Witham sits within the Braintree District Council area and has a planning environment shaped by its mix of town centre infill, suburban residential expansion, and the surrounding villages out towards Hatfield Peverel and Faulkbourne. Daylight and sunlight assessments come up regularly on schemes that materially affect neighbouring habitable rooms or amenity space, with overshadowing analysis flagged where ground-level open space sits inside the impact zone of the proposed development.
Our Essex team prepares these reports under RICS regulation from our Wickford office, with BRE 209 (2022) as the working reference. Site attendance across the Braintree district runs faster than for London-led practices, and where works also cross a shared boundary, party wall services sit alongside the daylight piece. For larger developments engaging neighbour legal entitlements, rights of light assessments sit alongside the planning piece.
Using the knowledge we have gained throughout our involvement in projects of differing size and complexities, we are able to apply the criteria within the BRE guidelines and produce comprehensive reports to accompany a planning application.
When assessing daylight and sunlight, we work with a professional team to try and achieve the best outcome for a site, whilst respecting the neighbouring properties’ access to daylight and sunlight. We will also provide advice on how the design of potential residential accommodation can ensure access to good levels of daylight and sunlight.
A Witham report opens with the proposed scheme drawings, an initial site appraisal, and a 3D model of the development and the affected neighbouring properties. The BRE 209 analysis then runs Vertical Sky Component for daylight, Annual Probable Sunlight Hours for sunlight, and No Sky Line where room geometry materially matters to the result for the proposed scheme.
Overshadowing analysis on ground-level amenity tests the 21 March sun position recommended in the guidance. Sunpath studies cover seasonal access where these add useful evidence. Trees within the impact zone are factored in, with retention or removal flagged where it changes the outcome of the assessment.
A typical turnaround is 2 to 3 weeks from instruction. Calls are answered by a qualified surveyor rather than a call centre, and a free initial assessment sets out scope before any fee is committed. This is a bespoke surveying service shaped to each scheme.
I have worked with CHP for a number of years, obtaining advice from them with regard to daylight and sunlight. They provide exactly what our clients require and work closely with us to resolve any issues, should they arise.
- Andrew Ryley , DLBP
Instructing early in the design process catches risk before it becomes a problem. Where a Witham scheme is borderline against BRE 209 reference values, a few adjustments to massing, fenestration, or boundary treatment can move it back into range without losing accommodation. Submitting without an assessment and then being asked for one at validation by Braintree District Council lengthens the planning timeline considerably and can force a redesign at the worst possible moment for the project programme.
The 2 to 3 week turnaround means the report fits within most planning programmes without slowing submission. Reports follow BRE 209 (2022), and the free initial assessment runs through scope before any fee is set, so an early read on whether a full study is needed costs nothing to obtain at this stage.
Get in touch.
Head Office
2-6 Boundary Row
London, SE1 8HP
Essex Office
2-6 Boundary Row
London, SE1 8HP
020 3714 4090
Get in touch.
Head Office
2-6 Boundary Row
London, SE1 8HP
Essex Office
2nd Floor, 10 High Street
Wickford, Essex
SS12 9AZ
020 3714 4090
enquiries@chpsurveyors.com
