Rights of Light & Daylight can be affected by the development of neighbouring buildings or land as it may block some of the light that an occupier previously enjoyed in their building. Whether or not that leads to an actionable Rights of Light injury or, indeed, if planning permission may be refused on the grounds of daylight and sunlight being adversely affected, is a highly technical and often legally complex question. We have 10 years of experience in this field and, whether you are a developer or a neighbouring owner, we offer a specialist, comprehensive service tailored to your specific requirements.
Experience
Rights of light (ROL) and Daylighting, Sunlighting and Overshadowing (DSO) issues can make or break a whole development. Taking quality, specialist advice at the earliest stage can smooth the path of a proposed scheme by eliminating non-compliance with planning policies and abating disputes with neighbours, benefiting developers and adjoining owners alike. Our experience means that we can identify potential problems very quickly and propose solutions that match a client’s objectives, to ensure that the risk of delay and cost escalation are minimised.
In some cases we may recommend making changes to the design of a development so that any light reduction to neighbouring buildings is kept within acceptable levels. However, design changes might lessen, but might not entirely remove, a ROL infringement. Sometimes developers are opposed to any kind of alterations to their design or it is simply not feasible to incorporate them. In these cases we will advise on the severity of the ROL injury, assess the likely level of damages and open negotiations with the opposing party.
Clarity
Whilst ROL and DSO is undeniably complex, it is important that no matter whether you are located near to a proposed development or you are a commercial developer planning a large scheme, you are kept fully aware of the issues. Our advice and solutions are clear, unambiguous and practical to enable matters to be progressed as speedily and amicably as possible.
Resources
Over the past decade demand for our ROL and DSO consultancy services has grown rapidly. Hand in hand with this we have both expanded our specialist team and developed the IT and support resources that are so important when carrying out this type of work. We have specialist software to conductROL and DSO analyses and the software programs enable us to identify potential problems with a high degree of accuracy. We can provide invaluable advice right from the feasibility stage (through, for example, providing development envelopes), so that any ROL infringement is eliminated or reduced, through to the detailed internal design stage where our input can pinpoint any design modifications necessary to ensure that the proposed buildings comply with the relevant DSO criteria.
Flexibility
Whether you’re a developer wanting to press ahead with a project, or if you own a property which you feel might be adversely affected by a development, our graphical presentation and reporting formats, as for all our services, is completely adaptable and can be tailored to suit your individual requirements. For RoL we can provide initial site appraisals through to detailed technical analyses. Our DSO reports for developers can be provided as stand-alone documents or can equally be provided in the form of chapters for use within Environmental Statements, BREEAM and Code for Sustainable Homes. Importantly, because the processes and tests applied in these assessments are very similar to the daylight work we have been undertaking for many years, we are able to provide these calculations quickly and economically. If instructed early we can also provide design advice which will help to ensure that the maximum number of credits can be achieved and to the best rating outcome.
We know that analysis and advice is sometimes needed very quickly, perhaps to assess rights of light injuries or to meet tight timescales for planning submissions. With a dedicated specialist team based in locations across the UK we have the capability and resources to turn an instruction around (i.e. undertake site inspections, modelling testing and reporting) within as little as 10 days.
Rights of light and daylighting products
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