While we constantly hear that the pace of change in this industry has never been greater, it is still true that there are some things that seem to take forever.

The new site at Western International is a case in point - plans were already hatched when I wrote my first article for FPJ almost 13 years ago. At least tenants can see light at the end of that particular tunnel.

However, it has already been eight years since then agriculture minister Nick Brown signalled the impending sell-off of New Covent Garden by its landlords in Westminster. There has been much pontificating, as well as plenty of meaningful discussion and planning about the future of the site. Still no-one at Nine Elms expects anything concrete to happen in the short term. When it does, years rather than months will pass before a new, improved market moves from the drawing board to bricks and mortar.

Both markets are hugely valuable assets to their landlords, and both are extremely important employers in their local community. Some hurdles are justified. But while they are being negotiated slowly, the world moves forward. The retail sector is unrecognisable today compared to 13 years ago; by the time we see a ‘new’ New Covent Garden, it will have transformed again.

Supermarket chains make sweeping decisions quickly. But wholesale markets are also integral to supply chain sustainability in their surrounding areas. And their progress is being severely limited by reams of red tape.