Philip Britton
May 2006
A paper based on the first prize entry in the SCL Hudson Prize essay competition 2005 presented to a meeting of the Society of Construction Law in London on 2nd May 2006.
Introduction - A recent example: Hunter v Canary Wharf - Legal background - The limited relevance of planning law - Assessing and managing 'neighbour risk' - The worst-case scenario - Conclusions. What legal rights may those who live next or close to a construction project have to stop, change or reverse the project? Philip Britton's paper considers ‘neighbour risk' under English private law, looking at the interaction between land law, tort law and ‘the right to build', with a special focus on the remedies available (injunctions and damages) and how the courts choose between them. He looks at both complaints concerning the negative impacts of the process of construction (noise, dust, subsidence etc) and challenges to what will be, is being, or has been, constructed.
The author: Philip Britton LLB BCL is Director of the Centre of Construction Law, King's College London. He is also a Chief Examiner and Moderator for the Fellowship examinations of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Text: 20 pages
PDF file size: 243k
(Note: this paper has now been overtaken by a revised and extended article, 'Construction and Neighbour isk in English Law' at [2006] ICL 480.)