Most farmers know their neighbours, sometimes for many generations. But as more farms diversify, and more non-farming activities move into the countryside, disputes between neighbouring landowners are becoming harder to avoid.
Polly Ridgway, Legal Director in our Agriculture Litigation team, takes a look at nuisance and negligence claims and how they can arise, using a recent case to highlight where it can go wrong and what it means for farm businesses seeking to diversify.
Nuisance and negligence - what's the difference?
The two claims often go hand in hand, but they work in different ways.
Private nuisance is about the use of land. It covers situations where one landowner's activity unreasonably interferes with a neighbour's use and enjoyment of their own land, through, say, noise, smell, dust, vibration, encroachment or similar disturbance. Importantly, the law generally expects neighbours to accept the ordinary give and take of country life.
Negligence is different. It's not about the use of land as such, but about whether someone owed a duty of care, breached it, and caused foreseeable harm as a result. In a neighbour dispute, that might mean asking whether a landowner knew, or should have known, that their activity could harm a neighbour, and whether they took reasonable care to avoid it, for example by considering a less disruptive alternative.
The two claims can lead to very different outcomes on the same facts, as the recent Court of Appeal case of Thomas v Nicholas shows.
Thomas v Nicholas
Two Cornwall landowners fell out over noise. Mr Thomas ran a scaffolding business from agricultural land; next door, the Nicholas’ ran a commercial falcon-breeding business, and claimed the disturbance had stressed three valuable falcons to death. They sued in both nuisance and negligence, and the first instance judge agreed, awarding £258,500 in damages.
On appeal, the Court of Appeal held that the nuisance claim failed finding that the falcon business was unusually sensitive, so there was no substantial interference with an ordinary use of the land.
The negligence claim, however, succeeded as Mr Thomas had previously been warned that his activities could harm the falcons and he had a less disruptive option available to him. His breach of the duty of care owed to the Nicholas’ was enough to uphold the original damages award.
The case is now heading to the Supreme Court, so this isn't the final word.
Why this matters
Disputes over the activities of rural neighbours is an issue affecting a growing number of rural businesses in part due to the drive for diversification, with many having to turn to alternative business activities such as glamping, weddings, renewable energy or, in this case, falcon breeding to stay profitable and sustainable.
But adapting rural land for new alternative uses can also result in a higher likelihood of clashes with neighbours, particularly if there are sensitivities to noise, smell or disturbance in a way more so than normal traditional farming would.
The law of nuisance doesn't automatically protect a particularly sensitive business from a neighbour's ordinary activities, with this case demonstrating that it was a successful negligence claim required for protection.
For anyone running or hosting a diversified business, that has real practical consequences:
What you need to know
- Ordinary farming activity can still lead to a claim made against you if it can be shown that your activity unreasonable interferes with your neighbours’ enjoyment of their land;
- Planning permission for diversification is not a shield; it does not prevent a nuisance or negligence claim being brought against you;
- A new neighbour “coming to the nuisance” is not an available defence;
- Litigation is expensive and should be avoided.
- Get early legal advice. These claims can escalate, be complicated and the law is still developing. Matters can often be resolved quickly and amicably with the help of early advice.
Thrings’ Agriculture team is one of the largest of its kind in the UK with decades of experience in successfully supporting its farming and landowner clients to achieve their aims and the potential for their business. Its lawyers are ranked in the highest tier by both the prestigious Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners directories and have been chosen by the NFU to act for its members in more countries than any other firm.
Find out more about how we can support farmers, food producers and rural communities on our Information for Farmers page.
