HIGHWAY AUTHORITY LIABLE IN NUISANCE FOR FAILING TO ENLARGE CULVERT

Bybrook Barn Centre Ltd v Kent County Council [2001] BLR 55

In Bybrook Barn Centre Ltd v Kent County Council [2001] BLR 55 the Court of Appeal held that the defendant highway authority was liable in nuisance as a result of its failure to take reasonable steps to prevent flooding to the claimants’ land. The defendants were not strictly liable for the damage caused by the flood but they were held liable on the basis that they had knowledge, prior to the occurrence of the flood, of the inadequacy of the culvert and they had the means of preventing the flooding without great difficulty. Given the high incidence of flooding in this country in recent months the decision of the Court of Appeal in the present case is likely to be one of some significance.