Ocado bids to take dispute over revocation of certificate of lawful use by council to Court of Appeal

Online retailer Ocado has applied to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal the High Court’s rejection of its judicial review challenge over Islington Council’s decision to revoke a certificate of lawfulness of an existing use or development (CLEUD) for a site on an industrial estate and near a primary school.

Mr Justice Holgate last month dismissed the company’s challenge in Ocado Retail Ltd, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Islington [2021] EWHC 1509 (Admin), which related to units A-D on the Bush Industrial Estate in London N19.

A spokesperson for Ocado said: “Our proposals for the Bush Industrial Estate are to build the greenest and quietest grocery facility in the UK with a 100% electric van fleet. We remain committed to the Islington community, where we delivered to one in six households in 2020, and will continue to look at how we can deliver an even better service to the Borough while also significantly reducing our emissions.”

The NOcado Campaign run by the Concerned Residents of Tufnell Park group said it was “disappointed, but not entirely surprised” to learn that Ocado had applied to the Court of Appeal to have the High Court judgment reviewed.

See also: Time limits in planning and revocation of CLEUDs – David Forsdick QC’s analysis of the High Court ruling.