Daylight requirements in Dudley are assessed against the technical guidance in BRE BR 209 (2022), Site Layout Planning for Daylight and Sunlight, applied through the residential amenity and design policies of the borough's adopted development plan. Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council has no standalone daylight calculation policy that sets its own numerical targets; instead it relies on the nationally recognised BRE methodology, alongside BS EN 17037 and the National Planning Policy Framework, to judge whether a scheme protects the living conditions of existing and future occupiers.
For applicants in Dudley, Brierley Hill, Stourbridge, Halesowen and the surrounding settlements, that means a well-prepared daylight and sunlight report is often the clearest way to demonstrate that a proposal will not cause unacceptable overshadowing or loss of light to neighbours. Below we set out the policy framework that applies across the borough and the specific local guidance that planning officers will expect a scheme to address.
The adopted development plan for Dudley
Unlike many authorities that have a single recent Local Plan, Dudley's statutory development plan is currently made up of several documents. The two most relevant for amenity and design are:
- The Black Country Core Strategy (adopted February 2011), prepared jointly with Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton, which sets the strategic policy framework for the four Black Country authorities.
- The Dudley Borough Development Strategy (adopted 27 February 2017), which builds on the Core Strategy and directs growth and regeneration along the borough's corridors and town centres.
These sit alongside the Brierley Hill, Dudley, Halesowen and Stourbridge Area Action Plans. It is worth noting that the council is preparing a new Dudley Local Plan 2041, which was submitted to the Secretary of State in February 2025 and is currently at examination. Until that plan is adopted, the documents above remain the development plan against which applications are determined, so this is the framework your daylight and sunlight evidence should reference.
Key amenity and design policies
Two Black Country Core Strategy policies are particularly relevant when light and overshadowing are in question:
- Policy ENV3 (Design Quality) requires development to achieve a high standard of design, including respecting the amenity of neighbouring uses and ensuring acceptable living conditions for occupiers.
- Policy CSP4 (Place Making) sets out the borough's place-making expectations, including how new development should respond to its context and protect residential quality.
The Dudley Borough Development Strategy reinforces these aims for the borough specifically, expecting development to avoid unacceptable harm to neighbours through loss of privacy, outlook, sunlight or daylight, having regard to levels, orientation and separation distances. Where a proposal could materially reduce the light reaching a neighbouring window or garden, officers will look for evidence that the BRE thresholds have been considered.
Dudley's Residential Design Guidance SPD and the 45-degree code
The most important piece of local guidance for householders and small developers is the Residential Design Guidance Supplementary Planning Document, adopted on 28 June 2023. This SPD replaced the older New Housing Developments SPD (2013) and absorbed the council's long-standing Planning Guidance Notes, including the guidance on house extensions and the borough's 45-degree code.
The 45-degree code is the quick geometric test Dudley uses to screen extensions and infill for loss of light and outlook to neighbours: a line drawn at 45 degrees from the midpoint of a neighbour's nearest habitable-room window should not be breached by the new building. It is a useful first filter, but it is not a substitute for a full BRE assessment. Where an extension or new dwelling fails the 45-degree test, or where windows and gardens could be significantly affected, a numerical daylight and sunlight study to BRE BR 209 (2022) is usually the most persuasive way to show the real impact and, where appropriate, that it remains acceptable.
The SPD also stresses local character and the Black Country vernacular, drawing on the National Design Guide and Building for a Healthy Life principles, so design quality and amenity are treated together rather than in isolation.
How daylight and sunlight are measured
BRE BR 209 (2022) sets out the established tests that Dudley officers and consultants rely on:
- Vertical Sky Component (VSC) — the amount of skylight reaching the centre of a window, with 27% taken as a typical good level and a reduction to below 0.8 times the former value flagged as potentially noticeable.
- No Sky Line (NSL) / daylight distribution — how much of a room still receives direct sky after development.
- Annual Probable Sunlight Hours (APSH) — the sunlight reaching a window across the year, particularly relevant for south-facing rooms.
For new homes, BS EN 17037 and its UK National Annex provide target illuminance levels for daylight provision within the dwellings themselves. If you are unfamiliar with these measures, our explainer on VSC, NSL and APSH daylight metrics walks through each one in plain terms, and our overview of what a daylight report includes explains how the findings are presented for a UK planning submission.
Local factors that affect daylight schemes in Dudley
Several borough-specific characteristics tend to shape how daylight and sunlight issues arise here:
- Town-centre regeneration and taller buildings. Regeneration corridors around Dudley town centre, Brierley Hill (including the Waterfront and Merry Hill area) and the other centres mean denser, sometimes taller schemes where overshadowing of neighbouring residential property needs careful study.
- Conservation areas. The borough has more than 20 conservation areas, including the Brierley Hill High Street Conservation Area (also a designated High Street Heritage Action Zone) and the Castle Hill / Dudley Town Centre historic area around Dudley Castle. Tight historic frontages and varied building heights make light impacts on neighbours a real consideration, and design sensitivity is heightened.
- Established Victorian and inter-war housing. Much of the residential stock comprises closely spaced terraced and semi-detached homes, where rear extensions and backland infill frequently trigger the 45-degree code and BRE checks.
Because Dudley does not publish its own daylight calculation thresholds, the BRE numerical targets effectively become the benchmark officers and appeal inspectors apply. A clear, independent report that sets the figures against the relevant policies removes much of the uncertainty from a decision.
How Fortress Associates can help
Fortress Associates prepares daylight and sunlight assessments for sites across Dudley borough, from single rear extensions in Stourbridge to apartment schemes in the Brierley Hill regeneration area. Our reports are produced to BRE BR 209 (2022), BS EN 17037 and the NPPF, and reference the Black Country Core Strategy, the Dudley Borough Development Strategy and the Residential Design Guidance SPD so officers can see exactly how your scheme performs against the standards that apply locally. Find out more about our daylight and sunlight report service, or read about the services we offer.
We work nationwide with a 4 to 5 working day turnaround and ask for no advance payment, so you can get clear, council-relevant evidence in good time for your submission. Reports are designed to improve your approval prospects by demonstrating compliance, or by setting out fair mitigation where targets are tight. To discuss a Dudley site, please get in touch or call 07448 539 682.
Sources & further reading
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