A very interesting analysis of case for nuisance against a motorsports operation

This "Case Note"¨  [Ned Westaway (2014) Coventry v Lawrence: Nuisance Redefined. Environmental Law Review: July 2014, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 211-218.] has some very interesting things to say about "amenity nuisance" in relation to motorsport noise.

There is also some very interesting stuff on pages 214 and 215 about the character of the locality and the relevance of planning permission in relation to seeking damages for nuisance.  For example:


"The court signalled a move away from the ‘character of the locality’ as a yardstick in considering the reasonableness of a defendant’s activities in nuisance claims; instead it settled on a more nuanced gauge – ‘the established pattern of uses’ in the locality.(17) Lord Carnwath referred to the ‘varied pattern of uses all of which need to coexist in a modern society’.(18)  This must be welcomed: it provides a more fact-sensitive framework against which nuisance may be assessed."

and

"If demonstrating compliance with conditions may indicate that a party is not responsible for a nuisance, so 'evidence of failure to comply with such conditions, while not determinative, may reinforce the case for finding for nuisance under the reasonableness test.(28)'

It makes an interesting read.