London residents raise £8k to oppose new Ocado distribution depot

A group of London residents has raised more than £8k to oppose the construction of a supermarket’s distribution centre near a primary school.

NOcado is protesting against the development of an Ocado and Telereal distribution depot next to a primary school in Archway, North London.

It says that the depot will send fumes into the school’s playground, affecting children’s “long-term health and education”.

However, Ocado has confirmed that the plant will be 100 per cent electric, and withdrew plans for any diesel-based activity in May.

The online retailer also said that the new application includes a “green wall” between the school and site.

NOcado’s spokeswoman commented: “It is our view, shared by Islington Council, that Telereal should never have been issued the Lawful Certificate of Planning for this site.

“The result would be an intense 24-hour logistics depot, clogging up our streets with hundreds of deliveries a day.

“We have not seen any evidence that Ocado have withdrawn their application for diesel storage tanks on the site.

“Nor have they made any legally binding commitment to electrify it either. In addition, their proposal only cover the vans.

“No mention is made of the lorries, cars or scooters they would be using. This could result in thousands of additional journeys a week, if, as they have previously stated, they run their 1-hour Zoom service from the site.

“Our Nocado campaign has consistently stressed the concerns of the community, who have vocally opposed having a noisy and polluting depot built metres from Yerbury School playground.

“We know the damage this would cause to the health of our children, residents and local businesses.

“The council received over a thousand objections to Ocado’s plans. We will continue to demand answers from Ocado as to why they haven’t provided any environmental, traffic or noise impact assessments for their plans.”

A spokesperson for Ocado responded, saying: “Having secured an agreement with UK Power Networks to deliver a significant power upgrade we are revising our proposals for our spoke facility at the Bush Industrial Estate.

“This includes our plans to operate the site with 100 per cent electric Ocado vans, from its outset.

“This will see us invest in one of the largest electric van fleets in the country which will revolutionise the way we deliver groceries in the borough and mean that our overall emissions in Islington and the surrounding areas will fall.”