Bankside Yards Judgement Paves the Way
Cooper vs Ludgate House Ltd and Powell vs Ludgate House Ltd (8th July 2025) is the latest landmark High Court judgement on Rights of Light matters
Cooper (Flat 705) and Powell (Flat 605), leasehold owners in Bankside Lofts on Hopton Street SE1 claimed that the Bankside Yards development opposite - specifically, the 19-storey Arbor building of that development - had unlawfully interfered with the rights to light that they enjoyed over the site.
There were a few legal principles affecting this case:
1) In 2022, Southwark Borough Council had enacted its powers under Section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act (2016) for the remainder of the site, but Arbor itself was not protected as its construction was substantially complete. This led to arguments relating to the appropriate assessment scenario for the Rights of Light impact to the claimants’ properties (CS1, CS2 or DS1).
2) Whether there had been an actionable nuisance. Mr Justice Fancourt found that Arbor had interfered with the claimants’ rights to light, which constituted an actionable nuisance. He considered that light already lost (or soon to be lost) under the part of the development that was protected by the Section 203 had to be excluded from the ‘before‑and‑after’ assessment.
3) Whether the long-utilised Waldram method of measuring light in Rights of Light cases remains valid and appropriate. Although it was considered that modern quantitative methods like MDF (median daylight factor) and MDI (median daylight illuminance) may be helpful in some cases, they were not considered reliable substitutes for the Waldram method.
4) Mr Justice Fancourt decided against awarding an injunction in favour of negotiating damages, citing that demolition would significantly harm the developer, occupiers and public interest.
5) The decision confirmed that negotiating damages can be appropriate in Rights of Light disputes. A hypothetical pre‑construction negotiation that considers a what is a fair share of uplift in development value adjusted for negotiating factors.
The result? £350,000 for Cooper and £500,000 for Powell.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at enquiries@century-associates.co.uk, or on 07554 939 187, for advice.