Ryeford Homes Ltd and Mewburn Property Co Ltd v Sevenoaks District Council and Others (1989) 46 BLR 34
Ryeford Homes is an older public-authority negligence case arising from the exercise of planning functions. Its enduring significance is the principle that the statutory planning system is operated for the public at large, not as a private service owed to individual landowners.
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- Neutral citation
- (1989) 46 BLR 34; (1989) 16 Con LR 75; [1989] 2 EGLR 281; [1990] JPL 36
- Court
- High Court, Queen's Bench Division
The claim arose from the planning history of neighbouring development
The developers alleged that earlier planning decisions and failures connected with an adjoining housing estate had contributed to flooding and prevented their own land from being developed as intended. They sought damages from the local authority in negligence.
The planning function was not owed privately to the claimant
The High Court rejected the negligence claim. The planning legislation established a regulatory system exercised in the public interest. The authority’s statutory planning functions did not, merely by being exercised in relation to neighbouring land, create a private duty of care owed to the claimant developer.
Later courts have continued to cite Ryeford Homes for the proposition that planning functions are undertaken on behalf of the public at large rather than for the protection of particular private individuals.
Why the case still needs care
Public-authority negligence law has developed substantially since 1989. Ryeford Homes should therefore not be treated as a complete statement of every circumstance in which a council might incur a common-law duty. Its narrower planning-law point remains useful: an allegedly poor planning decision does not itself create a private damages claim.
Source limitation
Planning Geek does not currently hold the original report. The principle is expressly discussed in later approved judgments, including Primavera Associates Ltd v Hertsmere Borough Council [2022] EWHC 2685 (Ch), where the court again considered whether a planning authority owed a developer a private duty of care.
A concise case summary is also available from Ipsa Loquitur.
Ryeford Homes Case Law Page Updated: 11th September 2026