Leyton site was formerly used by the high street bakery chain that went bust in 2020, reports Josh Mellor, Local Democracy Reporter
Plans to build five new warehouses on the former Percy Ingle site in Leyton have been approved despite concerns about contaminated land.
Part of the industrial estate at Church Way, Leyton, was a factory used by the iconic East London bakery chain, which closed in 2020.
Following approval by a Waltham Forest Council planning committee, the site containing ten warehouse buildings can now be redeveloped into five new warehouses with about 17,000sqm of floor space.
However, early testing of the soil and groundwater has found that the site – which has been an industrial estate since the 1920s – contains pollutants such as asbestos, gases and elevated concentrations of some chemicals.
During the debate, committee member Keith Raynor asked planning officers for more details about safety measures, saying the site has a “very long history of contamination”.
Assistant director of development management Justin Carr said the development will be subject to a “standard” planning condition requiring reports showing what remediation work has been carried out.
However, he added: “It isn’t a residential scheme, the difference is where schemes are residential people would be growing vegetables and it’s important to be much more sure.
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“It’s different, but it’s still being dealt with.”
As a result, the developer will have to carry out more detailed ground studies and make the land safer before building work can begin.
A preliminary study by environmental consultants TRC has recommended a programme of “soil zone excavation” and remediation of soil either through disposal or “on-site treatment and re-use”.
To deal with a potential risk from gas, “basic” protection measures such as membranes under floor spaces could be installed.
Although the application was brought to the council by developer PBBE, the estate will be part of a national network of industrial estates run by Evo Industrial.
The council’s planning officer Pedro Rizo advised the committee to approve the plans, saying they are in line with “long-standing aspirations to intensify job opportunities”.
As part of the application process, the developer has agreed to a range of conditions including highway works to the estate’s roads, £250,000 towards pedestrian and cycling connectivity, £100,000 towards restoring the neighbouring Dagenham Brook and £176,000 towards the council’s air quality action plan.
Before the plans were approved, committee chair Jenny Gray praised the plans to replace the “tired industrial estate”, improve the streets and generate jobs.
The full plans can be found on the Waltham Forest Council’s planning website by searching reference 230086.
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