Daylight requirements in Newport (Casnewydd) are shaped by the city's role as a growing regional centre on the Usk, where regeneration around the city centre, the riverfront and the M4 corridor frequently brings new flats, taller buildings and dense infill close to existing homes. Where a proposal could reduce the light reaching a neighbour's windows or gardens, Newport City Council — the planning authority for the area — will weigh that impact against its adopted Local Development Plan and the wider Welsh planning framework. This article explains how those daylight requirements are applied locally and what evidence helps a Newport application proceed smoothly.
Daylight requirements in Newport and the local planning framework
In Wales, planning decisions are made against the relevant adopted development plan together with national policy. For Newport that means the Newport Local Development Plan 2011–2026, which the council adopted on 27 January 2015. The LDP remains the statutory starting point for decisions, although the council is preparing a Replacement Local Development Plan to carry the city forward beyond 2026. Until the replacement plan is adopted, the 2015 LDP and its supporting guidance continue to govern how amenity — including daylight and sunlight — is assessed.
Two general policies do most of the work where light and amenity are concerned:
- Policy GP2 (General Amenity) — development is permitted where it does not have an unacceptable effect on the amenity of neighbouring or future occupiers, including by reason of loss of privacy, loss of light, overbearing impact, noise or disturbance.
- Policy GP6 (Quality of Design) — development must be of a high standard of design that respects the site and its surroundings, including the relationship to neighbouring buildings and the amenity they enjoy.
These policies are deliberately broad. The detail of how daylight and sunlight are judged in practice comes from the council's supplementary planning guidance, which sits beneath the LDP.
The 45-degree and 25-degree rules in Newport guidance
Newport's adopted House Extensions and Domestic Outbuildings supplementary planning guidance sets out the practical tests the council uses to protect a neighbour's light. It is explicit that an extension can seriously disadvantage a neighbour through loss of privacy, reduction in the level of daylight, and being overbearing in scale, and that the quality of daylight enjoyed by neighbouring properties must be considered before any extension is designed.
The guidance applies two long-established geometric tests:
- The 45-degree rule — a line is drawn at 45 degrees from the centre of a neighbour's window (in both plan and, for two-storey work, elevation). An extension that projects beyond that line is likely to reduce daylight unacceptably and to appear overbearing.
- The 25-degree rule — a line is taken at 25 degrees to the horizontal from the centre of a neighbour's main window; if a proposed extension rises through that line, the loss of daylight is likely to be significant.
The SPG notes that proposals which respect the 45 and 25-degree rules are far less likely to harm daylight, but it also recognises these simple tests are not always appropriate — for example on sloping sites or where windows are arranged unusually. In those situations a more detailed, numerical assessment is expected.
New dwellings, flats and taller buildings
Newport's New Dwellings supplementary planning guidance addresses the privacy, separation and amenity standards expected of new housing, and it is here that daylight matters most for the city's regeneration sites. As more apartment schemes and taller buildings come forward around the city centre and the riverside, the council expects layouts that give each home an acceptable standard of internal daylight while protecting the light reaching established neighbours. For larger or more sensitive schemes a professional daylight and sunlight assessment, prepared to recognised technical standards, is the most reliable way to demonstrate this.
Planning Policy Wales and national context
Above the LDP sits the Welsh Government's national framework. Planning Policy Wales (Edition 12, 2024) places good design and the creation of healthy, sustainable places at the heart of the planning system, and amenity — including access to natural light — is part of that design quality. Future Wales: the National Plan 2040 supports well-designed, higher-density development in sustainable urban locations such as Newport, which makes careful daylight planning even more important where buildings are taller and closer together. Technical Advice Notes, particularly TAN 12 (Design), reinforce the expectation that amenity is properly considered. (Newport City Council is the planning authority for the whole city; the Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire Coast National Parks are separate authorities and do not cover Newport.)
How daylight and sunlight are measured
While the council's SPG sets out the 45 and 25-degree rules as a first screen, the recognised technical methodology for measuring daylight and sunlight in the UK is published by the Building Research Establishment.
- BRE BR 209 (2022), Site Layout Planning for Daylight and Sunlight: A Guide to Good Practice — the standard reference for assessing daylight to neighbouring windows (using the Vertical Sky Component and the no-sky-line / daylight distribution test), sunlight (the Annual Probable Sunlight Hours test) and overshadowing of gardens and open spaces.
- BS EN 17037, Daylight in Buildings — the European standard for the provision of daylight, sunlight, view out and the avoidance of glare within new dwellings.
A report prepared to these standards gives the council the objective figures it needs to apply GP2 and GP6, and helps applicants resolve a neighbour's concern before it becomes a reason for refusal.
Practical tips for Newport applicants
- Start with the SPG geometry. Test your design against the 45 and 25-degree rules early; if it passes cleanly, your daylight case is much stronger.
- Identify sensitive windows and gardens. Habitable-room windows (living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens) and amenity gardens of neighbouring homes carry the most weight.
- Commission a BRE assessment for anything marginal. Flats, two-storey rear extensions, infill plots and taller schemes in the city's regeneration areas benefit from numerical evidence.
- Use the report to inform design. Small changes to height, set-back or roof form often recover a compliant result without losing floor space.
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 policies that apply in Newport. We assess impact on neighbouring properties and the daylight available within your own scheme, and we set out the findings clearly so they can be submitted with your application. We work nationwide with a typical turnaround of four to five working days and ask for no advance payment. We also produce Building Regulations drawings where a project needs them. To discuss a Newport site, please contact our team.
Sources & further reading
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