Justtoberight
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I've seen them a few times while strolling around London, but I've never fully understood what "ancient lights" means. I thought it may be a historic building under some sort of preservation order...
Turns out, the sign refers to the English "Right to Light"-Law that gives a long-standing owner of a building with windows a right to maintain the level of illumination.
So it has nothing to do with historic street lamps... It means that the owner of a building with windows that have received natural daylight for 20 years or more is entitled to forbid any construction or other obstruction that would deprive him or her of that illumination. Neighbours cannot build anything that would block the light without permission. The owner may build more or larger windows but cannot enlarge their new windows before the new period of 20 years has expired.
There is actually a map of all the places in London protected under this law https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1LbMDY8ArklFbDeDHrNSPnx1T8Yo&ll=51.52102588058153%2C-0.08045650000008209&z=13
TIL sauce: https://twitter.com/UrbanFoxxxx/status/1087707584331685888
BigStripedSweaters166
That’s an amazing law!!! I love sunlight!
TheSwampAngel
There is a tax on natural light in England. Now you can see why the US colonies left.
saltyPopcornkitty
thanks for shedding some light on the issue...
Naeaes
+1 I used to have lake view from my apartment balcony. I'm so pissed off about losing that.
IAmRelevantToThis
In London the views of St Paul’s are protected. It’s the reason we have some interesting looking sky scrapers
oldmanranting69
Sounds like they could be worked into a good old fashion English murder mystery.
LorindaLogan
Learn something new every day.
Gungagin
Phischstaebchen
and all I can think of was that "Fries-bag" building that made burned up the lower neighbourhood on sunny days in London...
kittyanya
I was watching UK's bad neighbors series and one lady kept yelling her neighbor's extension took away her right to light. I was wondering.
o0phoenixx0o
TIL what TIL means
Gantzz321
there must be some angle or below which is acceptable
Justtoberight
Yes. https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Rights_to_light
NoahTheMask
This is a quality TIL +1
SaucyDisses
What does TIL stand for?
TheOleRizzleDizzle
Today I got learnt
Domi3guy
Today I Learned. The one that drove me nutz was MRW, My Reaction When.
gibusgodblaziken13
Today i learned.
ddriscoll3
Is there a Right To Light law in Ireland?
[deleted]
[deleted]
IAmRelevantToThis
Sorry but I think you need to look up what is part of the UK and what is not. Northern Ireland and Ireland are two different places
ddriscoll3
Yes. I’m aware. Just because it’s all over UK doesn’t necessarily exclude other places...
TheyreGoodDogsBront
You just made a lot of people very angry, and at least one laugh
WestonsCat
Right To Light extends across the UK. We’re pretty cool over here with quality of life, Free Healthcare etc...
woodjoiner
Free*
orbitn
I was on vacay in the UK (from the US) and had my first ever cluster headache. Friend there, who is a nurse, insisted i go to the hospital>
orbitn
Freaked out b/c not a lot of money. Great healthcare I've ever had and no $5,000 bill, i was amazed.
sluglie
healthcare isnt free, what do you think your national insurance pays for
sluglie
it s more like pre-paid healthcare
WestonsCat
Not really is it...
SlyeFox
When people say 'free healthcare', they are generally referring to no upfront/after fees (eg: the US's system).
WestonsCat
Mmmm no. I had a motorcycle accident in the US - cost £2575 for a fucking broken wrist. Same injury in the UK costs nothing!!
SlyeFox
Just because there were no upfront/after fees, dosn't mean there was no cost. It was paid for by taxes, not by fairies.
WestonsCat
Yes there was a cost! I HAD TO PAY FOR THE HEALTHCARE!!! If you were a foreign national in the UK for the same accident you wouldn’t pay!!!
WestonsCat
Or Mexicans for a Wall. Fuck off dickhead.
WestonsCat
National insurance was introduced in The UK to cover the State Pension. Also another fantastic benefit of living in the UK..
sluglie
ok, but taxes still pay for the NHS so it isnt free, and a state pension of 7,700 a year is a joke
WestonsCat
That’s not even close to be true..
sluglie
what isnt true?
TobySomething
Everyone here applauding building restrictions, remember: that is a large part of why rent is so high.
TobySomething
Also: http://randomlylondon.com/property-and-rental-prices/
TobySomething
See: https://www.citylab.com/equity/2016/03/are-wealthy-neighborhoods-to-blame-for-gentrification-of-poorer-ones/473349/
3timesaday1
I lived in London for most of my life. Never herd of this, nor seen signs around
HoSlappa
Physical graffiti
sailordude81
Came to say exactly that, checked the comments first. Have an upvote! +1
CloseupCaptionReaction
Funny... could Licht (German for light) be a misread letter due to a weird font? LICHT LIGHT . See?!
MerToo
yeah most English is just "really bad German". In Scots English you find things like "ken" to know someone, in German same verb = "kennen"
Justtoberight
Indogermanic languages yeyyyyyy
PeterTried
In Holland, windmills have the right to wind. Same: cannot build so high around it that it takes wind away. Windmills can forfeit that right
Angel666Hawk
That's actually really cool
Abbeel
Windmills can't function without wind, so it makes sense.
[deleted]
[deleted]
NotflatEarthTrotter
Philme
How can i grow if you dont let me blow?
Ignis86
PeterTried
Most antique mills are for show, but here a flour mill is used in production, with no wind a single stroke diesel turns the blades.
Markamanic
The best thing about windmills is we used to drain lakes with them. Now we make pancakes.
afxed
Heard of ‘day light robbery’? It’s not what you think but this is relevant
peetnd
Enlarge their windows. They make pills for that right?
fifidarlingf
Like air rights or something like we have in US
asantity
We need that here in the US!
woodjoiner
You don't own the view over my land. This will cause urban sprawl, increased housing prices, commute times, & carbon emissions.
Adato88
“Unanimously repudiated in the US” - 1959 Although San Francisco has proposition K, to do with shadows cast on public parks
BagelsAreAcousticDonuts
San Francisco has some similar laws about creating shadows over certain parks
Celron
Nope. You and the rest of us need modern, energy efficient homes.
sullafelix22
NYC has sunshine rules (and a fun history https://www.citylab.com/equity/2016/12/how-the-battle-for-sunlight-shaped-new-york-city/510917/)
Justtoberight
It said "page not found" but then I realized I had to delete the extra bracket in the end. thanks for the link!
TobySomething
We have a lot of zoning restrictions in the US - it's why rent in our cities is so high.
HighlySexualLobster
https://boingboing.net/2019/01/27/cz-edwards.html
cpnbeeb
The gentrification doesn't help, either.
TobySomething
If people build enough housing to satisfy demand in more desirable neighborhoods, people don't move into lower-income ones.
cemeterymeri
As someone who studied historic preservation in the US I find this genuinely interesting
deadknightdistrict8
Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti
Metals4J
London: Has law that restricts others from blocking the light entering windows. Tennant: Keeps shades down and blinds closed.
Justtoberight
Maybe they are just not home
NZSheeps
And by 'not home' you mean 'watching porn'?
somethingsomethingwittyhere
You can assume that I'm watching porn anytime I'm at home. In fact, I have it on my answering machine.
NZSheeps
You have porn on your answering machine? "Please leave a message at the sound of the moan"
Metals4J
I’m not home an awful lot these days.
Metals4J
True. Might be sleeping too.
ArtOfKarolMichalec
So 20 years is ancient.... Okk
butchr
This is brilliant. I’ve lived in London for years and never even spotted them! +1!!!
ABluntForce
Well, if I ever want to go to London and become a skulking serial killer, now I know all the best places to hide...
jorenCat
Likewise, I had no idea lol
Justtoberight
Some can be seen near Chinatown and Covent Garden
butchr
I shall keen my eyes peeled! Thanks :)
ChloeRed
It's also the reason the older section of Broadcasting House has a weird shape of the roof on the side nearest the new bit - there 1
ChloeRed
was an ancient lights issue on that side. Now it's not an issue as the BBC have the new building there. 2/2
ChloeRed
http://www.orbem.co.uk/bh32/bh32_e.htm about half way down has early photos showing the slope to avoid the rights of light
Deltablue
Must need a spotlight
hereforthefunnies
I was about to say the same!
maststick
Try putting up anything that reduces a residential property’s natural light by more than 15%, you’ll learn quickly
Ohfishyfishyfishyfish
Sound's like your speaking from experiance
maststick
Yep
WHYvictimsofabombraid
Reasonable restrictions. I guess it has saved a lot of old buildings from the mindless renovations and high rises.
woodjoiner
Also, caused a lot of urban sprawl, increased housing prices, increased commute times, increased carbon emissions, & reduced others' rights.
TobySomething
The downside is it also increases rent by constraining housing supply.
ShaTiK
Housing pricing is tricky, it is my understanding that it's somewhat special commodity in regards to simple 'price-demand' equations
eire10
That's just Tory party policy
Anthemius
Ah yes, a common example of the mindless drone, moronicus moron, who'll post whatever rubbish it reads about, without any facts at all.
TobySomething
In many cities worldwide rent is increasing dramatically, and the common cause is people are moving there & they can't build enough housing
TobySomething
typically due to old zoning laws. So while I'm not so familiar with UK policy specifically, restrictions on building typically increase rent
Screwdizzle
Builders in San Francisco literally cannot get building permits.
nicouk
It's not due to zoning laws. It's due to greed.
Justtoberight
Yes, but there also a lot of vacant or abandoned buildings in big cities. There are so many failed building projects sitting empty
Justtoberight
because people who could afford it don't want to live there (not enough light, space etc) and others cannot afford it.
Celron
"Mindless renovations." Explain why old, inefficient buildings get to stay while we are practically forced to upgrade to new cars?
Justtoberight
A lot of old buildings were demolished in favor of new, modern homes. Guess where the people who could afford these new homes ...
Justtoberight
...prefer to live today? In old, historic buildings with character.
Celron
I don't think so. Character is nice and all, but usually character means that it's shit.
Celron
Old buildings use so much fuel, it's ridiculous. We can build zero emission homes today. Those old things have to go.
NoNameFred
Most "old buildings" have survived for about 200 years. Modern houses have a life expectancy of ~25 years - that's less than the mortgage!
Celron
That is not true. At all. We build houses to last a century before it get's too costly to renovate them.
mike13815
You've fucked up your facts there, man. New construction can last indefinitely with minimal scheduled maintenance.
SomeDetroitGuy
I must be missing all the buildings made in the 80s and 90s literally falling down dead.
NoNameFred
Oh, there are ones around here that have had to have buttresses added to the outside to stop the walls literally peeling off. (1/2)
somethingsomethingwittyhere
Where did you come up with the 25yr figure? That's wildly inaccurate.
NoNameFred
Many modern materials either have a shorter lifespan than treated wood/bricks, or use epoxy adhesives with the same issue. Ask the industry.
kittybuttwiggle
I don't know where you live but many old cities have beauty, history and identity, not just places to put bedrooms. Modernize but preserve.
Abbeel
That's fair, but at some point enough is enough and we need to move on from the past. Cities need modernization to keep up with growing
Justtoberight
Spoken like Le Corbusier
Abbeel
/2 world population. Important, significant buildings have every right to be preserved. But not every building that's stood for a while.
DynamicWeight
"it uses too much fuel and destroys the world" "yeah but it's pretty"
kittybuttwiggle
You're also completely ignoring that many of them can be made more efficient or at least switched to renewables.
kittybuttwiggle
I get the sense that we have way bigger fish to fry before tearing down historic buildings becomes more practical than symbolic.
ILikeCharmanderOk
Because of history, aesthetics, culture, architecture, I mean are those not enough reasons?
Celron
Nah, buttnutter96. ;-)
MrWookloaf
When my grandmother was little in the 20's the government actually taxed people for having windows in their home. 1/2
SirChadwellHeath
UK abolished the tax in 1851
MrWookloaf
Like i said. Im unsure of the specifics. I just know i saw old pictures of it. May of been a building that hasnt removed them yet.
MrWookloaf
People actually boarded up windows on their homes to prevent taxation. Not entirely sure the idea of the tax though 2/2