'Blackmail' claim over Smithfield

The developer of a controversial £160 million scheme for a disused part of Smithfield Market has warned that it will leave it derelict if the plan is rejected.

The threat emerged before today’s launch of a 12-day public inquiry over one of the most bitterly contested planning rows in the City for decades.

Fund management giant Henderson Global Investors said it had no intention of selling the rundown General Market, Fish Market, Red House and Former Engine House buildings if the decision goes against them. Geoff Harris, director of property development, told the Financial Times: “If we lose, it will stay as it is.”

In 2010, Henderson bought the buildings which have been mostly empty since 1999. Its “Smithfield Quarter” scheme, designed by architects John McAslan + Partners, involves the demolition of a quarter of the market and the construction of office blocks of up to seven storeys as well as space for shops and bars.

In his personal statement to the public inquiry, the architect behind the scheme, John Renwick McAslan said: “A refusal of planning permission would condemn the buildings and the Conservation Area to further... decay and vacancy.”

Opponents, including conservation groups SAVE and the Victorian Society and celebrities such as Alan Bennett and Kristin Scott Thomas, described the threat to leave the market to crumble as “emotional blackmail”. SAVE said the scheme was “the worst mutilation of a major Victorian landmark for 30 years”.

The scheme, which has been approved by City of London Corporation planners, was called in by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles last September.