Wheeler v JJ Saunders Ltd

Wheeler v JJ Saunders Ltd
Court	Court of Appeal of England and Wales
Full case name	Dr. Graham Edward Wheeler v J.J. Saunders Ltd
Decided	19 December 1994
Citation	[1994] EWCA Civ 32
Transcript	Bailii transcript
Case history
Prior action	High Court of Justice
Court membership
Judges sitting	Staughton LJ Gibson LJ Sir John May

Wheeler v JJ Saunders Ltd [1994] EWCA Civ 32 is an English Court of Appeal case on nuisance which amended the precedent set by Gillingham Borough Council v Medway (Chatham) Dock Co Ltd.^[1] Wheeler was a veterinary surgeon who owned Kingdown Farm House; the wider farm was owned by J.J. Saunders Ltd, who used it for raising pigs. After Saunders gained planning permission for a pair of pig houses, Wheeler brought an action in nuisance, alleging that the smell of the pigs interfered with his use and enjoyment of the land. When the case went to the Court of Appeal, Saunders argued that the granting of planning permission for the pig houses had changed the nature of the area, as in Gillingham, making the nuisance permissible. The Court of Appeal rejected this argument, holding that a pair of pig houses was not a sufficient development to change the nature of an area; the centre of the Gillingham case had been a commercial dock, which was a sufficient development.