Ocado’s appeal over depot next to north London school dismissed

By: Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

An appeal by Ocado for permission to open a depot next to a north London school has been dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate.

Campaigners against the project – which had been proposed next to Yerbury Primary School in Tufnell Park – celebrated after learning that the Inspectorate had ruled in their favour, following a four-day hearing in June.

The appeal had been launched by Ocado after Islington Council refused for the third time to grant the scheme a ‘lawful development certificate’, preventing it from going ahead.

The row stretches back over five years, with the online supermarket having previously taken the case to the High Court and Court of Appeal, but failing in its claim for judicial review of the council’s decision.

Parents at the school and several local residents – including film and theatre star Frances de la Tour – had organised themselves into the ‘NOcado’ campaign, arguing that the site was inappropriate due to its proximity to the school.

But Ocado had said it would use a 100 per cent electric vehicle fleet and that the distribution hub would create hundreds of local jobs.

The Inspectorate’s hearing examined the strength of evidence for whether the site was previously used for a similar purpose for a period of 10 or more years, meaning that the site would already have an “existing lawful use” as a depot.

Ocado argued there was “a very considerable body of evidence… that the warehouse building” to which the appeal relates “was used by BT as a storage depot for some 20 years between 1992 and 2013”.

But in a decision notice issued on 15 July, the Inspectorate said Ocado’s evidence was not “sufficiently precise and unambiguous”, and that the council’s reason for refusing the project was therefore “well-founded”.

Mark Hudson, a NOcado campaigner, said the news had come “as a massive relief to a community that has been put under huge stress”.

He added: “Over the five years of the battle, our local community has given incredible support in terms of crowdfunding for legal fees, practical expertise and amazing goodwill. We hope Ocado will face the fact that their hub is neither legal nor welcome, and put a stop to dragging our community, or any other community, through every angle in the legal process.

“We continue to press upon the new government to protect communities with vulnerabilities and ensure a 400 metre distance for new depots.”

A spokeswoman for Ocado Retail said: “The site would have been the greenest grocery facility in the UK.

“Our plans would have removed diesel vans from Islington and replaced them with a 100 per cent electric fleet, and created 300 new jobs for the local economy.

“However, as we acquired this site four years ago, the location is not part of our current business plan. We are in discussions to find an alternative occupier for the site.”

(Local Democracy Reporting Service)