Daylight requirements in Eastleigh are assessed through the borough's adopted development plan rather than a single standalone daylight policy. If you are planning an extension, a new dwelling or a larger residential scheme in Eastleigh, Hedge End, Botley, West End, Bishopstoke or Hamble, the way your proposal affects daylight and sunlight to neighbouring homes will be a material consideration in the planning decision. This guide explains how Eastleigh Borough Council approaches daylight and sunlight, which policies apply, and where national technical guidance fits in.
The planning framework in Eastleigh
Eastleigh Borough Council is the local planning authority for the borough. Although Eastleigh sits within Hampshire, it is the Borough Council, not Hampshire County Council, that determines planning applications for housing and extensions. The relevant development plan is the Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2016-2036, which was adopted by Full Council on 25 April 2022 and replaced the earlier Local Plan 2001-2011.
The borough also forms part of the wider South Hampshire and Solent area, and the Local Plan was prepared having regard to the strategies of the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) as well as the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
Which Local Plan policies cover daylight and amenity
The key policy is Policy DM1 (General criteria for new development). Criterion i of DM1 states that all new development should, as relevant, not have an unacceptable impact on, and where possible should enhance, the residential amenities of both new and existing residents alongside the character and appearance of the area. Daylight and sunlight fall squarely within this amenity test.
The supporting text makes the link explicit. Paragraph 5.5 of the Local Plan confirms that new development will be assessed for its impact on residential amenity, and that:
Residential amenity covers a variety of issues including overlooking, loss of daylight, loss of outlook, noise, fumes and dust and the impact of floodlighting and security lighting.
So while DM1 does not set out numerical daylight targets, it provides the policy hook against which loss of light and loss of outlook are weighed. Other relevant policies include:
- Policy DM2 on the principles of sustainable construction, layout and impacts on local communities;
- Policy DM32, which sets internal space standards for residential development, helping ensure new homes themselves enjoy adequate living conditions; and
- Policy DM8 on pollution, which can bear on lighting and amenity matters.
Paragraph 5.6 of the Local Plan adds that all major development proposals should be accompanied by a Planning Statement explaining how the design accords with the Local Plan, the supplementary planning documents and the NPPF, which is often where a daylight and sunlight assessment is presented.
Eastleigh's daylight guidance position
Eastleigh Borough Council does not publish a numerical daylight and sunlight standard of its own within the Local Plan. Instead, design and layout matters are supported by the council's adopted Quality Places Supplementary Planning Document, originally adopted in 2011, which the Local Plan references at paragraphs 5.3 and 5.10 as providing more detailed guidance on the principles of design and layout. The council has also been progressing an updated Quality Places SPD to provide technical guidance on Policy DM1.
Because the Local Plan and its SPD do not prescribe their own daylight metrics, the established national technical guidance is what officers and applicants rely on to demonstrate compliance with the amenity tests in Policy DM1. In practice this means:
- the Building Research Establishment guide BRE BR 209 (2022), Site Layout Planning for Daylight and Sunlight: A Guide to Good Practice, which sets out the Vertical Sky Component, daylight distribution and Annual Probable Sunlight Hours tests;
- the daylight provision standard BS EN 17037 for daylight in buildings; and
- the amenity and design expectations of the NPPF, applied through the Local Plan.
A well-prepared BRE-based assessment is therefore the most reliable way to evidence that a scheme satisfies Policy DM1 criterion i in Eastleigh.
What this means for householders and developers
For a typical rear or two-storey side extension in a settlement such as Eastleigh town, Chandler's Ford or Fair Oak, the principal daylight risks are loss of light to neighbouring habitable room windows and loss of outlook. A daylight and sunlight report applying the BRE 25-degree and 45-degree guidance, and the Vertical Sky Component test where windows could be affected, will help demonstrate that the proposal does not cause unacceptable harm under DM1.
For larger or higher-density schemes, the same BRE methodology is used to assess both the impact on existing neighbours and the daylight and sunlight that future occupiers of the new homes would receive, supporting the internal living standards expected by Policy DM32.
Local context that affects daylight in Eastleigh
A few borough-specific factors are worth noting:
- A varied settlement pattern. Eastleigh ranges from the denser Victorian railway-town grid around Eastleigh and Bishopstoke to the lower-density suburban areas of Chandler's Ford and the more rural settlements near Botley and Hamble. Plot layout, separation distances and the prevailing building height vary considerably, so daylight impacts must be judged against the immediate local context, as DM1 criterion iii requires.
- Solent and PUSH growth context. As part of South Hampshire, Eastleigh has accommodated significant housing growth, and infill and intensification proposals are common. These are exactly the situations where daylight and sunlight to neighbours comes under closest scrutiny.
- Quality Places design expectations. The council's design-led approach through the Quality Places SPD means layout, spacing and the relationship between buildings are assessed carefully, all of which influence daylight outcomes.
How Fortress Associates can help
Fortress Associates prepares our daylight and sunlight report service to BRE BR 209 (2022) and BS EN 17037, tailored to the amenity tests in Eastleigh's Policy DM1 and supporting policies. We work nationwide with a 4 to 5 working day turnaround and ask for no advance payment. We also produce Building Regulations drawings where your project needs them. To discuss your Eastleigh scheme, please get in touch.
Sources & further reading
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