Yerbury Primary School pupils take part in a protest outside the High Court in May 2021
(Picture: PA)An attempt by Ocado to force the building of a depot three metres from a north London primary school has been blocked by Islington council.
The decision marks the latest in a series of major victories for the “Nocado” campaign organised by parents, pupils and teachers at Yerbury Primary School in Tufnell Park.
The depot, for which Ocado sought planning permission in 2019, has been opposed by Nocado over health and environmental concerns.
Islington council issued a final decision on Monday deeming Ocado’s latest attempt at planning permission “not lawful”.
Cassie Moss, headteacher at Yerbury Primary School, said: “Our thanks go to the council and campaigners and the decision to block Ocado from opening their depot in our backyard.
“We are thankful that children’s health has been prioritised over corporate growth particularly given the weight of evidence now linking air pollution to cognitive and physical development.”
The council originally granted the site’s landlord a “lawful development certificate” in April 2019, but it was revoked in October 2020.
The local authority said “false information” had been provided by landlord Telereal Trillium and “material information (was) withheld” with regard to the nature and extent of the plan and the nature of the use and occupation.
In June 2021, a High Court judge threw out the online supermarket’s claim for judicial review of a council decision to block the development.
Ocado then submitted a Certificate of Lawful Existing Use of Development (CLEUD) to the council in September — a certificate granted by a local planning authority to retrospectively legalise a previously unauthorised use or development.
If a CLEUD is obtained, the site can then operate without any restrictions to noise, air, traffic or light pollution that might be placed upon it had Ocado put in a traditional planning application.
But this was turned down on Monday to the delight of campaigners.
Eve Bolton, a nine-year-old pupil at Yerbury said: “We don’t want Ocado next door. We don’t want to breathe in bad air from vans and lorries. We don’t want noise or stress. All we want is clean air.”
The risk of air pollution to children’s health has been a heightened cause for concern since nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah from south London became the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death in 2020.
In 2019, one in 12 cases of asthma among children worldwide were attributed to nitrogen dioxide pollution at levels exceeding World Health Organisation guidelines. In the UK, London was responsible for the most cases, at 10,770.
Natasha Cox, a parent and campaigner, said: “We ask Ocado to listen to the voices of the children ringing loud and clear from the playground and drop this divisive and dangerous depot once and for all.
“Do not take the Council to court again, do not put in a planning application, just drop the depot and apologise for all the stress and anxiety you have caused to thousands.”
An Ocado spokesperson said: "Our proposals for the Bush Industrial Estate are to build the greenest and quietest grocery facility in the UK with a 100 per cent electric van fleet. We remain committed to the Islington community, where we delivered to one in six households in 2021, and will continue to look at how we can deliver an even better service to the borough while also significantly reducing our emissions.”
