header-logo header-logo

NLJ this week: Light dispute sheds clarity on nuisance

08 August 2025
Issue: 8128 / Categories: Legal News , Nuisance , Property , Damages
printer mail-detail
227504
The High Court’s decision in Cooper v Ludgate House Ltd [2025] EWHC 1724 (Ch) has brought much-needed clarity to rights of light disputes, as Andrew Francis of Serle Court explains in this week's NLJ

The court ruled that light from land designated under s 203 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 should be excluded from loss assessments, a novel legal point. It also reaffirmed the Waldram method as the standard for measuring light loss.

Despite finding actionable interference from the 19-storey Arbor building, the court declined to order demolition, awarding £3.75m in negotiating damages instead. The judgment provides a structured approach to calculating such damages, rejecting ‘ransom’ logic in favour of realistic, evidence-based valuation. It also offers a ‘sense check’ via capital value loss estimates.

This decision is a significant addition to nuisance law, offering guidance on both new and longstanding issues in property disputes.

Issue: 8128 / Categories: Legal News , Nuisance , Property , Damages
printer mail-details
RELATED ARTICLES

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

Investment banking veteran appointed as chairman to drive global growth

NEWS
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll