GIA Surveyors ‘Misleading’ Advice

GIA Surveyors 'Misleading Advice' - A High Court judge overturns planning permission for Hoxton Hotel over ‘Misleading’ loss of light advice from GIA Surveyors.

The judge concluded that councillors were ‘significantly misled’ by a report by GIA Surveyors that was ‘flawed by misapplication of the BRE methodology’.

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham had allowed the proposed Hoxton hotel development on Shepherds Bush Green.

Justine Thornton QC quashed permission after hearing the case of local resident Sabine Guerry. Ms Guerry had successfully argued that the daylight effects of the new building on her property and her neighbours’ properties had not been properly assessed by GIA Surveyors.

She said GIA Surveyors assessment had misapplied the methodology in the Building Research Establishment (BRE)’s ‘Site Layout Planning for Daylight and Sunlight: A Guide to Good Practice’.

GIA Surveyors Misleading Advice

The 'misleading' daylight report produced by GIA, applied the BRE methodology ‘sequentially’. GIA only tested daylight distribution (NSL) in a room if windows serving the room failed to meet the Vertical Sky Component (VSC) criteria. The VSC test determines the amount of sky visible from the centre point of a window. The NSL test shows the distribution of available light within a room.

In Justine Thornton’s judgement this approach was described as ‘flawed by misapplication of the BRE methodology’.

As a consequence councilors were given ‘scant’ information on NSL compliance. The judge found the BRE guide to be ‘clear that both the total amount of daylight and the distribution of light within a building are important’.

Due to the ‘misleading nature’ of the advice by GIA Surveyors the decision to grant planning permission was found to be unlawful and it was quashed.

Francis Taylor Building Chambers acted for the Claimant.

This case follows another recent decision where a planning permission was quashed on the basis of misapplication of the BRE methodology. See Rainbird v London Borough of Tower Hamlets 2017.

“These decisions serve as a salutary lesson to developers that technical reports need to apply methodologies comprehensively and selective presentation of the results can ultimately lead to decision-makes being ‘significantly misled’,”
Francis Taylor Building Chambers

This case concerning GIA Surveyors underscores the importance of adhering to established methodologies in daylight and sunlight assessments. This will ensure accurate and most importantly, lawful planning decisions.

At Anstey Horne, our team are equipped to always give honest, detailed and expert advice to support a planning application, correctly following the latest guidelines.

For more advice on how we can help support a planning application with a daylight & sunlight assessments please give us a call. If you would rather we contacted you please fill in our Contact Form and we will be in touch.