Evolution in the law of transport noise in England

Abstract 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.