Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council reviews a wide planning caseload, with town centre regeneration sites, mid-rise residential schemes around the station, suburban expansion at Chineham and Brighton Hill, and replacement housing across Old Basing, Oakley, and the surrounding villages all generating daylight and sunlight queries. Schemes that materially affect neighbouring habitable rooms, garden amenity, or shared open space typically need a report, and the larger residential blocks routinely carry overshadowing analysis alongside the main study.
Our team prepares these reports under RICS regulation from our Hampshire office, with BRE 209 (2022) as the working reference. Site attendance across the Basingstoke and Deane area runs faster than for London-led practices, and where the scheme involves building over an existing property, airspace development advice sits alongside the daylight 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 Basingstoke 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, particularly on the larger residential courts and the suburban expansion sites. Trees within the impact zone are factored in where they materially affect the outcome.
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
Booking the report early supports several outcomes at once. The technical evidence sits in the planning bundle from the start, neighbour amenity arguments are addressed before they become objections, and the design team gets an early read on whether the scheme needs reshaping to protect light access. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council case officers will look at the design rationale closely on the larger residential schemes where massing has the biggest impact on neighbours and amenity.
BRE 209 reference values are guidance, not pass or fail. Reports are turned around in 2 to 3 weeks. The free initial assessment is the way in for borderline cases or for early advice on whether a full study is needed at this stage of the project programme.
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
