Nuisance by noise

Planning permission granted by planning authority establishing, by condition, a framework of acceptable noise levels and time limits with the benefit of expert advisers

Where the evidence showed that such a set of conditions had been carefully designed to represent the (planning) authority's view of a fair balance, they were not binding on the judge, but they may help to bring some order to the debate

However, if the defendant sought to rely on compliance with such criteria as evidence of the reasonableness of his operation, the onus was on him to show compliance

By contrast, evidence of failure to comply with such conditions, while not determinative, may reinforce the case for a finding of nuisance under the reasonableness test.

Defendant, faced with a contention that his activities gave rise to a nuisance, could rely on those activities as constituting part of the character of the locality, but only to the extent that those activities did not constitute a nuisance

If the activities couldn't be carried out without creating a nuisance, then they would have to be entirely discounted when assessing the character of the neighbourhood

In many cases, it was fairly clear whether or not a defendant's activities constituted a nuisance once one had established the facts, and questions as to the precise identification of the locality or its character did not have to be addressed

However, in some cases, the court may have to go through an iterative process when considering what noise levels were acceptable when assessing the character of the locality and assessing what constituted a nuisance

Any other activity in the neighbourhood could (also) properly be taken into account when assessing the character of the neighbourhood, to the extent that it did not give rise to an actionable nuisance or was otherwise unlawful

Other uses which may not have obtained a specific sanction (through being agreed to by the claimant, through a prescriptive right or through the court refusing an injunction), but which were unobjectionable as a matter of law, may therefore (also) be taken into account.

Defendant could possibly obtain by prescription (a form of deemed grant that arose as a result of long use) a right to commit what would otherwise be a nuisance by noise.