Contact the team
24 Hour Site Security Team:
Mobile – 07384515392
24hr Office - 01277725074
Core Site Working Hours
Monday – Friday (08:00 – 18:00)
Saturday (09:00 – 14:00)
The new London Museum project in Smithfield will transform two historic market buildings – the General Market and Poultry Market – into a world-class new museum, sitting at the heart of a dynamic new cultural quarter. This refurbishment blends the architectural integrity of the original buildings with modern design elements, creating an immersive space that preserves their heritage. The restoration will safeguard the markets’ historical features while state-of-the-art fit outs will accommodate museum functions, including exhibition galleries, interactive spaces, educational areas, and public amenities. Sustainability is core to the project, with a focus on energy efficiency and smart building technology to reduce operational costs and environmental impact. Upon completion, the London Museum will stand as a testament to the preservation and revitalisation of one of the city’s most iconic heritage sites, but as a model of responsible construction and sustainable design.
2nd June – 13th June 2025
Monday - Friday (18:00 – 22:00)
Essential scaffolding work on Snow Hill Ramp and both General Market Entrances on Charterhouse Street and West Smithfield
7th June – 5th July 2025
Monday - Friday (18:00 – 20:00)
Saturdays (14:00 – 16:00)
Installation of Metal frame and Boarding Encasement to Steal Beams on Snow Hill Ramp.
24 Hour Site Security Team:
Mobile – 07384515392
24hr Office - 01277725074
Monday – Friday (08:00 – 18:00)
Saturday (09:00 – 14:00)
Poultry Market
West Poultry Avenue
General Market
London Museum is beginning to take form, with completion of the timber (CLT) roofs on the Poultry Market, substantial progress made with the shopfronts/façade of the General Market along Charterhouse Street and Farringdon Road, as well as the installation of the two main entrances to the building.
Internally, 97.5% of concrete slabs are poured and complete, with 96% of steel complete. Throughout the general market, insulation and plasterboard is continuing.
Mechanical and electrical installations are progressing throughout both buildings at different stages, with ongoing ductwork and ventilation, pipework installation, electrical containment and floor boxes. All underground heating has now been completed in the General Market.
There is ongoing offsite fabrication of the shopfronts/façade and bespoke metal products. Onsite, refurbishing the building envelope is ongoing with doff and torc cleaning to the external facing brick façade around all elevations of the Poultry Market. Alongside this, existing and reclaimed bricks are being repointed.
On site, a crane has been erected to assist with the unloading of materials to both roofs, and construction vehicles/plant moving along West Smithfield. The construction site is operating from 8 am to 6 pm every weekday and 9 am to 2 pm every Saturday, with no extended hours currently in place.
Build Sure
Materials and reuse
The project is focusing on the circular economy by utilising materials from the previous occupation of being a meat market. Key examples of this include slate tiles, metal from meat racks, timber balustrade and facades, elements of stone on West Poultry Avenue and smaller fit-out components chosen for their historical relevance.
115 tonnes of bricks procured through circular economy driven businesses reducing the raw material the project is consuming.
Construction materials are responsibly sourced, with the project recording 98.09% of all materials suitably accredited and 100% of timber FSC/PEFC certified.
Social Value – London Museum
A wide range of initiatives have been implemented by Sir Robert McAlpine throughout this project to generate Social Return on Investment (SROI), including local employment, charity partnerships, educational talks, and work experience programmes. Since the project's commencement, the following activities have been delivered to support its SROI goals:
We endeavour to implement social value on all our projects and leave a positive lasting legacy. For this project we have some ambitious projects and have already funded £23,952 to local charities based in London including:
Our London Museum project in partnership with The Worshipful Company of Paviors’ and Construction Youth Trust hosted 16 students from local schools across Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Lewisham and Westminster, who took part in a Building Future Skills programme designed to give them insight into the construction design tender process.
Individuals participated in the following activities:
Interview skills, Mock interviews - Discussed the most asked interview questions, students are provided potential answers. Students to undertake a Mock Interview,
Volunteers provided valuable written feedback after each interview.
Careers Networking Activity - We find students get the most out of the industry networking session if they have a variety of different professionals to talk to. For example, those that have followed the apprenticeship route and those with university backgrounds.
Stakeholder engagement - Students act out different roles in a community engagement meeting where development concerns are raised
Design & Build - Students to design and construct their proposed building, each member of the group allocated a role.
Sir Robert McAlpine hosted multiple work experience placements at the London Museum project from Islington College in 2023 and 2024 which allowed the students to gain valuable work experience with various teams.
Students shadowed members of the project team completing the following activities:
Health and safety talks, Scheduling, Environmental CO2 deliveries mileage carbon emissions, Shadowing ductwork, witness tests, working alongside Engineers.
Engineering students would also complete an engineering workbook based on the McAlpine project.
All work experience students have various site tours learning about different aspects of the project.
Supporting our local communities is important to SRM. Working with the Mayor’s Fund for London, a charity that champions opportunities for young Londoners facing the biggest barriers. SRM’s London Museum Project hosted a week’s work experience for eight students from across London.
As well as the opportunity to visit a live construction site the work experience provided students with the opportunity to engage with the various members of the team who have undertaken different career paths within the construction industry and participate in activities mirroring the different job roles. Ed McAlpine Chairman and Executive Partner of SRM and Chair of The Construction Youth Trust, passionate about widening the talent pool within the industry, heard from the students about how their work experience had challenged their thoughts about the construction industry. “Site was clean and well organised.” “The Construction Industry has many opportunities.”
The students were able to use the skills and knowledge gained across their work experience week to compete in teams to redesign Oxford Street. Below the winning team - JLMR Construction Company.
Key learning outcomes:
In a world facing a growing skills gap, we hire for attitude and train for skill. A blend of practical and theoretical learning allows apprentices to develop the necessary skills and expertise to thrive in the construction industry, focusing on transferring goals into achievable steps, keeping track of personal development. Recruited through Construction Youth Trust, our newest apprentice Khadir, was employed by Phoenix ME subcontractor, Envirotek Construction Limited on a L3 Plumbing Apprenticeship.
Envirotek have provided a solid foundation for Khadir to build skills and competency in his chosen field.
The Apprenticeship will offer Khadir:
Practical skill development: provide hands-on training that allows Khadir to develop practical skills directly applicable to Plumbing.
Earning while learning: allowing Khadir to earn income while he acquires valuable skills and knowledge.
Industry recognition and career advancement: Completing an apprenticeship demonstrates dedication, competence, and commitment to professional growth.
We use an inclusive recruitment process, promoting diversity by actively encouraging underrepresented groups, such as women and minorities, to pursue careers in construction through our ‘Meet the Employer’ days.
Our recent Meet the Employer session in partnership with DWP engaged a group of local long term unemployed individuals, SRM invited Trade Contractors to participate to maximise a variety of opportunities for job seekers.
The session helps to develop construction skills and employability of the future workforce as well as promote vacancies across this project, whether FTE or Apprenticeships.
The following were benefitted:
6 individuals gained employment on London Museum project.
KM – Electrical Apprentice, first job since college.
MM - Plumbing Labourer
LE – Electrical Labourer
SM – Electrical Labourer
NN – Electrical Labourer
AR – Traffic Marshall, was disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Part of our Social Value purpose on our meet the employer session is to further address digital poverty. We look further and support those most in need where identified, creating additional impact for individuals recognised to be living in digital poverty, by donating laptops to individuals who do not have computer access at home.
We recognise the importance of integrating digital inclusion into our social value delivery and offering robust support with hyper local led solutions to tackle the digital divide.
Tech Take-Back is our key partner for laptop distribution who use a circular economy approach which helps us to demonstrate collective environmental and social impact.
Reuse is defined as any operation by which products or components that are not waste are used again for the same purpose for which they were conceived.
Extending the life cycle of products and materials through redistribution, refurbishment, repair, or repurposing—rather than discarding them as waste—aligns with the principles of the circular economy, resource efficiency, and sustainability. This approach helps reduce waste, conserve natural resources, minimise environmental impact, and support a regenerative system where materials remain in use for as long as possible.
Sir Robert McAlpine colleagues from the London Museum project volunteered at the City of London Corporation’s Recycling Team and Tech Take Back’s event at St Giles Church in Barbican.
This ‘give and take’ initiative reduced e-waste & enhanced digital inclusion within the local community. Residents dropped off unwanted household items and tech in the morning session and other residents come to take away what they wanted in the afternoon session. Anything that was left over was recycled by COL.
All tech is data erased by TTB and then laptops are purchased once refurbished by companies to donate to community settings or individuals in need of a laptop.
The public balloted to join us for a special behind-the-scenes tour of London Museum’s new home at Smithfield, currently under construction. The public explored the formerly derelict Victorian General Market - including a section of the General Market ground floor, the basement, the vaults and former market shop units. They also had the opportunity to tour the Poultry Market, open to the public for the first time during its restoration, discovering how these magnificent spaces will be transformed into a world-class museum.
Already more than 70,000 Londoners have been involved in the shaping and creation of the new museum – from the design of inclusive and welcoming public spaces, to collecting objects, and working with the museum team to create future displays. This number is set to rise to 100,000 by completion.
The public came and enjoyed a family day at the London Museum construction site.
They had the opportunity to dress in PPE and climb aboard a tipper truck, take part in play cycles, enjoy arts and crafts activities, make music, and join storytelling sessions. They also spoke with the architects to learn more about our journey to create a new museum for London, and explored market objects and materials salvaged during the project.
Champs Within is an initiative aimed specifically towards offering young people access to a healthy outlet for those in challenging socio-economic circumstances, offering new chances, and new opportunities.
It is a great way for SRM to integrate with our supply chain and the young people who are participating.
The sport has great benefits for many individuals to channel Mental Health such as anxiety and depression and is a significant way to relieve stress and improve physical health and wellbeing in ways that other activities cannot.
Swapping hi-vis for garden gloves to maintain Royal Trinity Hospice gardens in Wandsworth.
We also contributed to items for the garden such as a birdbath to give visiting birds somewhere to wash and drink, a pond vacuum to give their fish a healthier living environment, saving the Hospice over £5,000.
A large rattan sofa to give patients somewhere comfy to sit with their family and some garden equipment to keep the gardens nice and tidy for residents.
Royal Trinity Hospice gardens benefitted from a four-hour fly-by blitz thanks to a team of visiting tradespeople who came to snip, clip and trim areas.
Staff from some of the UK’s largest building, construction and engineering companies took time out from working on site, to participate in a morning of gardening volunteering, switching high-vis for gardening gloves.
Teams from Sir Robert McAlpine, Fujitec, HSS Hire, Severfield and Szerelmey spent time lending their time and skills across the two-acre site.
Head Gardener Graham Scott was also awarded £1000 worth of brand-new garden equipment, after Social Value Manager, Bobby-Jay Lorraine from Sir Robert McAlpine surprised him with the news that everything on his garden wish list had been bought.
Weekly lunch for an elderly social group at The Holy Sepulchre Church, Holborn. Provided Deli Sandwiches and snacks, from a small local Italian café.
Shared mealtimes create a sense of community and belonging, allowing older adults to connect with peers, contributing to improved mental and emotional well-being. The group thoroughly enjoy coming together and sharing stories.
Coming up at The Holy Sepulchre
May/June 2025 - Free Tote Bags (including toiletries and giveaways) for homeless individuals that visit the church daily.
SCORING | ||
Respect Community | Excellent - 15/15 |
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Care for the Environment | Excellent - 15/15 |
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Value their Workforce | Excellent - 15/15 | |
Total Report Score | Excellent - 45/45 |
Local students benefit from partnership working to gain insights into the world of construction.
Our project team spoke to Construction Management about the digital strategy and tools used to transform the Smithfield market into the London Museum.
Project teams honoured with National Site Awards by the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS)