Ocado face Islington council leader’s anger
Row over online supermarket’s plans for distribution site near primary school
03 January, 2020 — By Sam Ferguson
Pupils, parents, teachers and councillors protested about Ocado’s plans to open a distribution hub near Yerbury Primary School
THE leader of Islington council has branded an online supermarket’s plan to build a distribution site as “completely inappropriate”.
As the Tribune reported before Christmas, Ocado has come under fire over its plans for the distribution centre yards from Yerbury Primary School on the Bush Industrial Estate in Upper Holloway.
Parents and teachers at the school previously spoke out against the plans, which would see a diesel tank and three fuel pumps installed on-site.
The main concerns raised have been around the amount of diesel HGVs passing near the school.
Islington Council leader Richard Watts said that the food delivery company would be “well-advised” to reconsider and come up with plan that was more agreeable to the community.
Islington Council leader Richard Watts
“Ocado has put in a planning application and that will be determined by the council planners in line with our planning procedures,” he said.
“However, it is astonishing that Ocado would seek to put a warehouse a few metres away from a school with new petrol pumps and a massive increase in heavy goods vehicles, emissions, extra pollution and damage to air quality.”
Cllr Watts added: “All the planning elements will get looked at with due process. From a child safety point of view and a pollution point of view, this is a completely inappropriate site for this proposed depot.”
A spokesman for Ocado said: “We are aware of the concerns expressed by Richard Watts, leader of Islington Council, regarding the planning application we made in August for a new micro-fulfilment centre nearby to Yerbury Primary School in Tufnell Park.”
He added: “We are very sorry for the anxiety that the application process has caused and are addressing these concerns directly with the school and other stakeholders”.