Planning objections and 'right to light'

1ipstick

Our neighbour has applied for planning permission to build multiple houses on their land which would block out light to rooms in our house (as well as the garden).

There are lots of mentions of 'right to light' in this forum and all over the internet. I know it is not a planning issue and that it doesn't apply to gardens. However I was wondering if any of you moneysaving experts could clear up something that I can't find clarification on. Everything I've read says that the natural light "needs to have been enjoyed for a twenty-year period". Does this mean by the same person i.e. home-owner/occupier, or does it 'belong' to the window of the property?

I would assume the right to light is specific to the window in the property and does not matter whether the property has been lived in by the same person etc for 20 years. Is this correct?

Sorry, I know this relates to quite a specific point but I'd like to be sure I'm barking up the right tree

Davesnave

It's the window itself that acquires the right, not individual owners.

http://www.planning-applications.co.uk/righttolight.htm

After all, a relatively low % of home-owners keep the same property for 20+ years.

1ipstick

thanks, that's what I assumed but couldn't see it spelt out anywhere!

melb

I know this is slightly different but we are applying to remove a tree which has a TPO on it using the Right to Light argument as the house was built in 1890 and pre-dated the huge sycamore tree by several decades.
We are unable to carry out any tasks in 3 rooms which are affected by these tees. Our light has to be on permanently in the summer in these 3 rooms (dining room and 2 children's bedrooms)
The Tree Officer came and had a look and said the Right to Light Act didn't exist.
Has anybody seen any cases where this Act has been used in any cases similar to ours? thanks
ps I have been trying for a few days to get onto the Gardenlaw website which i find useful but cannot access the forum - has it disbanded?

System

it's usually guidance applied to local plans for built development, I'm not sure it could be applied to trees, especially deciduous ones - your best bet would be speaking to a local planning consultant to see if there is a way around it, you need someone that knows the legislation inside out

1ipstick

OP here! I think we need to go down the 'right to light' route as sadly planning permission has been granted for a large development meters from our house that will block light to at least one room. Does anyone on here have any experience fighting developments based on 'right to light'?

System

The BRE have a guide on preparing diagrams to illustrate overshadowing - you need to produce one of those that proves you will be adversely affected, if you object without any evidence it makes it really easy for a developer.
Write a factual objection based on planning concerns without getting caught up in emotional/ non-planning concerns.


Edit: Missed that planning had been granted - not sure what you can do if you have not objected during the consultation period and the planning dept haven't found any concerns with right to light

emmatthews

Has planning been applied for or granted?

Objections have to be raised, I believe, during the application stage.

Davesnave

If full planning really has been granted, what you are considering now should surely have been done last April.

1ipstick

We made a lengthy objection during the planning application. We referred to the BRE and requested a daylight and sunlight assessment. The planning officer said he didn't think one was required and granted the permission anyway. I am not sure what to do about that as he previously did not even know what documents were required to make a valid planning application until I pointed it out to him and the initial application had to be made invalid.
As I said in my post, 'right to light' is not a planning issue. It's a civil issue and doesn't form part of the planning application process. If I had a clear 'right to light' case I could take out an injunction to stop development regardless of planning.
I was hoping I could get a bit more info and personal experience from this forum about this aspect. We are clearly going to lose thousands on the value of our house and basing our planning objections on the actual council's planning strategies did not help at all (e.g. they say they aim to improve tree canopy cover, but are happy for this development to remove many trees as long as they pay a nominal sum to have some other trees planted elsewhere.)

1ipstick

Here's a handy PDF that explains some of the issues
https://www.localsurveyorsdirect.co.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/Daylighting-and-Sunlighting.pdf