Wembley Park hosts one of London's largest active tall building clusters, with ongoing mid-rise and tall building development around Wembley Stadium and Wembley town centre, alongside Edwardian and Victorian housing across Kilburn, Willesden, Cricklewood, and Harlesden. Almost all the older stock carries windows that have received natural light for well over the 20-year easement threshold under the Prescription Act 1832, which means Wembley Park tall building schemes, town centre redevelopment, and conversion projects all routinely raise rights of light questions. London Borough of Brent planning consent does not address that legal position.
We act on Brent schemes from the London head office, with reach across Wembley, Kilburn, Willesden, and Cricklewood, supported by colleagues in Essex and Hampshire. CHP is RICS regulated and has been advising on rights of light since 2004. The London team handles this work with specialist focus, with most projects requiring daylight and sunlight reports on the same planning submission.
Every Brent project starts with a free initial assessment of the proposed scheme. We identify which neighbouring windows are likely to carry the 20-year easement and the points of the proposed massing most likely to cause an issue. A full rights of light analysis follows using specialist software, with existing and proposed light levels modelled and tested against the Equivalent First Zone and the 50/50 rule for each affected room.
Where modelling shows likely infringement, the cutback analysis tests design variations including reduced height, set-back upper floors, and adjusted fenestration until the scheme works for both the planning case and the rights of light position. For Brent that typically means Wembley Park tall building schemes, mid-rise residential blocks across Kilburn and Willesden, and rooftop conversions where airspace development advice often runs alongside. The bespoke surveying service means each scope is set against the specific Brent project.
In most cases, yes. The path forward is usually a negotiated settlement with the adjoining owner, paid in exchange for a release of their legal right to light against the new building. Damages are typically calculated by reference to the share of the development profit attributable to the part of the scheme causing the infringement, and the figure is significantly easier to predict when the rights of light position has been quantified at the design stage. Injunctions are rare where matters are handled properly and early.
On the Wembley Park tall building schemes, those settlement figures can be substantial, making early engagement particularly worthwhile. Planning consent from the London Borough of Brent does not resolve the rights of light position. A free initial assessment is the fastest way to put a number on the risk.
