Local authorities in the United Kingdom have been given statutory power
to deal with environmental nuisances since 1846. The current law is
now contained in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which applies
to the whole of the United Kingdom.The courts recognise the general
principle that individuals have a general right to enjoy their property
without interference from activities, which take place outside that
property. The plaintiff can enlist the law of nuisance if such a right
is prejudiced. The factors, which the court takes into account when
considering if a given state of affairs constitutes a nuisance, can
be various and HPS provides support to local authorities and NHS Boards
when instances are being investigated.
The courts have adopted an uncompromising stance to authors of nuisances
by refusing to say that a person suffering from a nuisance should do
everything reasonably possible to mitigate the suffering. This approach
is implicit in the numerous decisions concerning noise nuisance where
it has never been accepted, for example, that the plaintiff should go
to the expense of having premises double or triple-glazed in order to
reduce the effect of noise.
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