The issue of rights of light recently made front page news when plans for the City of London’s tallest ever skyscraper at 22 Bishopsgate came under threat as neighbouring buildings complained it would overshadow them and encroach on their so-called rights to light. This piqued the interest of the general public who perhaps weren’t aware of the issues that arise when trying to protect a right to natural light from future development. And as this incident showed, not even those at the helm of the £1 billion scheme initially fully grasped the technicalities of the legal issues at stake.

After several high-profile cases, the planning system still does not provide automatic protection to neighbouring buildings’ right to light. It is therefore perfectly possible for a future development to gain planning consent even if it totally obstructs the light to existing buildings.

Ultimately, the law is complicated, not least because rights generally arise through long use and are very rarely referred to in title documents, so it pays to be aware of the general tenets of the issue whether you are bringing forward a scheme or – conversely – are nearby and likely to be affected by building work.

In most instances, a developer will seek the advice of rights of light surveyors and lawyers to ascertain the risks they might face and engage early with neighbours. Their planning application can then take these risks into consideration, enabling the development to be subsequently built without difficulty.

However, such advice is not necessarily always sought, or indeed followed. One example of this occurred in 2009. The developers of the Toronto Square office block in Leeds had a nasty shock when they received an injunction to remove the newly constructed top two storeys of their building as they infringed upon a neighbouring property’s right to light.

This was a major wake-up call to developers who had previously assumed that any claims could be paid off prior to, or in the course of, proceedings. In the end the developers of Toronto Square did agree a financial settlement with their neighbours, and the building remained intact. But it took two years and a considerable amount spent in legal costs by the developer before the matter was resolved.

Despite the attention this case and the events surrounding 22 Bishopsgate has shone on rights to light, we’re likely to continue to see issues and injunctions emerging. In fact, with an estimated 436 buildings of 20 storeys or above in the pipeline for Central London alone, it is almost inevitable. As Britain’s cities become ever more crowded, infill and extension schemes are also becoming increasingly commonplace. For this reason, there is a very real possibility that your business, home or investment could be affected.

The events at 22 Bishopsgate are a timely reminder to developers that it is far better to address the issue before the bulldozers have to be called in, but also individual homeowners and landlords that if a large scheme is planned nearby there are tools at their disposal that they can use to assert their rights to light.

Further information

Contact Savills Building and Project Consultancy