Wheeler v JJ Saunders Ltd [1996] Ch 19

Facts

• Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler owned a farm and operated a holiday accommodation business.
• JJ Saunders Ltd obtained planning permission to expand pig farming operations on adjoining land.
• The expanded pig farming led to stronger smells, which substantially interfered with the Wheelers’ business and enjoyment of their property.
• The Wheelers brought an action in nuisance against JJ Saunders Ltd.

Issues

1. Whether the grant of planning permission for pig farming constituted a defence to a claim in private nuisance.
2. Whether the nuisance caused by the increased pig farming was an unavoidable result of implementing the planning permission.

Decision

• The Court of Appeal held that planning permission does not automatically confer immunity from a nuisance claim.
• The defence of statutory authority applies only if the nuisance is a strictly unavoidable consequence of carrying out the permission.
• The court found that, because the nuisance could have been avoided without departing from the terms of the planning permission, the defence failed.

Legal Principles

• The existence of planning permission only provides a defence to nuisance where compliance with the permission makes the nuisance strictly unavoidable.
• Planning permission often allows flexibility; if a nuisance could be prevented without breaching the permission, the defence of statutory authority does not apply.
• Later case law, including Barr v Biffa Waste Services Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 312, reaffirmed that compliance with permits or planning permission does not absolve liability for nuisance unless the nuisance is an inevitable result.
• The focus remains on whether the defendant’s interference with the claimant's land is unreasonable when considering alternative methods under the permission.

Conclusion

Wheeler v JJ Saunders Ltd established that planning permission is not a blanket defence to nuisance; immunity arises only when the nuisance is an unavoidable consequence of the development as permitted. This strict necessity standard has shaped subsequent interpretations of nuisance and the defence of statutory authority in the context of regulated land use.