A UK couple has won £500,000 payout in damages after they claimed that a new office building is blocking natural light.
According to Metro, Stephen and Jennifer Powell filed a complaint against the Arbor Tower on the South Bank of London, claiming that it has reduced the natural light of their sixth-floor flat.
The couple, who have been living in the same flat for the past 20 years, along with their neighbour Kevin Cooper, living on the seventh floor since 2021, filed a lawsuit in the High Court against the 17-story Bankside Yards near Blackfriars Bridge.
They requested to pull down the part of the £35 million tower blocking the light. But the court rejected this request, citing that demolition would waste £200 million.
The lawyers argued that the couple could easily solve the issue by turning on “artificial light” in the room while reading.
However, Judge Timothy Fancourt found that the level of light in the flats was “insufficient for the ordinary use and (was affecting) enjoyment of those rooms.”
He said, “Despite the loss of light, the flats remain useable, attractive, and valuable, but less enjoyable in terms of their good light. Mr. Cooper and Mr. Powell both stressed that they did not want money, they wanted their light so that they could enjoy fully the advantages that their flats offered.”
Judge Fancourt ordered Ludgate House Ltd to pay the Powells £500,000 and Cooper £350,000.
