Daylight and Sunlight Assessments in Havering

When a scheme in Havering risks reducing the light reaching a neighbouring home, the council will want to see that the impact has been properly considered. Whether you are extending a family home in Hornchurch or Upminster, altering a property in Romford or Elm Park, or bringing forward a larger residential development in Rainham, Harold Wood or Gidea Park, the effect of your proposals on surrounding windows and gardens is a possible issue - and demonstrating that the impact is minimal is the responsibility of the applicant.

At Sunlight Assessments, we prepare BRE-compliant daylight and sunlight assessments for planning applications across the London Borough of Havering. Our reports are clear, technically robust, and written around the policy tests Havering actually applies when determining applications.

When is an assessment needed in Havering?

Not every application requires a formal study, but one is commonly expected where:

• 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
• Side and rear extensions or loft conversions in tightly built Victorian and Edwardian terraces, where neighbouring windows may be particularly close to the proposed works
• 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.

Havering's planning policy in detail

Havering determines applications against its Havering Local Plan 2016-2031, adopted in November 2021, read together with the Mayor's London Plan. The Local Plan sets the framework for development across the borough and treats the impact on neighbours' amenity - including loss of daylight, sunlight and privacy - as a key consideration in assessing any application.

Unusually, Havering's Local Plan is explicit about methodology: it states that the council will expect the impact of development to be assessed following the most recent version of the Building Research Establishment's "Site layout planning for daylight and sunlight: A guide to good practice", and that, depending on the scale of the development, a daylight and sunlight report may be required to fully assess the impacts. In other words, the requirement for a BRE-based assessment is written into policy rather than left to a planning officers discretion alone.

The Local Plan also promotes good internal daylight in new homes, encouraging dual-aspect accommodation on the basis that it offers better daylight, a greater chance of direct sunlight for longer periods, and natural cross-ventilation. For householder schemes specifically, Havering's Residential Extensions and Alterations SPD provides detailed design guidance - including recommendations on the depth, boundary set-in and roof form of rear extensions - which the council uses to judge whether an extension will harm a neighbour's light and outlook.

For the numerical work itself, we apply the current BRE guidance, BR 209: Site layout planning for daylight and sunlight (2022 edition), using its established tests of VSC, NSL and APSH to show whether the amenity protections in the Local Plan are met.

You can review Havering's adopted Local Plan at havering.gov.uk/localplan and the borough's supplementary planning documents, including the Residential Extensions and Alterations SPD, at havering.gov.uk/downloads/download/567/supplementary_planning_documents.

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 Havering report includes

Our daylight and sunlight assessments for Havering 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 Havering.

Get in touch

If you are planning a development in Havering 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 turn around a report within 5 working days of receiving the necessary information.