Ocado U-turn over school’s pollution fear

OCADO has backed down in a row over plans to open a major distribution hub next to a primary school.

the online grocer faced a backlash from parents who feared that pollution caused by delivery lorries would damage children’s health.

Ocado has scrapped proposals to use diesel lorries and will not allow them to drive along the school boundary. the firm has also pledged to bring in electric delivery vans at the site – on Station road in Islington, North London – ‘if we can attain a significant power upgrade’.

It said it will ensure that nonelectric vans using the site will observe higher emission standards than required by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

the U-turn marks a huge victory for local people, especially parents and staff of Yerbury Primary School, who mounted protests and enlisted local MP Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, in their campaign.

they claimed air quality would have been compromised by delivery lorries driving close to the school boundary, especially given that deliveries and refuelling would have taken place between 10am and 4pm.

the school said these hours include ‘playtime, lunchtime and home time when the children will be outside, running around and thus breathing air in heavily’.

Locals launched a campaign to thwart the plans, and called on residents to boycott Ocado and to write to chief executive tim Steiner (pictured).

Before the U-turn, Cassie Moss, head teacher at Yerbury, said: ‘We urge Ocado to carefully reconsider the location of their proposed distribution hub for the health of our children.’

After Ocado’s U-turn she said: ‘I am really pleased Ocado is acknowledging the damaging effect the original proposal would have had on the community and especially the school. I shall study the revised plans carefully, because, given their huge financial, technical and infrastructural implications, the devil will be in the detail.’ Signalling the change of tack, Ocado’s operations director richard Locke wrote to Islington council leader richard Watts offering a radical overhaul of its proposals. He said there is insufficient electricity supplied to the site to enable Ocado to switch to electric vehicles, and any increase relies on permission from the council, along with the site’s landlord and Network rail. Locke said Ocado had ‘listened carefully’ to the council’s concerns about the diesel tanks and pumps. In addition to its other concessions, Ocado has said it will ‘create bicycle parking racks to encourage employees to cycle to work’.