A Lincolnshire potato storage facility has triumphed in court against its local council, overturning a noise complaint that threatened its ability to store future crops and risking major food waste.
The case, brought before the court following a complaint about fan noise affecting neighbouring residents, concluded with the district judge ruling in favour of the storage business.
The court found that the local authority had acted unreasonably in issuing the abatement notice and failed to properly engage with the facility during its investigation.
The four-day trial found there was no statutory nuisance, as the noise was not severe enough to cause significant interference.
It was also determined that the business was operating within reasonable parameters, using its land for traditional agricultural storage purposes in a largely rural area.
The facility, represented by agricultural law firm Roythornes Solicitors, had installed fans in one of its stores to dry a particularly wet potato crop harvested during the heavy rains of October 2023.
These fans needed to operate at full power throughout the drying season to prevent the crop from rotting – a vital step in safeguarding the food supply and reducing waste.
Rebecca Ironmonger, associate at Roythornes, said: “We’re very pleased to have represented our client in court and helped enable the business to continue carrying out its operations effectively.
"Not only were we able to secure the recovery of a proportion of our client’s costs through successful appeal, but we were also able to illustrate the importance of challenging enforcement action by regulators when that action seems to be contrary to common sense and adversely impacts business activity.
"The potential financial implications for our client, not to mention the potential food waste issues of any future crop being lost, were vast – so this wasn’t just a win for the facility, it was a win for the industry.”
Had the court upheld the abatement notice, the facility could have been prevented from operating the fans at full speed – or at all – potentially compromising future harvests.
Following the verdict, the storage facility praised the outcome, stating: "This decision is very important to our business, as existing and future crops could not be properly stored if the notice was upheld.”
