Couple win $1 million payout after UK high-rise ‘blocked their light’

A couple in the UK have been awarded a $1 million payout after a judge ruled a high-rise tower blocked their natural light. 

Stephen and Jennifer Powell have lived in the Bankside Lofts apartment building in central London since 2001. 

In March this year, they joined forces with their neighbour Kevin Cooper to sue the developers of a nearby 19-storey high-rise, The Times reported.  

At a hearing in the High Court, Cooper and the Powells, through their lawyer, said the Arbor tower “substantially” reduced the natural light entering their luxury apartment and prevented them from reading in bed.

The Powells sought an injunction to pause construction on the Arbor tower, alter plans for other towers scheduled to be built in the neighbourhood and demolish parts of the Arbor Tower, according to the Architects’ Journal. 

They also sought £3 million each ($6.1 million) in damages. 

The developers reportedly countered with a payout offer of £60,000 ($123,000) to the Powells and £20,000 ($41,000) to Cooper – a sum equivalent to the reduction in their property values. 

The Powells’ lawyer Tim Calland described the Arbor as a “mega-structure that boasts of exceptional natural light”. 

He said the residents “maintain that this will have been achieved – wrongfully – at the expense of their light”, The Times reported. 

The publication quoted John McGhee KC, who represented the developers, telling the court the injury caused to the Powells was “minor”. 

In response to the couple’s claim that they struggled to read in bed, McGhee suggested they could switch on an “electric light”.

Justice Timothy Fancourt handed down his judgement earlier this month. 

He refused to grant the injunction, stating that demolishing Arbor Tower would cause “considerable environmental damage”. 

However, he rejected the developer’s lower damages figures. Instead, he granted £500,000 ($1.03 million) in compensation to the Powells, and £350,000 ($721,000) to Cooper. 

The sum granted to the Powells is believed to be the highest amount ever awarded in a UK rights to light case, according to Maitland Chambers, who represented the claimants. 

“Despite the loss of light, the flats remain useable, attractive and valuable, but less enjoyable in terms of their good light,” the judge said.