighbourhood” the pamphlet says.
The other sites include the Poplar DLR depot, which is opposite the market, on the north side of Aspen Way, and the adjoining New City College campus on Poplar High Street.
The pamphlet says: “This is the single biggest opportunity for growth in the borough, creating a whole new mixed-use neighbourhood that is closely connected to both Poplar and Canary Wharf.
“The opportunity here is at an early stage and partners have a real opportunity to help shape it right from the start.”
It adds: “Working with partners, we want to create a vibrant neighbourhood - stitching residential South Poplar and employment-driven Canary Wharf together, fostering community cohesion and strengthening connections between Poplar’s Chrisp Street town centre and Canary Wharf metropolitan centre.”
Leading councillors voted to approve the Future Places pamphlet at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (March 24).
Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman said he wanted to show developers the council is “open to business”.
He said: “We are very fortunate in the borough that our land prices are very significant. We still have spaces in our borough that people can develop and deliver.”
