Daylight and Sunlight Assessments in Ealing

If you are planning a new development or extension in the London Borough of Ealing, a daylight and sunlight assessment is often a key requirement for securing planning permission. Whether you are extending a period property in Ealing, Acton, or Hanwell, converting a house in Southall, or proposing a new residential scheme in one of the borough's many regeneration areas, your proposals may affect the daylight and sunlight enjoyed by neighbouring properties and Ealing's planning officers will expect you to demonstrate that any impacts are acceptable.

At Sunlight Assessments, we prepare BRE-compliant daylight and sunlight assessments for planning applications across the London Borough of Ealing. Our reports are clear, technically robust, and written to support a smooth planning process.

When does Ealing require a daylight and sunlight assessment?

Not every application in Ealing will require a formal assessment, but there are common scenarios where one is expected:

• Extensions that extend close to a boundary with a neighbouring property, particularly where habitable rooms face the affected elevation
• New residential developments where neighbouring properties may lose access to natural light
• Applications where the Local Planning Authority has identified daylight and sunlight as a material planning consideration
• Rear, side, or loft extensions in tightly built Victorian and Edwardian terraces, which are common across much of the borough, where the proximity of neighbouring windows can make impacts particularly sensitive
• Conversions and changes of use where new habitable rooms are proposed

If you are unsure whether your scheme requires an assessment, we are happy to advise on this at no cost.

Ealing's local planning policy

Ealing's approach to daylight and sunlight is guided by its adopted Development Plan, which currently comprises the Core Strategy DPD (adopted April 2012) and the Development Management DPD (adopted December 2013). Together, these documents set out the policies used to determine planning applications across the borough, including those relating to the impact of new development on residential amenity and the quality of the built environment.

The Development Management DPD sets out Ealing's detailed development management policies, including requirements relating to the design, massing, and impact of proposed development on neighbouring properties. Protecting the amenity of existing and future residents — including their access to adequate levels of natural light — is a key consideration in how these policies are applied.

Ealing is in the process of preparing a New Local Plan (2024–2039), which was submitted for independent examination in November 2024. Once adopted, this will replace the existing DPDs and set out an updated framework for planning decisions across the borough.

In assessing the impact of development on natural light, Ealing applies the methodology set out in the BRE guidance document BR 209: Site layout planning for daylight and sunlight (2022 edition), the nationally recognised benchmark for daylight and sunlight assessments in the UK.

You can find Ealing's planning policy documents at ealing.gov.uk/info/201162/planning_policy/3124/development_plan and information on the new Local Plan at ealing.gov.uk/info/201164/local_plan/3125/new_local_plan.

How the assessment works

We use the methodology set out in BRE BR 209 to assess the impact of proposed development on daylight and sunlight. The key tests we carry out include:

Vertical Sky Component (VSC): This measures the amount of sky visible from the centre of a window. BRE guidance recommends that a VSC of 27% or more is generally considered adequate. Where a development results in a VSC that is less than 0.8 times its former value, the reduction may be noticeable to occupants.

No-Sky Line (NSL): This assesses the distribution of daylight within a room by plotting the line beyond which no sky is visible. Where the area of a room that can receive direct skylight is reduced by more than 20%, occupants are likely to notice a deterioration in the quality of daylight.

Annual Probable Sunlight Hours (APSH): This test is used to assess access to sunlight for windows that face within 90° of due south. It considers both the winter and annual totals to determine whether sunlight losses are likely to be material.

Where appropriate, we also carry out sun-on-ground studies to assess the impact on garden or amenity spaces.

What our Ealing report includes

Our daylight and sunlight assessments for Ealing planning applications typically include:

• A clear description of the proposed development and the surrounding context
• Identification of all relevant neighbouring windows and amenity spaces
• VSC and NSL calculations for affected neighbouring properties
• APSH calculations where required
• A comparison of results against BRE BR 209 benchmarks
• A professional assessment of whether any identified impacts are likely to be considered material in planning terms
• Recommendations for design amendments where required, to help reduce impacts and support approval

All reports are produced by qualified consultants with experience of working across the London Borough of Ealing.

Get in touch

If you are planning a development in Ealing and would like to discuss whether you need a daylight and sunlight assessment, please get in touch. We offer a free initial consultation and can usually turn around a report within 5 working days of receiving the necessary information.