Ilford town centre has seen significant tall building development around the Elizabeth line station, with Edwardian and Victorian terraced housing across Wanstead and Woodford, 1930s suburban housing across Barkingside and Hainault, and mid-rise development around the Redbridge town centres. 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 Ilford tall building schemes, town centre redevelopment, and conversion projects all routinely raise rights of light questions. London Borough of Redbridge planning consent does not address that legal position.
We act on Redbridge schemes from the London head office, with reach across Ilford, Wanstead, Woodford, and Barkingside, 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.
The right time to instruct is early, before drawings go in for planning consent. On a Redbridge project, that means commissioning the free initial assessment at the design stage, when changes to massing, height, or fenestration are still affordable. The appraisal identifies which neighbouring windows could be affected and which look likely to carry the 20-year easement under the Prescription Act 1832, and a full rights of light analysis follows using specialist software where the appraisal flags a real risk.
Where the 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. The Equivalent First Zone and the 50/50 rule are applied to quantify any loss. Where rooftop or upper-floor work is in play, we can also bring in airspace development advice from the same team.
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 Ilford tall building schemes around the Elizabeth line station, those settlement figures can be substantial. Planning consent from the London Borough of Redbridge does not resolve the rights of light position. A free initial assessment is the fastest way to put a number on the risk.
