Smithfields...The end of an era?

I miss a lot of UK domestic news living in the US.

This story about Smithfields meat market being demolished for an office building caught my eye as it seems like unnecessary commercial progress at the cost of heritage that makes London special, and Britain, well, "great"!

It seems that, although the plans were approved back in 2006, there was such a stink made that there is an enquiry that is due to conclude in January 2008. After all, Smithfields was designed by Horace Jones, the man behind Tower Bridge! If that isn't enough to stop demolition I have no idea where the smart people in the UK have gone...(America ;) ) ?!

During the UK BSE crisis in the 90s lots of butchers in Smithfields closed shop (some turning to driving the classic black taxis for a living). It's ironic that those that made it through could now be finished off by developers! Madness! Good luck!

News story excerpt "Smithfield offers a sharp contrast with nearby modern landmarks like the Gherkin, home to insurers Swiss Re -- especially in the early hours when ruddy traders in bloodied aprons sell everything from chicken to beef and offal.

In the chilly halls between three o'clock and seven o'clock, hundreds of animal carcasses sway on meat hooks behind the stalls. Behind the counters, the traders haggle with customers over the price of a choice cut.

"Only a pound!" -- pronounced 'Pand,' in a broad cockney accent -- calls one butcher to a wide-eyed customer who asked the price of a head of mutton. Others use rhyming slang such as "Duke of York" for pork, and dog's eye for meat pie.

There has been an animal market on the site -- through which 110,000 tonnes of meat passes each year -- for around a thousand years and the current building dates back to 1867, but centuries of tradition could be under threat."