Daylight Report Specialists serving the UK
UK-based daylight, sunlight and overshadowing assessments for planning applications — prepared in line with the BRE Guidelines 2022 (BR 209) and BS EN 17037. No advance payment. 4–5 working day delivery for projects across the UK.
Room-by-room daylight levels, VSC sightlines from neighbouring windows and the seasonal sun path — modelled in 3D to BRE BR 209 (2022).
Every Fortress daylight report is built strictly on the third edition of the BRE's Site Layout Planning for Daylight and Sunlight: A Guide to Good Practice (BR 209, 2022) and BS EN 17037. Below is exactly what that means for your scheme.
The 2022 third edition replaced the 2011 second edition and brings the UK guidance into closer alignment with European standard BS EN 17037 (Daylight in Buildings). It sets out the recommended targets and methodologies that UK Local Planning Authorities use to assess the impact of new development on:
Note: BRE targets are guidance, not pass/fail. LPAs weigh them alongside local plan policy and site context.
Every Fortress daylight report is structured for the planning officer reading it. Clear summary, defensible methodology, full calculations.
A daylight report should be a tool to get your scheme approved — not a checkbox exercise that gives the LPA reasons to refuse.
We work exclusively to UK BRE 2022 methodology and LPA expectations — no generic templates.
£0 deposit. You pay only after the report has been delivered and accepted.
Reports written to address LPA concerns proactively — improving the likelihood of first-time approval.
Standard turnaround under a week. Expedited delivery available when you're up against a planning deadline.
Every number cited, every calculation shown. The kind of audit trail planning officers respect.
Speak to the person doing the work — never a call-centre or junior intermediary.
Every step is documented, every input cited, every assumption shown. No black-boxes.
We build a 3D model of your scheme and surrounding buildings using your DWG/PDF/IFC inputs.
Calculate the existing daylight & sunlight position at every relevant window — your scheme's reference point.
Run the full BRE 2022 calculation suite — VSC, NSL, APSH, sun-on-ground — on the proposed condition.
Compare results against BRE targets and Local Plan policy. Flag any sensitivities and propose mitigations.
Write a clear, cited planning statement with full appendices — ready for direct submission.
The three things people ask before they order: what a daylight assessment is, what the daylight report contains, and when a daylight and sunlight assessment is required.
A daylight assessment measures how much natural light the rooms of a building — and its neighbours — receive, and how a proposed development changes that. It is carried out to the BRE Guidelines 2022 (BR 209) using recognised tests: Vertical Sky Component (VSC) for light reaching a window, No-Sky Line / daylight distribution (NSL) for how deep daylight penetrates a room, and target illuminance checks under BS EN 17037. Daylight assessments are the evidence planning officers rely on to judge whether a scheme protects neighbouring homes — and whether new homes will be pleasant to live in.
A daylight report is the planning document that presents the daylight assessment: the site and proposal description, the methodology, window-by-window and room-by-room results tables, marked-up drawings, and a clear conclusion a case officer can quote in their decision. Our daylight reports follow the structure UK Local Planning Authorities expect from BR 209 practitioners, so the document reads as evidence rather than raw spreadsheet output — and it is written to support approval, with mitigation and context where any result sits below target.
A daylight and sunlight assessment is the full BRE 2022 study combining the daylight tests above with sunlight analysis — Annual Probable Sunlight Hours (APSH) for windows facing within 90° of due south, in both the whole year and the winter months — plus overshadowing of gardens and amenity space, tested on 21 March against the two-hours-of-sun-on-half-the-area benchmark. One assessment therefore answers the three questions every planning officer asks: is daylight protected, is sunlight protected, and are outdoor spaces still usable?
A daylight and sunlight assessment is typically required when a proposal could affect the light to a neighbouring habitable room: extensions and lofts close to a boundary, schemes that breach a 25° or 45° guideline check, new dwellings and flats, infill and backland plots, and taller schemes near existing housing. Many Local Planning Authorities list it on their validation checklists, request it after neighbour objections, and expect it for new homes to demonstrate adequate daylight within the scheme itself. If your architect or the council has mentioned BRE 209, VSC or overshadowing — this is the assessment they mean.
Quick answers to questions architects and homeowners ask us most.
Ask anythingEmail your drawings — we'll respond with a fee and delivery date the next working day. No advance payment.