High Court battle over vent causing 'uncomfortable environment' at Windsor strip club

Fast-food fumes creating an ‘uncomfortable environment’ at a strip club in the shadow of Windsor Castle are not the landlord’s responsibility, a High Court judge has ruled at appeal.

Pink Gentleman’s Club has been grappling with a problem vent hooked up to nearby burger bar Gourmet Grill, said to be ‘unacceptably noisy’ and ‘leaking grease’ into its entrance area.

The strip club’s owners locked horns with landlords Darville & Son in a legal battle over ‘noise and hygiene nuisance’ caused by the offending vent – claimed to be the latter’s responsibility.

But a decision handed down by Royal Courts of Justice Judge, Mr Justice Adam Johnson, ruled Darville & Son ‘could not be liable’ as there was no evidence of its ‘participation in the nuisance’.

The case of the problem piping had already been dismissed by Judge Her Honour Justice (HHJ) Melissa Clarke, who Mr Justice Johnson said had been correct in her original decision.

Pink, run by HLS Leisure Limited, is described on its website as a ‘sophisticated, luxurious table dancing venue’.

Its owners’ legal case claimed the vent outlet, located at the club entrance in a loading bay off Oxford Road East next to Peascod Street, was causing upset for customers.

Mr Justice Johnson said: “HLS Leisure’s nuisance claim was brought on the basis that the ventilation ducting was unacceptably noisy and was also leaking grease into the loading bay.

“This was said to be a problem for HLS Leisure, because it created an uncomfortable environment for Pink’s customers and staff.”

The ducting is used to extract fumes from Gourmet Grill’s kitchen and had likely been installed by the restaurant and possibly without the landlord’s permission, Mr Johnson said – agreeing with HHJ Clarke’s ruling.

“She noted that those fitting out fast food places often take a pragmatic approach to such things, without worrying too much about the legal niceties,” he said.

The previous judgment found that, as the vent was considered part of the land belonging to Gourmet Grill, landlord Darville & Son could not be held liable for nuisance it caused.

“The judge agreed there was a nuisance in law, caused both by noise from the ventilation ducting and from the leaking of grease,” Mr Justice Johnson said.

“But as I have said, she did not think that Darville & Son, the landlord, was responsible for it.”

Pink’s owners’ appeal case argued the vent was on communal land, the loading bay, which the landlord was liable for.

However, Mr Justice Johnson ruled the vent was part of the ‘demise of the tenant [premises of Gourmet Grill]’ as it was part of its kitchen extraction system.

He concluded: “The central issue in this case is about whether a landlord should be liable for noise and hygiene nuisance caused by ventilation ducting running from premises occupied by a tenant and used as a fast food takeaway.”

Mr Justice Johnson said, ‘the landlord could not be liable without some evidence of active or direct participation in the nuisance, and there was no such evidence’.