If ever there was a case of déjà vu when trade discussion turns its attention to the future of wholesale markets, it must be last week's announcement by Defra that consultants are being employed to study the options available to move the ownership of New Covent Garden from government to private enterprise.

With the subject back on the agenda I would have thought that the filing cabinets in the corridors of power must already be bulging with correspondence and reports surrounding the seemingly endless search for alternatives.

I was under the impression that the brief, alongside the desire to enlarge the market to become the Larder of London, was already in the hands of the market authority - which has its activities approved by its government paymasters.

At least there should be little or no expense attached to once more assessing the role and need for London's wholesale markets following the detailed and knowledgeable assessment by Nicholas Saphir three years ago - commissioned by parties including the ministry.

However, it would appear to me to be fair to ask why, with all this information in its possession, Defra needs to employ consultants - inevitably at some cost - to reassess the situation, and cannot simply get on with the job itself?

What would appear to have hastened the move to sell off the site is the realisation that the market is now in need of refurbishment, at a potential cost, which to quote from the source of the announcement, "is unlikely to be forthcoming from the public purse".

But tenants will not forget that government has again confirmed with the announcement that its markets have a future and has reaffirmed its blessing for a move to widen its role into other foods. So at least I assume the entire site will not simply be turned over to affordable housing, hotels or office blocks.

Financial consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers will also have to look at the wider picture rather than simply coming up with a scheme to attract buyers.

It will be here that the authority should be able to make a major input. It understands the industry and has won a reputation as both a fair and practical landlord, proven when its original tenants continued to shrink dramatically in number. This was following their move across the river as a result of the rise of retail superpowers who chose to bypass traditional channels of distribution.

Meanwhile, the current spat with the Corporation of London, which has found its way to the House of Lords on appeal also remains to be resolved.

While this is an entirely separate issue, its outcome must surely have an effect as this will quantify at long last exactly what New Covent Garden can, or cannot do in the future.

The most positive aspect is that there should be a far clearer understanding before the end of the year, and hopefully not just another minor chapter in the well-chronicled events of a national landmark.