If you are planning a rear extension in Epsom, a loft conversion in Ewell, or a new dwelling in Stoneleigh or West Ewell, it pays to understand the daylight requirements in Epsom and Ewell before you submit. Epsom and Ewell Borough Council is the local planning authority (LPA) that determines householder and residential applications across the borough; Surrey County Council is the upper-tier authority but does not decide these proposals. This guide sets out the adopted policies that apply, the council's stated position on daylight and sunlight, and how a technical assessment supports a sound decision.
Daylight requirements in Epsom and Ewell: the policy framework
The statutory development plan for the borough is made up of two documents: the Core Strategy, adopted on 24 July 2007, and the Development Management Policies Document, adopted in September 2015. Together these set out the strategic direction and the detailed development management policies against which day-to-day applications are judged. The borough is also one of the most heavily urbanised in Surrey, with its housing strategy directing new homes to suitable sites within the existing built-up area in order to protect the Green Belt and the open setting of the Epsom Downs and racecourse to the south.
The council is well advanced with a new Local Plan 2022-2040, which was submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination on 10 March 2025. Until that emerging plan is adopted, the 2007 Core Strategy and the 2015 Development Management Policies remain the primary policy documents, and they are what your application will be assessed against.
The policy that does most of the work on daylight, sunlight and residential amenity is Policy DM10: Design Requirements for New Developments (including House Extensions). It requires proposals to incorporate the principles of good design, respecting the prevailing typology, density, scale, layout, height, massing, plot width and spaces between buildings, and building line. Crucially for light, it requires development to:
- have regard to the amenities of occupants and neighbours, including in terms of privacy, outlook, sunlight/daylight, and noise and disturbance;
- respect plot width and format, which includes the spaces between buildings;
- respect scale, layout, height and massing; and
- avoid layouts that prejudice the reasonable development potential of neighbouring plots.
The explicit reference to "sunlight/daylight" within the amenity test is significant: daylight is named directly as a material consideration rather than being left implicit. The policy points to further detailed guidance on residential and householder development in the council's design supplementary planning document.
Density, separation and the wider design tests
Because Epsom and Ewell directs growth into its urban area, density and spacing matter a great deal to daylight outcomes. Policy DM11: Housing Density sets an expectation that new housing will in most cases not exceed 40 dwellings per hectare, with higher densities considered only where the surrounding townscape has the capacity to absorb them. Tighter sites and taller forms increase the risk of overshadowing and loss of light, which is exactly why DM10's amenity test is applied alongside the density policy. The council's emerging Local Plan work also references an expectation of around 20 metres between rear elevations and points to the recognised Building Research Establishment tools for measuring impacts on outlook and daylight.
Local guidance and validation in Epsom and Ewell
Epsom and Ewell supports its policies with adopted supplementary planning documents, including the Sustainable Design SPD (February 2016) and the Parking Standards for Residential Development SPD (December 2015). SPDs are material considerations that must be taken into account in deciding applications, even though they do not form part of the statutory development plan. The council also operates a Validation Requirements List (adopted by the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee on 11 July 2024), which sets out the supporting information expected with a submission; where a proposal raises a credible risk of harm to a neighbour's daylight or sunlight, a technical assessment is the most reliable way to demonstrate that the DM10 amenity test is met.
The borough does not publish a dedicated numerical daylight and sunlight SPD or fixed light thresholds. Instead, the "privacy, outlook, sunlight/daylight" wording of Policy DM10 is applied case by case, and the recognised national methodology supplies the objective measure. That methodology is the Building Research Establishment guidance, BRE BR 209: Site Layout Planning for Daylight and Sunlight - A Guide to Good Practice (2022 edition), read with BS EN 17037 on daylight in buildings. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) supports securing a good standard of amenity for existing and future occupiers and making efficient use of land, and these national documents apply through the locally adopted policies above.
What a daylight and sunlight assessment involves
A BRE-based assessment answers two questions: what daylight and sunlight neighbouring properties currently enjoy and how the proposal would affect them, and whether future occupiers of the new accommodation would receive adequate light. The principal tests include:
- Vertical Sky Component (VSC) - skylight reaching a neighbour's window, with a guideline of 27% or no worse than 0.8 times the previous value;
- Daylight distribution (the no-sky line) - how daylight is spread within a room;
- Annual Probable Sunlight Hours (APSH) - sunlight to windows with a significant southerly aspect, assessed annually and over winter;
- Overshadowing of gardens and amenity areas - using the sun-on-ground test at the equinox.
A clear, BRE-compliant report gives an Epsom and Ewell case officer the evidence to apply the DM10 amenity test with confidence. It is particularly useful for higher-density urban infill in central Epsom and Ewell village, backland and corner-plot schemes where spacing is tight, and two-storey or rear extensions where overshadowing of a neighbour's habitable-room windows or garden is a concern. A robust assessment does not promise consent, but it helps you design out problems early and supports a sound, evidence-based decision.
How Fortress Associates can help
Fortress Associates provides our daylight and sunlight report service to BRE BR 209 (2022) and BS EN 17037 for sites across Epsom, Ewell, Stoneleigh, West Ewell and the wider borough. We work nationwide with a typical 4 to 5 working day turnaround and ask for no advance payment. Explore our full services or contact us to discuss your project. If your scheme also needs technical drawings, we prepare Building Regulations drawings alongside the planning work. You may also find our companion guide to daylight requirements in Mole Valley useful for comparison with a neighbouring Surrey authority.
Sources & further reading
- Epsom and Ewell Borough Council - Local Plan and adopted policies
- Epsom and Ewell Borough Council - Supplementary Planning Documents
- BRE - BR 209: Site Layout Planning for Daylight and Sunlight (2022)
- GOV.UK - National Planning Policy Framework
- Fortress Associates daylight and sunlight reports and our services
Need help with a UK planning project?
Fixed-fee daylight reports and Building Regulations drawings — delivered in 4–5 working days. No advance payment.
Request a free quote