Neighbours accuse school of ‘daylight robbery’ over centre which will ‘block light’

A survey - paid for by Hymers College - concludes the three-storey learning resources centre, which is about to be built in Hymers Avenue, one of the city’s most desirable addresses, will cause a “rights of light injury” to four Edwardian houses. Residents are holding a public meeting on Thursday to which they have invited the school to try and reach a solution.

Hymers College won planning permission for its new intellectual and literary hub last December. But “right to light” - which gives a long-standing owner of a building with windows a right to maintain the level of illumination - is a separate civil matter.

Resident Marcelle Hogg said: “They seem to think, that’s it, it’s over, as they’ve pulled down the trees and started work. But we asserted our right of light last December and they’ve had since then to address the issues. How can someone think it’s right to plunge your neighbours into darkness?

“They have refused dispute resolution; they have just made vague offers for us to meet two or three governors. We have tried everything, the public meeting is their last opportunity.” The survey carried out by Smith Marston Ltd in October on behalf of the residents examined five properties and found all but one would suffer an “injurious” loss of light, ie less than 50 to 55 per cent of the affected rooms being adequately lit. The school’s own survey came to a different conclusion. Headteacher David Elstone said the school had been “completely transparent” throughout the planning process. He added: “The school’s advisors have been in regular contact with the owners of the properties directly opposite to the LRC site and the school hopes to meet with them in the next couple of weeks.”