Ballsbridge Park

In 2018 GV8 (trading as BPG3 at the time) was engaged by Intrust Properties & Irish Life Assurance PLC to assess the daylight sunlight levels associated with a proposed development in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. The proposed development involved the extension of three existing office blocks to provide a total of 42,602 sq.m or new office space.

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A particular challenge faced on this project involved the presence of deep balcony overhangs above some of the windows present on neighbouring properties. This situation is challenging for conventional test methos to handle as the ameliorating effect of reflected light is not taken into account. In accordance with BRE guidelines, secondary testing of these windows in the hypothetical scenario where the balconies were omitted was sufficient to provide the local council with confidence that the impacts remains within tolerable bounds in this instance.

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This was also one of the first projects where GV8 employed an assessment framework which took account of the rooms uses associated with each of the test windows. Using this approach GV8 was able to show that the significance of impact registering on bedroom windows would not be as significant as the impacts registering on main living room windows.

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Key Services Provided Included:

• Vertical Sky Component (VSC) testing to assess loss of skylight access to neighbouring accommodation.

• Supplementary ‘No Balcony’ VSC testing

• Annual Probable Sunlight Hours (APSH) testing to assess the loss of sunlight to neighbouring accommodation.

• Sun on Ground (SOG) testing to assess the loss of sunlight to neighbouring recreation spaces.

• Production of supplementary shadow casting imagery.

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Having reviewed GV8’s assessment of impact to neighbouring properties the local authority concluded that:

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“A revised Daylight and Sunlight Analysis was also carried out. The analysis notes the site constraints existing, such as the recessed balconies in the Sweepstakes Apartments and concludes that, ‘Having completed this assessment it is possible to say that the proposed development is substantially in line with the provisions outlined in the BRE guide and that care has been taken to minimise the impacts registering on neighbouring properties’. Conclusion: It is considered that the response to the Further Information request and the changes proposed have adequately responded to the concerns raised in the initial Planners Report.”

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Dublin City Council granted permission for this development in November 2019.

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