Overview

• Zhengfang Huang and Jingjing Chen sued Brighton & Hove Council for £180,000, claiming psychiatric injury from noise near their rented flat in Brighton’s Lanes district.
• Judge Melissa Clarke dismissed the compensation claim, citing insufficient medical evidence and stating urban noise was foreseeable when renting a ground-floor flat in a busy area.
• The couple alleged disturbances from a car park intercom, door banging, and late-night conversations near their window, which they said affected their mental health.
• The judge also rejected their request for a temporary injunction to close the car park entrance, citing greater public inconvenience if granted.
• The injunction application will proceed in Brighton County Court, but the psychiatric damages claim has been permanently struck out.