Couple lose damages claim over noisy car park machine

A couple who sued for £180,000 over claims they were driven crazy by the “beep” of a car park intercom inches from their apartment’s only window in a historic city centre have had their compensation bid thrown out.

- PAUL KEOGH

Zhengfang Huang and his girlfriend Jingjing Chen lost their claim for damages, with Judge Melissa Clarke saying they should have “expected” noise when they rented a flat in the middle of Brighton.

The couple claimed their lives were made a misery by noise emanating from the car park next door to their home in Brighton’s historic Lanes district. The only window in their rented flat faces onto a pedestrian accessway into the busy parking area, with an alarm and intercom only a few inches below causing them constant noise nuisance, they told London’s High Court.

Suing for up to £180,000, they claimed their sleep, peace and mental health had been shattered by the regular “beep” of the intercom and ticket scanning machine “a few inches” from their window. But Judge Clarke threw out their £180,000 damages bid, telling them noise should be expected in a busy city centre like Brighton.

“They should have expected this when they rented a city centre apartment on the ground floor,” she said in her ruling last week.

She also rejected the couple’s claim for a temporary injunction to close the car park entrance, but said their injunction case could continue at Brighton County Court.