Industrial estate wins permission for nighttime deliveries despite local noise fears

White Hart Lane site will get a new ‘acoustic fence’ to help reduce impact on local area, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

The industrial estate will see previously-imposed restrictions removed (credit Google)

A Tottenham industrial estate will be allowed to ramp up its operations despite neighbours’ concerns over noise.

The move will allow four units at the site in 550 White Hart Lane to operate round-the-clock deliveries and one of the buildings to be used for larger-scale general industrial works.

Planning chiefs at Haringey Council said the move – which involves ditching a set of restrictions previously imposed by the authority, including several preventing nighttime deliveries – would help “strengthen employment opportunities” on the site.

Haringey Council received 95 objections to the plans, including claims neighbours would be disturbed by noise from the units and delivery wagons.

To reduce noise levels, applicant LaSalle Investment Management plans to install a 6m-high acoustic fence along the western boundary of the site.

The plans were presented to a meeting of the council’s planning subcommittee on Monday. Planning officer James Mead told the committee that in addition to the fence there would also be restrictions on vehicle usage and the use of radios and public address systems in order to reduce noise.

Robbie McNaugher, the council’s head of development management, admitted noise levels would increase at nighttime but said they “wouldn’t be significantly above background levels” and the impact would be “so small” it would be “of no significance to the residents”.

Councillors quizzed planning chiefs on the proposals during the meeting. Labour’s Cathy Brennan asked why another acoustic fence could not have been included to make the site “as quiet as possible”.

Jennifer Barrett, the council’s noise and nuisance manager, replied that modelling had indicated other areas were going to be “significantly less impacted by noise” and there was “a sufficient boundary in existence already”, meaning additional fencing was not needed.

Adam Bamford, a noise consultant at Cass Allen acting on behalf of the applicant, said there was “very effective screening from the existing buildings themselves” and an extra fence would make no “perceptible” difference to noise levels.

Labour committee member Matt White asked what the reasons were for applying the restrictions in the first place and what had changed to mean they were no longer necessary.

Robbie replied that “the market” had indicated that the proposed changes were “essential for operations of units such as this” and the acoustic fence had “not been on the table” previously.

Speaking on behalf of the applicant, Wakako Hirose, senior planning associate at Rapleys, said the purpose of the application was to ensure the site remained commercially viable, adding that there were measures in place to reduce the impact on neighbours.

She added that the proposals were designed to “avoid peak-time congestion issues” and “not really intended […] to make this site a 24-hour distribution centre that would operate in the same way daytime and nighttime”.

Despite the significant number of public objections, no-one spoke against the plans during the committee meeting.

Labour’s Ajda Ovat and George Dunstall voted against, while their colleagues Reg Rice and Matt White abstained. The plans were approved when the remaining five Labour members and Liberal Democrat Luke Cawley-Harrison voted in favour.

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