Residents of Tufnell Park and St George’s are ready for another fight as Ocado applies for yet another licensing certificate for loading and refuelling trucks. Nocado is the grassroots campaign created by these residents to stop Ocado using a local industrial estate right next to Yerbury primary school.
In the autumn of 2020, Islington Council revoked Ocado’s licence meaning they could not operate the site, which was a huge win for Nocado, but the supermarket chain is now in the process of applying for another.
Yerbury primary school’s intake is from areas including Tufnell Park and St George’s, directly next to the proposed depot. Ever since Ocado’s proposal, parents of Yerbury pupils have been fighting against it. Residents are concerned about the noise and traffic issues the depot would cause with nearly 300 cars and vans coming in and out 24 hours a day. More pressingly, campaign coordinator David Zell explains, feel it will “threaten the health of 460 kids.”
In order to stop Ocado getting this license, the campaign’s agenda is media coverage and raising as much awareness as possible. Zell says, “it’s very clear that they are trying to avoid proper scrutiny’, as they ‘have never produced any reports to date on pollution or traffic.”
Ocado has taken the council all the way to the high court; “The biggest issue is money,” Zell says, “Lawyers are not cheap.” The group has so far raised £60,000 to use on legal fees, but Ocado is continuing to pursue the certificate and therefore the campaign needs even more money. “They’re trying to wear us down and we know that,” Zell says.
Zell points out that it is easy for residents to feel hopeless against such a big organisation: “How can we locals take on a company like Ocado?” But with increasing media attention and a resilient local team, the campaign is working tirelessly to prevent the license being granted and certainly will not be giving up anytime soon.
