Children from Yerbury Primary School outside the High Court in 2021 as concerned pupils, parents and residents fought against Ocado’s plans for a depot

IT’S no, no, no, no, no and no again for Ocado after the grocery giant was finally thwarted in its plans to build a depot close to a primary school.

In a victory for a determined campaign waged by residents against the plans over five years, a planning inspector threw out the company’s last appeal on Tuesday.

Fenella Bolton, who had a leading role in the NOcado campaign, said: “It’s six-nil to David – not Goliath – in the sense that the council has voted three times to say no, the High Court has said no, the Court of Appeal said no and the final throw of the dice was going to the planning inspectorate and they dismissed the case. We are pleased and relieved at the result.”

The verdict has been met with delight among staff and parents at Yerbury Primary School, where Ms Bolton is a governor and where there were fears about the traffic fumes and disruption from delivery vans coming in and out of the Bush Industrial Estate.

“The anxiety, the stress the amount of community time and the fundraising that’s gone into this has been enormous. I think Ocado’s strategy was to wear us down and we would just give in but actually the law has done what it’s supposed to do and the result fits for the community,” Ms Bolton said.

“Never has the community been against the rise of online shopping and the notion of distribution, just not three metres away from a primary school in the heart of a residential area.”

Mark Hudson, another campaigner, said: “This decision comes as a massive relief to a community that has been put under huge stress by Ocado’s determination to open a 24/7 polluting distribution hub right next to a primary school, playground and densely populated housing.

“Over the five years of the battle, our local community has given incredible support in terms of crowdfunding for legal fees, practical expertise and amazing goodwill.”

He added: “We hope Ocado will face the fact that their hub is neither legal nor welcome, and put a stop to dragging our community, or any other community, through every angle in the legal process. We continue to press upon the new government to protect communities with vulnerabilities and ensure a 400-metre distance for new depots.”

The verdict follows a series of rejections by Islington’s planning team and failed court appeals. The last hearing, in front of the planning inspectorate, took place over four days at the end of June. Ocado’s argument that the site had been used for a similar purpose for 10 or more years, which would have granted the scheme a “lawfulness development certificate”, was rejected.

The company has argued that there was a great demand for Ocado’s services in north London.

A spokeswoman for Ocado Retail said: “The site would have been the greenest grocery facility in the UK. Our plans would have removed diesel vans from Islington and replaced them with a 100 per cent electric fleet, and created 300 new jobs for the local economy.

“However, as we acquired this site four years ago, the location is not part of our current business plan. We are in discussions to find an alternative occupier for the site.”