Daylight Requirements in Fife

The historic skyline and ruined cathedral of St Andrews on the Fife coast

Daylight requirements in Fife are unusually well defined for a Scottish council, because Fife Council has published its own step-by-step daylight and sunlight guidance alongside the policies of its adopted Local Development Plan. Whether you are extending a home in Dunfermline, building on a gap site in Kirkcaldy, or working within the historic streets of St Andrews, understanding how the council assesses daylight, sunlight and privacy is essential before you submit. This guide explains the framework and how a BRE-based report supports it.

The planning framework in Fife

Planning applications in Fife are determined against a statutory development plan made up of:

FIFEplan — the adopted Fife Local Development Plan, adopted on 21 September 2017. It sets out the policies used to assess development across Fife.
National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) — adopted by the Scottish Government in February 2023 and part of the statutory development plan. Policy 14 (Design, quality and place) applies the “six qualities of successful places” and seeks to ensure development does not unacceptably undermine the amenity of existing homes, while Policy 16 (Quality homes) seeks well-designed, good-quality housing — including adequate daylight for new dwellings.

FIFEplan Policy 10: Amenity

The key FIFEplan policy for daylight and sunlight is Policy 10 (Amenity). It states that development will only be supported if it does not have a significant detrimental impact on amenity, and it lists the matters to be considered. Among them, point 5 is explicit: “The loss of privacy, sunlight, and daylight.” This places daylight and sunlight squarely within the council's amenity test, rather than treating them as a secondary issue.

Policy 10 works alongside Policy 1 (Development Principles), which requires development to provide a layout and design that demonstrates adherence to the six qualities of successful places. Design quality and amenity are therefore assessed together. The council's wider design expectations are set out in the Making Fife's Places Supplementary Guidance, adopted on 16 August 2018.

Fife's own daylight and sunlight guidance

What sets Fife apart is that the council has published a dedicated Daylight and Sunlight Guidance (current version dated 13 March 2024) that explains, step by step, exactly how it assesses the daylight impact of a proposal on neighbouring windows. It sets out a clear sequence of tests:

1. The 45-degree assessment

Used where a window is next to a development but does not directly face it — typically rear extensions. A 45-degree line is drawn from the closest point of the proposal towards the window on both the elevation and the plan. A material daylight impact is likely if the window's point falls within the 45-degree splays on both drawings.

2. The 25-degree assessment

Used where neighbouring windows directly face the development. On a cross-section taken straight out from the centre of the window, a line is drawn rising at 25 degrees. If the 25-degree line passes above the development, a substantial daylight impact is unlikely. If the line passes through the development, the proposal fails the test and a more detailed assessment is required.

3. The Vertical Sky Component (VSC) method

Where a proposal fails the 25-degree assessment, or where neither angular test is wholly suitable, the council requires a Vertical Sky Component (VSC) assessment. Crucially, Fife's guidance states this “shall be undertaken in accordance with the methodology set out in the BRE Report Site Layout for Daylight and Sunlight: A Guide to Good Practice (3rd Edition, 2022)” — in particular the methodology in its Appendix A. This is a direct, named reference to the current BRE guidance, so a VSC report prepared to that standard is exactly what Fife expects.

Sunlight to gardens and amenity spaces

The guidance also addresses sunlight to the main useable amenity space of a home. An assessment is required where the proposal adjoins that space and any part of it lies to the south of the space's centre point. As a benchmark, the centre point of the garden should receive more than two hours of sunlight on 21 March, and the protection is engaged where the sunlight received would otherwise fall to less than 80% of its former level — assessed at the appropriate Scottish latitude of between 55 and 57 degrees North.

Fife's guidance is deliberately sequential: pass the 45-degree or 25-degree test and the matter is usually settled; fail it, and a BRE-compliant VSC assessment is the route to demonstrating the impact is acceptable.

Local context across Fife

Two local factors are worth bearing in mind:

A very varied built environment. Fife ranges from the larger towns of Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy to the historic, tightly grained streets of St Andrews and numerous conservation areas and coastal villages. Daylight relationships differ markedly between these settings, so the council's angular tests and VSC method need to be applied to the actual context, not a generic template.
A Scottish latitude. Fife's sunlight benchmarks are expressly set for a latitude of 55–57 degrees North. The lower sun angles this far north make overshadowing of gardens and lower windows a genuine consideration, and reinforce the value of an accurate, location-specific sunlight assessment.

BRE BR 209 and BS EN 17037

Because Fife's own guidance names the BRE good-practice guide directly, the technical foundation is clear. BRE BR 209, Site Layout Planning for Daylight and Sunlight (2022 edition) sets out the VSC, No Sky Line / daylight distribution and Annual Probable Sunlight Hours methods that underpin the council's tests. For daylight provision inside new homes, BS EN 17037 (Daylight in Buildings) provides the best-practice targets. A report prepared to BR 209 (2022) and, where relevant, BS EN 17037 maps directly onto Fife's published methodology and Policy 10.

Practical tips for applicants in Fife

Work out early whether your situation calls for the 45-degree or the 25-degree test, and provide accurate plan and elevation drawings showing neighbouring windows and levels.
If a 25-degree assessment is likely to fail, plan for a VSC assessment to BRE (2022) from the outset.
Check whether your proposal lies to the south of a neighbour's main garden — if so, a sunlight assessment will be needed.
In St Andrews and other conservation areas, expect design and amenity to be scrutinised together under Policies 1 and 10.

How Fortress Associates can help

Fortress Associates provides our daylight and sunlight report service to BRE BR 209 (2022) and BS EN 17037, prepared to match Fife Council's adopted FIFEplan policies and its published daylight and sunlight guidance, including the 45-degree, 25-degree and VSC tests. We also prepare building warrant drawings to the Building (Scotland) Regulations where required. We work UK-wide with a 4–5 working day turnaround and ask for no advance payment. To discuss a project in Fife, please get in touch.

Sources & further reading

daylightsunlightFifeFIFEplanBRE BR 209NPF4planningSt Andrews

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