Bringing to an end the third round of judicial review proceedings, the Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of the Corporation of London and against the 2003 decision of Lord Whitty, secretary of state for food and rural affairs, to allow Covent Garden Market Authority to permit face-to-face trading in meat and fish products at New Covent Garden.
The unanimous decision of three judges was that the Covent Garden Market Act does not allow the extension of its trading to include meat and fish, in breach of the Corporation’s rights. It was decided effectively that New Covent Garden should not move outside of its initial objective as a horticultural market for fruit, vegetables and flowers.
Although the right to appeal now jumps the fence to the CGMA, the immediate effect of the decision is that the face-to-face wholesaling of meat and fish at Nine Elms should cease.
The Corporation had previously lost the opening two rounds of the review, with one judge describing elements of its claim as being either “unarguable” or “hopeless” in December last year.
A delighted Daniel Caspi, chairman of the Corporation of London's Markets Committee said: "Having crossed this hurdle, the Corporation of London is glad that the court has seen the justice of its case and looks forward to further dialogue with the government and to working together for the successful future of all London wholesale fresh produce markets and for the benefit of London and the South East.”
He told freshinfo: “We are one more step towards clarifying the situation. This doesn’t change the long-term responsibility for the sustainability of London’s wholesale markets, which still lies with Defra. There is still room to appeal this decision, but I don’t think that would be constructive.”
