Abstract
• Evolution of the regulatory framework of transport noise in England. • Turnpike roads and railways could not give rise to nuisance in law. • Codes, including maximum noise levels, were introduced for road vehicles. • No compensation remedy present in initial jurisprudence on transport noise. • Current consensus is that statutory defence authority should be linked to compensation. This article tracks the evolution of the regulatory framework in relation to transport noise in England from private and public nuisances in common law to the defence of statutory authority. The article looks at the evolution of transport noise law focusing primarily on the emergence of turnpike roads in the eighteenth century, railways in the nineteenth century, the extension of road motor vehicles in the verge of the twentieth century and, lastly, the introduction of jet aircraft after World War II. The introduction of these noise sources shaped the current noise regulatory framework in England. Traffic noise in England enjoys protection against nuisance claims. Nowadays, the British Parliament is reluctant to remove citizen’s private rights, and express statutory authority has appeared in very few legislative provisions, save when these have been juxtaposed with some form of statutory remedy – which was not present in early English jurisprudence on transport noise.
Highlights
The article looks at the evolution of transport noise law focusing primarily on the emergence of turnpike roads in the eighteenth century, railways in the nineteenth century, the extension of road motor vehicles in the verge of the twentieth century and, lastly, the introduction of jet aircraft after World War II
The British Parliament is reluctant to remove citizen’s private rights, and ex press statutory authority has appeared in very few legislative provisions, save when these have been juxtaposed with some form of statutory remedy – which was not present in early English jurisprudence on transport noise
Part of the current English legislation in transport noise is the result of the transposition of European Directives as a consequence of the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) membership of the European Economic Community (EEC) from 1 January 1973 to 31 January 2020 when it left the European Union (EU)
Summary
Part of the current English legislation in transport noise is the result of the transposition of European Directives as a consequence of the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) membership of the European Economic Community (EEC) from 1 January 1973 to 31 January 2020 when it left the European Union (EU). There is extensive literature on the initial issues created by noise produced by new means of transport such as the railway in the early nineteenth century (Brenner, 1974; Jeans, 1875; Linden, 1966; Morgan, 2014; Pease, 1907; Smith and Wilde, 2010), and on the current noise policy and legislation in England (Abbott et al, 2015; Adams and McManus, 1994; Defra, 2010; European Commission, 2016; Kerse, 1975; Moor, 2011). We have not found a comprehensive review considering each of the forms of transport from the times of the Canal Mania to the introduction of aircraft
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