50 Shades of Planning

Some Things Just Take Time

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 09:00:25 +0000

Sam Stafford was in London recently and took the opportunity to catch up with old friends of the podcast Mike Kiely, Annie Gingell, Andrew Taylor and Iain Thomson, and new friend of the podcast Claire Tester.

In a conversation recorded at Soho Radio they chatted about a few of the hot topics in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning right now.

They talked about the recent NPPF consultation; taking some of the 'grit' out of the system; they talked about planning committees in relation to the impact of local elections, new notification processes, a national scheme of delegation and strategic committees; and towards the end there is a bit of local plan and neighbourhood plan chat.

Some accompanying reading.

Book review for, “In Search of Excellence”, written by Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr.

Fees for planning applications

Planning committee reform: statutory consultation on draft Regulations and guidance

What the CIA can teach us about the need to reform planning committees

What the 'pre-election period' means in practice

New local plan-making system roadmap

More Radical Change: the Basic Conditions for Neighbourhood Plans

Simonicity - "Ten Years Time"

Public Sector RTPI Survey

Private Sector RTPI Survey

Some accompanying listening.

Colorama - Some Things Just Take Time

Any other business.

If you enjoy the episode do please consider bolstering Sam's fragile self-esteem by leaving the podcast a nice rating and a nice review wherever you listened to it. Obviously though if you have not enjoyed it then please do not leave a review, but do please feel free to let Sam know why (via samstafford@hotmail.com). Feedback on 50 Shades episodes is always welcome.

If you have enjoyed to the extent that you feel compelled to share the podcast on one your social platforms then, if you tag Sam, you will be entitled to an exclusive and much-sought after 50 Shades of Planning mug.

If you are a new listener do please check out the back catalogue where you will find episodes on myriad planning topics, as well as the Hitting The High Notes and All Around the World series, and remember that by subscribing new episodes will magically appear in your phone as soon as Sam has published them.

50 Shades of Planning is the podcast by planners and for planners and so if you would like to use it as a platform for sharing anything you think that the sector needs to be talking about then you are also very welcome to get in touch with Sam.

Sam is grateful to Richborough, Town Legal and Tyler Grange for supporting the podcast; to Vistry for sponsoring the 50 Shades mugs; and to Stanley Bain and Adrian Meehan for recording and editing this episode.

New Towns: Practicalities & Placemaking

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 10:00:26 +0000

New Towns are back in the news because the Government has announced the first formal step in creating the next generation of them with the launch of a public consultation on the draft New Towns Programme and its environmental implications.

The consultation builds on the findings of the New Towns Taskforce report in September 2025 and invites views on how the New Towns Programme will operate, how new towns will be delivered and planned, and the proposed approach to design, placemaking and planning policy. It seeks views on the Government’s offer to locations and a Strategic Environment Assessment report which focuses on local environmental constraints, the cumulative effects of new towns development, and practical methods of mitigation and monitoring.

Now then seemed like a good time for Sam Stafford to share a recording made online in November 2025 by new friends of the Rebecca Warren, Fionnuala Lennon, Jonathan Schifferes and Lucy Bush, and old friend of the podcast Hana Loftus.

The recording was actually made in two now combined parts, both steered by Rebecca. In the first third of this episode you will hear Rebecca, Fionnuala and Jonathan talk about some of the practicalities associated with new town development, and in the following two thirds you will hear Rebecca, Fionnuala, Lucy and Hana talk about placemaking.

Some accompanying reading.

Seven new towns proposed to kickstart housebuilding push

New Towns Draft Programme

New Towns Draft Programme Consultation

New Towns Taskforce: Report to government

On New Towns

New Lessons for New Towns

A fourth generation of New Towns – focusing on delivery

Radical Citizenship: a model for new towns and beyond

New towns in England: what next for the winners and runners up?

Public Sector RTPI Survey

Private Sector RTPI Survey

Some accompanying listening.

Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan - A New Town With An Old Sense Of Community

Any other business.

Sam is grateful to Richborough, Town Legal and Tyler Grange for supporting the podcast; to Vistry for sponsoring the 50 Shades mugs; and to Rachael Cooper and Adrian Meehan for recording and editing this episode.

All Around the World - The Netherlands

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 10:00:24 +0000

This is the third of a series of episodes being led by the oldest friend of the podcast, Paul Smith.

Paul put it to Sam Stafford that debates about the planning system in England tend, for the most part, to focus solely on the planning system in England. We very seldom look to other countries for inspiration and ideas.

Paul wanted to remedy that and so in this series he is chatting with planning professionals and academics from a number of countries to find out what works well there, what works less well, and what can we learn.

In this episode Paul chats to Jannes Willems and Lilian van Karnenbeek about planning in the Netherlands.

In a conversation recorded online in October 2025 they talked about a new Dutch Environment & Planning Act; subsidiarity between the three levels of Dutch planning; active and passive land use policy; public engagement in the Dutch system; cycling obviously; and the role of land reclamation in making planning so central to Dutch culture.

Some accompanying reading.

Insights on the Dutch Environment & Planning Act

Icons of Dutch Spatial Planning

Brilliant Orange

50 Shades T-Shirts

Save The Date: Live Event 1 June 2026

Public Sector RTPI Survey

Private Sector RTPI Survey

Identifying the delays and barriers experienced in the planning applications process

Planning in the Pub

Some accompanying listening

The Fall – Kurious Oranj

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Appeal Ready

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford was in Manchester last week and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Lisa Tye, Andrew Johnston and Louise Fountain to discuss some of the issues of the day.

In a conversation recorded at Reform Radio they talked about the imminent changes to appeal guidance; they talked about the design and placemaking PPG consultation; they talked about affordable housing delivery and the misalignment between Home England’s grant funding and Section 106 requirements; they went back to design and placemaking to talk about Design Review; and towards the end they talked about LPAs charging for invalid applications. The general theme of the discussion though, and hence the title of this episode, was set by a phrase that Lisa used at the start of the discussion and which seems to capture the mood of the moment, certainly as far as the development industry is concerned.

Some accompanying reading.

All Change: Strategic Plans and Planning Appeals Revamped

Don’t Be An April Fool: Written Reps Planning Appeals Are About To Get Faster But Also Riskier

Design and Placemaking Planning Practice Guidance

Design, delivery and the space in between: early reflections on the new Design & Placemaking PPG

It’s great that London has new design advocates. But what about elsewhere?

How long is a piece of string?

Council planning appeal budget spent in four months

Council can now charge for invalid planning applications

Some accompanying listening.

Mass Appeal – Gangstarr

Any other business.

Sam is grateful to Richborough, Town Legal and Tyler Grange for supporting the podcast; to Vistry for sponsoring the 50 Shades mugs; and to Mike Dunbar and Adrian Meehan for recording and editing this episode.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Hitting the High Notes - Catriona Riddell

Sat, 21 Feb 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Strategic planning, as Sam Stafford said in the introduction to episode number 157, is back. That episode looked at what shape it is in right now. What have authorities been able to do whilst awaiting the consolidation of the Planning & Infrastructure Act, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill?

What the sector did not know just a few weeks ago, but do now, are the new strategic geographies outside of areas governed by a mayor and where some work on Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs) is already underway. Just last week though, at the time Sam prepared to publish this episode, a consultation was launched on all of the areas to be tasked with producing SDSs.

So the podcast has looked at where things are now, but what do those tasked with consolidating the Planning & Infrastructure Act, the NPPF and the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, and those producing SDSs, need to know about the last time planning was being undertaken strategically given that some time has now passed since the revocation of the Regional Spatial Strategies (RSSs).

Now then seemed like a good time for Sam to publish the latest episode in the Hitting the High Notes series, which he recorded with strategic planning doyenne and old friend of the podcast Catriona Riddell at Soho Radio Studios in London back in September 2025 (just after the reshuffle that saw Steve Reed become Secretary of State, which there is mention of).

Hitting The High Notes is town planning’s equivalent of Desert Island Discs. In these episodes Sam chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permissions or projects that helped to shape them as professionals. And, so that listeners can get to know people a little better personally, for every project or stage of their career Sam asks his guests for a piece of music that reminds them of that period.

Unlike Desert Island Discs listeners will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water so there accompanying YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist below.

Catriona tells Sam about making the switch from architecture student in Glasgow to strategic planner in Surrey; how she became the ‘most hated woman in Guildford’; and how she shed a little tear upon reading the Devolution White Paper.

They talk about old wine, including SERPLAN, RPG and RSSs (and the real reason RSSs were scrapped), and whether the Duty to Cooperate was bound to fail, and they talk about new bottles, including what, based upon Catriona’s not inconsiderable experience, will be the keys to SDS success.

Some accompanying listening.

Catriona’s Spotify Playlist

Waterfront – Simple Minds

We’ve Only Just Begun – Carpenters

Respect – Aretha Franklin

Starting Over – Chris Stapleton

What Difference Does It Make? – The Smiths

Landslide – The Chicks

The Return of Strategic Planning

Some accompanying reading.

Sub-Regional Strategic Planning

Areas for producing spatial development strategies

Spatial development strategies and devolution: letter to council leaders

Housing Quick Wins: Call for Evidence

Identifying the delays and barriers experienced in the planning applications process

Planning in the Pub

Some accompanying viewing.

When Podcasts Collide: Sam Stafford, Managing Director at the LPDF (S18, E1)

Any other business.

Please consider bolstering Sam's fragile self-esteem by leaving the podcast a nice rating and a nice review wherever you listened to it.

We❤️Planning

Sat, 07 Feb 2026 10:00:23 +0000

Sam Stafford was in Birmingham recently and took the opportunity to record the first ‘catch up’-style episode with some of his friends working in the West Midlands.

In a conversation recorded at PodHaus studios, Kathryn Ventham, Myles Wild-Smith, Michelle Simpson-Gallego and Sam enjoyed a rambling conversation that takes in, amongst other things, the extent to which Grey Belt is driving the increase in planning applications for new homes; the ‘grit in the system’, particularly stat cons, specifically water companies, and the RP / S106 stock issue; plan-making in the West Midlands, the case for a national spatial plan; and why it is that most young people have never heard of the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning.

Some accompanying reading.

Policy statement: a roadmap for Section 106 delivery in England

Making sense of the roadmap: will MHCLG’s latest attempts to kickstart Section 106 affordable housing deliver?

Greater Affordable Housing Flex Announced For Some Stalled Schemes; Other Announcements On Affordable Housing & On S106

A new vision for water: white paper

RTPI West Midlands Young Planners

Public Practice is recruiting multiple new roles for its Board, including a new Chair and two Non-Executive Directors

2026 Housing Design Awards Entries Now Open

Awards for Planning Excellence 2026

Housing Quick Wins: Call for Evidence

Removing grit from the planning system and speeding up the process

Some accompanying viewing.

Brookbanks Podcast Episode #9: 2025 reflections, a year of change for the planning industry?

Some accompanying listening.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Teach Your Children

Any other business.

Sam is grateful to Richborough, Town Legal and Tyler Grange for supporting the podcast; to Vistry for sponsoring the 50 Shades mugs; and to Carl Thomas-Edwards and Rachael Cooper for recording and editing this episode.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

How Does Bad Policy Get Made?

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 10:00:21 +0000

In October 2025 Sam Stafford came across a blog by Jack Airey, who is now a Director at Public First but was the Head of Planning at Policy Exchange and subsequently spent a few years inside Number 10 as a Special Advisor to the Prime Minister. The opening line of Jack’s blog was ‘How does bad policy get made?’ and he writes about “the war of attrition that is Whitehall policymaking”; "backbench pressure"; and the “lack of institutional understanding” within government about the practical impact of policy proposals. There is a link to Jack’s blog below.

Sam asked Jack if he would be interested in talking about these themes on the podcast and, pleasingly, he was, so Sam thought next about who else it would be interesting to hear from about life inside the Westminster policy-making bubble. How about a civil servant’s perspective? Sam asked Simon Gallagher, formerly Director of Planning in the Department for Communities and Local Government (as was) and he was keen. How about a political perspective? Sam asked Rachel Maclean, former Minister of State for Housing & Planning and now Baroness Maclean of Redditch, and she was keen. And how about a planner’s perspective? Sam asked friend of the podcast Steve Quartermain, former Chief Planner, and he was keen, and so Sam arranged for the four of them to meet at Soho Radio Studios in January 2026 to record the conversation that forms this episode.

The four of them talk about how policy is made and Simon shares his three stages of policy formulation. They talk about how things get to Ministers, how Ministers make decisions and who is involved at what stage. And they talk about whether planning is any different to other areas of public policy.

Correction.

Sam says in the introduction to the episode that Jack was the Head of Planning at Policy Exchange at the time of the 2020 'Planning for the Future' White Paper. In fact Jack was working in Number 10 at the time of the White Paper and helped to write it.

Some accompanying reading.

National housing policy is dysfunctional we must rewire to get building

Women in Planning

Some accompanying viewing.

Yes, Prime Minister - If the right people don't have power

Some accompanying listening.

My Morning Jacket - Never In The Real World

Any other business.

Sam is grateful to Richborough, Town Legal and Tyler Grange for supporting the podcast; to Vistry for sponsoring the 50 Shades mugs; and to Nick Stephenson and Rachael Cooper at ViralTribe for recording and editing this episode.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

The Return of Strategic Planning

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 10:00:25 +0000

Strategic planning is back.

What do we know?

We know that Policy PM1 of the revised draft NPPF anticipates the move towards national coverage of Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs), as promised by the end of the parliamentary term, and clarifies their role, content, and relationship to other tiers of the development plan. SDSs are intended to be high-level documents focused on genuinely strategic, cross-boundary issues, leaving detailed policy to other plans.

We know that the Planning & Infrastructure Act, the second SDS building block, gained Royal Assent in December 2025 and sets out the process by which authorities, be they mayoral authorities, combined authorities or combined county authorities, should prepare SDSs.

We know that the third SDS building block, the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill (which has reached the committee stage in the House of Lords), will confirm the structures and mechanisms of governance.

For much of the country, SDS geography is already settled. More than half of the population is led by mayors, and across at least seven of the major cities, the preparation of SDSs is already underway. For much of the rest of the country though, including areas simultaneously undergoing local government re-organisation, the new strategic geographies are still to be resolved.

We also do not know, beyond a commitment for it be standardised, what evidence bases SDSs will be examined against and how, for example, they will be expected to align with Local Growth Plans.

With all of that going on and given what we know and what we do not know, what have authorities been able to do whilst awaiting the consolidation of all three building blocks? Strategic planning is back, but what shape is it in right now?

These are the themes of this conversation between old friends of the podcast Catriona Riddell and Mike Best, and new friends of the podcast Shaun Andrews, Graham Thomas and Louise Sloan.

Recorded online back in October 2024, their conversation takes in SDS preparatory work, what the first SDSs might look like and their interface with local plans; infrastructure planning; capacity and skills within the planning profession; and and how SDS identify strategic site priorities.

Some accompanying reading.

Planning Positively for the Future – the report of the Strategic Planning Group

🏆The #Planoraks Awards 2025🏆

Sat, 27 Dec 2025 10:00:14 +0000

This is the second of Sam Stafford's seasonal offerings which serve as a review of another exciting year in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning.

Once again Zack Simons kindly bestowed upon Sam the honour of announcing Zack's 2025 #Planoraks Awards on the podcast.

Sam met Zack at Soho Radio Studios where and he handed him six golden envelopes, which you will hear opened during their conversation.

They contain the winners of the following awards:

Policy of the Year;
Missed opportunity of the year;
Catastrophe of the Year;
Delay of the Year;
Stat of the Year; and
Consent of the Year.

Some accompanying reading.

The #Planoraks 2025 - the new NPPF

The Proposed London Housing Emergency Measures Package Is Underwhelming

Grey Belt – A Game Changer for Planning and Housing

Some accompanying viewing.

Exploring the new NPPF draft

Some accompanying listening.

The Black Keys – Year in Review

Any other business.

Sam is grateful to Richborough, Town Legal and Tyler Grange for supporting the podcast; to Vistry for sponsoring the 50 Shades mugs; to Adrian Meehan and Soho Radio Studies for recording this episode: and to Rachael Cooper at ViralTribe for editing it.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

🎅🏻The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz🎄

Sat, 20 Dec 2025 10:00:14 +0000

This episode sees the return of the 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz.

Sam Stafford got together with friends of podcast Mike Kiely, Catriona Riddell, Annie Gingell, Andrew Taylor, Nicola Gooch, Shelly Rouse, Ben Castell and Gilian Macinnes to review what has been another exciting year in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning.

Based upon a selection of Planning Magazine’s most-read stories (kindly provided by Richard Garlick), Sam tested their knowledge of some of the themes that have prevailed most strongly in 2025. You will hear Sam asking the gang questions about local authority resources, grey belt, statutory consultees, the local plans that have run aground, planning committees, snails, and many, many other topics in this jam-packed, bumper edition of the quiz, which features two semi-finals and then a final, at the end of which one pair of contestants emerged victorious. Listen out too towards the end for an appearance from a very special guest…

Listeners that enjoy this episode are kindly asked to consider making a donation to either St John's Hospice, Lancaster or Bowel Cancer UK in memory of the late, great, friend of the podcast, Jonathan Easton.

Some accompanying listening.

Sam’s Christmas Crackers – The Ultimate Festive Soundtrack

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Discretion Advised

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 10:00:27 +0000

Sam Stafford was in Manchester recently and took the opportunity to catch up with old friend of the podcast Charlotte Leach and new friends of the podcast Andrew Johnston and Lisa Tye.

Over the course of an hour so they chatted about a few of the hot topics exercising the planning profession at minute. They talked about ‘the next phase of planning reform’ as set out in a written ministerial statement issued by the Secretary of State last month. That takes in the "unleashing" of development around railway stations; a requirement upon local authorities to notify the Secretary of State where they intend to refuse an application for 150 or more homes; and streamlining statutory consultees.

They talked about AI and it’s growing influence on the planning system, and they talked about Section 106 Agreements. They also talked about a topic that has featured regularly on the podcast during 2025, national development management policies, which caused Sam to alight his soap box towards the end of the episode. Listen out too for some exciting mug-related news.

Some accompanying reading.

Next phase of planning reform

Housebuilding around train stations will be given default “yes”

Reforms to the statutory consultee system

Announcements

AI-powered nimbyism could grind UK planning system to a halt, experts warn

AI Will Add To, Rather Than Reduce, Planning Delays Unless We Do Something About It

Simplifying & Standardising Section 106 Agreement Processes: Proposals for Reform

On NDMPs

Some accompanying listening.

Make It Up As You Go Along – Liam Gallagher & John Squire

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

The Snagging List II

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 10:00:22 +0000

Empirical evidence is starting to emerge, as speculated upon earlier in the year, that there will indeed be a significant increase in the number of planning applications being submitted this year, certainly for residential development and largely, it is held, driven by the introduction of Grey Belt. TerraQuest, the company behind the Planning Portal, has reported that the number of new homes for which planning permission was sought between 1 July and 30 September 2025 was 68% higher than during the same period in 2024.

As Sam Stafford said in the introduction to the first Snagging List episode, if this increase in planning applications is to make a meaningful contribution to the Government's new home target within the parliamentary term, then these applications will need to be transacted an awful lot faster than applications have been transacted hitherto.

According to research by Lichfields for the LPDF and Richborough, the average time taken to determine a major outline application has risen from 8 months in 2014 to two years in 2024.

That first Snagging List episode focused on the application process, from pre-app, determination and committees to conditions and Section 106 Agreements. That of course though is only a part of the development process and it was suggested during that recording that the post-consent delays to getting permissions implemented warrant an episode in their own right and so this is that follow-up episode.

According to Lichfields’ third ‘Start to Finish’ report, published in 2024, on sites of more than 500 homes it takes an average of between 1.3 and 1.6 years from detailed consent to first completion. For sites of between 50 and 99 homes that period is an average of 2.3 years, and for sites of between 100 and 499 homes that period is 3.2 years.

What are the factors that cause the delay between a LPA issuing a decision notice and JCBs starting work on site, and what can be done about them?

These are the questions that are discussed by old friends of the podcast Andrew Taylor, Emma Williamson and Ros Eastman (who contributed to the first Snagging List episode), and new friends of the podcast Mat Capper, Jonathan Gimblett and Ben Phillips.

In a conversation recorded online in November 2025, they talk about all of the other consenting regimes that need navigating, such as waste water, highways and utilities; they talk about the need for LPAs to be able to replicate a developer’s delivery team approach; and they offer some 'top tips', which are especially timely in the context of the Government’s proposed reforms to the statutory consultee system, which emerged shortly before this episode was published.

Some accompanying reading.

Reforms to the statutory consultee system

The Snagging List Blog

Start to Finish

How long is a piece of string?

Simplifying & Standardising Section 106 Agreement Processes: Proposals for Reform

Some accompanying listening.

Jane Weaver – I Need A Connection

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

All Around the World - Australia

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 10:00:27 +0000

This is the second of a series of episodes being led by the oldest friend of the podcast, Paul Smith.

Paul put it to Sam Stafford that debates about the planning system in England tend, for the most part, to focus solely on the planning system in England. Planners here very seldom look to other countries for inspiration and ideas.

This episodes considers planning in Australia and, specifically, Sydney.

This is a conversation that Paul recorded online in July 2025 with Melissa Neighbour.

The two of them talked about the politics of Sydney’s housing crisis, gentle density, the merits of a greater than local approach to planning and the benefits and disbenefits of zonal planning. That might all sound familiar to planners in England...

Some accompanying reading.

The New South Wales Strategic Planning Toolkit

A Metropolis of Three Cities: The Greater Sydney Region Plan

Some accompanying listening.

Music To Plan Towns To

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Planorama

Sat, 25 Oct 2025 09:00:23 +0000

In between movin' and shakin' in The Big Smoke recently Sam Stafford took the opportunity to meet a few friends of the podcast at Soho Radio Studios to pick out the highlights from another exciting few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning.

Sam caught up with, and the episode features, old friends of the podcast Simon Ricketts, Annie Gingell, Shelly Rouse and Hana Loftus, and new friend of the podcast Hayley White.

Over the course of an hour or so they talked about affordable housing delivery, specifically the constraints on the use of grant funding by RPs and the (then) rumoured changes to affordable housing thresholds in London. They talked about C.G. Fry and the implications of that Supreme Court decision. They talked in the context of a second letter from the Housing & Planning Minister to the Planning Inspectorate about local plan coverage and whether stepped trajectories should be seen a pragmatic response to changing circumstances or an exercise in cynical can-kicking. And towards the end they touched on National Development Management Policies.

Some accompanying reading.

London Stalling

Will Labour’s London housing boost plan work?

Residential development in London

Local Plan examinations: letter to the Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate (October 2025)

Why stepped housing requirements aren’t justified and should be avoided

What does planning permission *really* get you: CG Fry in the Supreme Court — #planoraks

Autumn Budget 2025 - LPDF submission to HMT

Some accompanying viewing.

Panorama – The race to build 1.5 million homes

The Planners are Coming

Some accompanying listening.

The Rolling Stones -Jigsaw Puzzle

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

The Amazing Technicolour Green Belt

Sat, 11 Oct 2025 09:00:28 +0000

Charles Goode hosted an event in Birmingham in September 2025 to mark the launch of his book, “The Green Belt, Housing Crises and Planning Systems” (link below). Charles invited Catriona Riddell, Mike Best and James Corbet Burcher to join him at that event and Sam Stafford invited the four of them to record a conversation about the Green Belt beforehand.

In a conversation recorded at Birmingham Podcast Studios during the afternoon before Charles’ book launch, the four of them dived as deep into the Green Belt as it might be possible to do.

They talked about the role of Green Belt in the national psyche; how it’s role and perceptions of it’s role have changed even when policy has not; and they asked why some places have a Green Belt and why some places do not. They also talked about the future of the Green Belt and the case for a Royal Commission to determine what that might be.

Some accompanying reading.

The Green Belt, Housing Crises and Planning Systems

A Practical Guide to Securing Planning Permission on Grey Belt Land in the Green Belt

Outskirts by John Grindrod review – life in the green belt

Nimby Watch: Meet the Nimbys turning villages into towns

The Green Belt. What it is and why; what it isn't; and what it should be

Some accompanying viewing.

Andrew Black - The Green Belt Perambulator

Some accompanying listening.

Coalescence - The Lucid Dream

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Who's In Control?

Sat, 27 Sep 2025 09:00:24 +0000

Wrexham Council will defend its opposition to plans for 600 homes on land south of Holt Road against the advice of planning officers.

The application is due to go to appeal on September 29 but at a meeting of Wrexham County Borough Council’s Planning Committee on Monday, senior planning officer Matthew Phillips said no-one within the council’s planning department could represent the council in front of Planning and Environment Decisions Wales inspectors.

“I would be in a difficult position defending that as it would go contrary to the Royal Town Planning Institute’s professional charter which says officers shouldn’t try to defend a position contrary to their professional recommendation in an inquiry,” he said.

This passage, from a Nation Cymru article (link below) caught Sam Stafford's eye a little while ago. The responses that he received after sharing it with a few people convinced him that this was fertile ground for a 50 Shades episode...

Why shouldn’t a professional planner (albeit not the original recommending officer) be able to support a different weighing of the issues by members and put that case forward at an appeal on their behalf? That would, at the very least, save on the cost of consultants.

On the other side of the coin, if the integrity of professional opinion is not sacred is the system not fundamentally undermined? And if councillors did have to defend decisions taken against an officer’s recommendation would it not focus minds more and encourage less playing to the gallery?

How to take decisions, how to write reports, and how to weigh the professional judgment of planners against the democratic accountability of councillors are some of the themes discussed in this episode, which is a conversation recorded online between Mike Kiely, Simon Ricketts, Annie Gingell, Gilian Macinnes and Ben Woolnough, who were steered along the way by Hashi Mohamed.

Some accompanying reading

Brighton Gasworks appeal decision and costs award

Councillors will defend 600-home planning appeal after ignoring officers’ advice

The Only Way Is Ethics – What Is The Role Of The Professional Witness?

The basics #18 - planning barristers, Linkedin, and the “cab rank” rule

The basics #20 - weighing things up

The Nolan Principles - keeping the public front of mind

Probity in planning: Advice for councillors and officers making planning decisions

Some accompanying listening

Who’s In Control – Sea Power

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Hitting the High Notes - Alice Lester

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 09:00:22 +0000

This is the fourteenth episode in Sam Stafford's Hitting the High Notes series.

If you have not listened to one of these before the basic proposition is that Sam chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permissions or projects that helped to shape them as professionals. And, so that listeners can get to know people a little better personally, for every project or stage of their career Sam also asks his guests for a piece of music that reminds them of that period. Think of it as town planning’s equivalent of Desert Island Discs.

Unlike Desert Island Discs though you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting The High Notes is Alice Lester who, planners might have read back in June 2025, is stepping down from her role as Corporate Director for Neighbourhoods & Regeneration at Brent Council.

In a conversation recorded at Soho Radio Studios at the end of July 2025, Alice takes Sam through her career to date. Alice talks about her early days in development control, rising through the ranks in Westminster and Camden; her decade or so at the Planning Advisory Service; her involvement with Wembley Park and encounters with Tony Pidgley; and her drive to make it easier for the people of Brent to build kitchen extensions...

Some accompanying listening.

Alice’s Spotify playlist

London Calling – The Clash

Love Is A Losing Game – Amy Winehouse

Freedom! 90 – George Michael

Shake It Off – Taylor Swift

(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding

Our House – Madness

Some accompanying reading.

Charles Goode’s Green Belt Book Launch and Discussion

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

What's Going On?

Sat, 30 Aug 2025 09:00:22 +0000

Sam Stafford was in London recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Nicola Gooch, Catriona Riddell, Andrew Taylor, Annie Gingell and Iain Thomson.

Over the course of an hour or so at Soho Radio Studios they enjoyed a good ol’ fashioned 50 Shades-style ramblechat about a few of the hot topics exercising the planning profession at the moment.

They talked water neutrality and about statutory consultees, specifically the need to engage utility providers with the Spatial Development Strategy process. They talked about the merits of locally-set application fees. They talked about grant funding for affordable housing; the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill, which led on to Assets of Community Value; the use of hotels for the accommodation of asylum seekers; Level 7 Apprenticeships; and they talked about data centres.

Some accompanying reading.

Crest Nicholson Operations Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government & Anor [2025] EWHC 2194 (Admin) (22 August 2025)

Chief Planner’s Newsletter

Devolution or revolution? – a brief guide to the changes proposed by the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill

English devolution: Area factsheets

Planning Law Is Being Used For Politicking About Asylum Seekers

RTPI warns Housing Minister of major threat to planning profession from apprenticeship restrictions

Data centres to be expanded across UK as concerns mount

Data centres as vital as NHS and power grid, government says

Grid delays now rival planning as chief threat to project delivery

Decoding Data Centers: Opportunities, risks and investment strategies

Life on the Front III

Some accompanying viewing.

Fawlty Towers S1/E2 - 'The Builders'

Some accompanying listening.

What’s Going On? – Marvin Gaye

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

All Around the World - USA

Sat, 16 Aug 2025 09:00:12 +0000

This is the first of a new series of episodes being led by Paul Smith, who regular 50 Shades listeners will know is the Managing Director at the Strategic Land Group and a Housing Today columnist.

Paul put it to Sam Stafford recently that debates about the planning system in England tend, for the most part, to focus solely on the planning system in England. Paul wanted to remedy that and so in this series he will chat with planning professionals and academics from a number of countries to find out what works well there, what works less well, and what planners in England can learn.

First up, the USA, and a conversation with Emily Hamilton, who is a Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center, which is part of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia.

Paul and Emily talk amongst other things about the role of federal government, “comprehensive plans” and whether there is a link between more liberal zoning arrangements and housing affordability.

Some accompanying reading.

Transit orientated zoning in Washington DC

Zoning code accidentally abolished in Charlottesville

Zoning out American families

Planorama: How the English planning system can learn from abroad

Some accompanying viewing.

US Zoning, Explained

Some accompanying listening.

Special Economic Zone – Sex Swing

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

New Politics, New Towns and New Books

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 09:00:23 +0000

Sam Stafford was in Manchester recently and took the opportunity to catch up with old friends of the podcast Ian Wray, Claire Petricca-Riding and David Diggle, and new friends of the podcast Charlotte Leach and Louise Fountain.

Over the course of an hour or so they enjoyed a good ol’ fashioned 50 Shades ramblechat. They talked about the increasingly rancorous nature of planning and whether a sense of fractiousness and febrility is driving the rise of Reform as a political force. They also talked about New Towns and Ian’s 'Northern Arc' proposition, and, towards the end, they swapped holiday reading recommendations.

Some accompanying reading.

The Rise of Reform

How Britain's high street decline is fuelling Reform UK's rise: 'There's a sense that politics has failed'

We won’t let residents block big new towns, says planning minister (£)

On New Towns

‘We have to move’: historic village of Tempsford reels from plan to swell its 600 residents to 350,000

A ‘once in a generation’ opportunity for the UK’s next wave of new towns

The reality of the Northern Arc

The Planning Alliance

Life on the Front Line III

The 50 Shades Book Club

When The Circus Leaves Town - Dave Proudlove

Nairn’s Towns - Ian Nairn

Prisoners of Geography - Tim Marshall

A waiter in Paris – Edward Chisholm

The Danish Way of Parenting - Jessica Joelle Alexander and Iben Dissing Sandahl

Why We Get The Wrong Politicians - Isabel Hardmen

Great British Plans – Ian Wray

Some accompanying viewing.

Nairn across Britain

Nairn's Journeys - Football Towns (Huddersfield and Halifax)

Some accompanying listening.

Episode 36. Can the British plan?

A Fresh Dawn For North Cheshire - Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Hitting the High Notes - Tim Waring

Sat, 19 Jul 2025 09:00:26 +0000

This episode sees the welcome return of the Hitting the High Notes series, the basic proposition of which is that Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permissions or projects that helped to shape them as professionals. And, so that listeners can get to know people a little better personally, for every project or stage of their career Sam also asks his guests for a piece of music that reminds them of that period. Think of it as town planning’s equivalent of Desert Island Discs.

Unlike Desert Island Discs though you will no hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so there are links to You Tube videos and a Spotify playlist below.

Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting the High Notes is Tim Waring, who retired in 2025 after a near 40 year career in planning consultancy.

Sam's conversation with Tim was recorded at Distorted Studios in Leeds in March 2025, little over a month after Tim left Quod, for whom he opened an office back in 2014, the third planning team that he established in the city. They talked about out of centre retail development in Worthing and Stockport; town centre redevelopment in Beverley and Leeds; and residential development in Ripon and York. Tim also shares his golden rules of planning consultancy.

Some accompanying listening.

Fools Gold – The Stone Roses

The Planner’s Dream Goes Wrong – The Jam

Confusion – New Order

Heroes – David Bowie

The Narcissist – Blur

North Country Boy - The Charlatans

Tim’s High Notes Spotify Playlist

Sam’s Indie Disco Spotify Playlist

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

The Snagging List

Sat, 05 Jul 2025 09:00:23 +0000

By common consensus there will a considerable increase in the submission of planning applications this year, certainly applications for residential development and certainly driven by applications on the Grey Belt.

Data published by the LPDF in February suggested a 160% increase in the number of planning applications to be submitted by it’s members between January and June 2025 compared to the number submitted between July and December 2024.

The key point narrowly is that if an increase in planning applications this year are to make a meaningful contribution to the Government's new home target within the parliamentary term, then they will need to be transacted an awful lot faster than applications have been transacted hitherto.

According to recent research by Lichfields for the LPDF and Richborough, the average time taken to determine a major outline application has risen from 8 months in 2014 to two years in 2024.

The key point more broadly is that this increase in planning applications affords an opportunity, beyond the big building blocks of the reform agenda that have gathered most attention over the past year or so, to get under the bonnet of the planning system’s rickety old engine.

The basis of this episode then are the efficiencies that can be found within development management and to inform it, you might have seen, Sam Stafford posted the following call-for-evidence on LinkedIn and on the 50 Shades blog.

“We are not talking here about NDMPs and Stat Cons and modernising planning committees and the big ideas that are already on the agenda. We are talking about the nitty gritty. The detail. The things that, as planning managers or consultants submitting applications, or planning officers managing applications, drive you most crazy. We are not necessarily talking set piece policy or legal change, although we might be talking about policy or legislative tweaks here and there. We are talking about the low-effort practical levers you would you pull, or procedural buttons you would press, that would shave days, weeks or even months off of the typical planning application.”

Lots of people either commented on that LinkedIn post or shared thoughts with Sam directly, all of which he compiled for the discussion that you are about to hear between old friends of the podcast Andrew Taylor, Emma Williamson, Alister Parvin and Martin Hutchings, and new friends of the podcast Jacob Bonehill and Ros Eastman.

In a conversation recorded online they covered as much of this massive topic as they could. They talked about, amongst very many other things, how many submissions are found to be invalid and why; what planners should and should not be spending their time doing; and who to consult on an application and how.

Some accompanying reading.

The Killian Pretty Review

The Penfold Review

The Lichfields research on planning application timescales

The PAS research on pre-apps and PPAs

PAS Best practice in officer report writing

The Housing Forum’s report on validation checklists

The Snagging List

Some accompanying listening

Let's Work Together - Wilbert Harrison

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

All Builders Big and Small

Sat, 21 Jun 2025 09:00:26 +0000

It has been another exciting few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing rock and roll world of town and country planning...

“Thousands of new homes promised to communities will be delivered faster, thanks to major changes to make sure developers deliver on their commitments and do not leave sites half-finished for years”, announced a MHCLG press release on Sunday 25 May.

“This government has taken radical steps to overhaul the planning system to get Britain building again after years of inaction. In the name of delivering security for working people, we are backing the builders not the blockers. Now it’s time for developers to roll up their sleeves and play their part”, said Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner.

A planning reform working paper on speeding up build out and a technical consultation on implementing measures to improve build out transparency were published by MHCLG on the same day.

Then a few days later, on Wednesday 28 May, another MHCLG press release announced that the Government backs SME builders to get Britain building.

“Smaller housebuilders must be the bedrock of our Plan for Change to build 1.5 million homes and fix the housing crisis we’ve inherited – and get working people on the housing ladder. For decades the status quo has failed them and it’s time to level the playing field. Today we’re taking urgent action to make the system simpler, fairer and more cost effective, so smaller housebuilders can play a crucial role in our journey to get Britain building”, said Ms Rayner.

A planning reform working paper on reforming site thresholds; a technical consultation on the reform of planning committees; and an open consultation on improving the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development were published by MHCLG and DEFRA on the same day.

What is to be made of all of that,?

Helpfully, Sam Stafford was in London recently and was able to solicit some expert opinion and insight from old friends of the podcast Andrew Taylor, Simon Ricketts and Shelly Rouse, and new friends of the podcast Gordon Adams and Rachel Clements.

In a conversation recorded over the space of an hour or so at Soho Radio Studios they tried to get through as much of this latest round of consultations as they could. They talked about the plight of the SME builder and the merits of the proposed medium site category; they talked about who does and does not bring land forward and why; and they touched on BNG and the proposed national scheme of delegation.

Some accompanying reading.

‘Get on and Build' Deputy Prime Minister urges housebuilders

Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out

Technical consultation on implementing measures to improve Build Out transparency

Government backs SME builders to get Britain building

Planning Reform Working Paper: Reforming Site Thresholds

Reform of planning committees: technical consultation

Improving the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development

Simon on build out

Simon on the broader SME package

Claire Petricca-Riding on the BNG proposals

The Future of SME Builders in England

SM sites for SME builders

How long is a piece of string?

Modernising Planning Committees National Survey 2025

New clause briefing: Chief Planning Officers

Some accompanying listening

Crazy, Crazy Nights- Kiss

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Grey Belt: Policy Guidance and Appeals

Sat, 07 Jun 2025 09:00:24 +0000

For how long Grey Belt remains part of the policy landscape time will tell, but in the here and now it represents very welcome political recognition that the homes the country needs cannot be built without developing land that is currently identified as Green Belt.

The irresistible force, it might be said, has started to shift the immoveable object...

If that dynamic continues it may prompt questions about what the Green Belt should actually be for and, perhaps, a Royal Commission on it’s future, but that is very much for tomorrow.

In the here and now planners need to know how the inclusion of the Grey Belt concept within the December 2024 version of the NPPF will affect their working lives because anybody involved in trying to bring sustainable sites forward will most surely have their working lives affected.

To support practitioners understand the implications of Grey Belt Landmark Chambers held a seminar in London in early May 2025, which, unsurprisingly, was heavily over-subscribed and so the audio was captured in order that the insights shared by some of the Landmark team could be shared by way of the 50 Shades podcast.

This episodes includes:

Christopher Boyle KC introducing Grey Belt as it is defined in the NPPF, the implications for plan-making and decision making, and an introduction to the Golden Rules (from 11:00);
Melissa Murphy KC diving a little more deeply into the practical implications (from 28:16);
Stephen Whale reviewing the Grey Belt appeal decisions that have been permitted (from 44:49);
Nick Grant reviewing the Grey Belt appeal decisions that have been dismissed (from 01:00:25); and
Hashi Mohamed offering his top tips for clients (from 01:16:03).

Either side of those contributions are opening and closing remarks from Rupert Warren KC.

Some accompanying reading.

Grey Belt: policy guidance and appeals presentation

https://www.landmarkchambers.co.uk/events/grey-belt-policy-guidance-and-appeals

The Green Belt. What it is and why; what it isn't; and what it should be

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-green-belt-what-it-is-why-it-is.html

On Grey Belt

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/11/on-grey-belt.html

Some accompanying listening.

Sea Change by Turin Brakes

https://youtu.be/OfzdLUwWZg8?si=KROayX0tvHmzNidO

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

A Conversation with Michael Gove

Sat, 24 May 2025 09:00:25 +0000

This episode is a conversation between Sam Stafford and former Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Rt Hon. the Lord Gove.

Famous in political circles. Infamous, some might say, in planning circles.

The Parliament of 2019-2024 was tumultuous for everybody, but for planning specifically it was an especially tumultuous time.

There was the 2020 'Planning for the Future' White Paper, which Mr Gove inherited in 2021, the same year as the Chesham & Amersham byelection. 2022 brought Mr Gove’s Devolution White Paper, his resignation and reappointment, the LURB, then the LURA, the rebellion against which over "top down" housing targets that precipitated the NPPF changes that were subsequently adopted in 2023.

Mr Gove talks Sam through all of that tumult. They also talked about strategic planning; about B.I.D.E.N; about the stance on housing that the now opposition Conservative Party should take into the next election: and they talked about the merits of 'big bang' planning reform versus pragmatic incrementalism.

Some accompanying reading.

Foundations

https://ukfoundations.co/

National Planning Policy Fudge

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/01/national-planning-policy-fudge.html

The Long-Term Plan for Housing II

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-long-term-plan-for-housing-ii.html

Some accompanying Listening.

Only Memories Remain - My Morning Jacket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX-RDOp4XtE

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Pre-Apps, Puddles and NDMPs

Sat, 10 May 2025 09:00:23 +0000

When in Manchester recently Sam Stafford took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast David Diggle, Paul Smith, Rebecca Coley and Claire Petricca-Riding and over the course of an hour or so they talked about a few of the hot topics that are exercising the planning profession at the minute.

Those hot topics include the widely anticipated spike in planning applications this year; locally-set fees, pre-apps and PPAs; the Flood Risk Sequential Test, NDMPs, and, very briefly towards the end of their conversation, the Planning & Infrastructure Bill and the Corry Review.

Some accompanying reading.

Data shows an over 160% rise in planning applications

https://www.lpdf.co.uk/news/data-shows-an-over-160-rise-in-planning-applications

How puddles could stop the government building the homes we need

https://longwall.substack.com/i/160566665/what-planning-policy-says-about-flood-risk

Labour of Love II - Flood Risk Sequential Test

https://youtu.be/g8ObnIeN-fc?si=_5WDBTPFeAxv3-22

How National Development Management Policies Can Boost Economic Growth

https://www.publicfirst.co.uk/how-national-development-management-policies-can-boost-economic-growth.html

SME sites for SME builders

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/11/sme-sites-for-sme-builders.html

The Corry Review

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-reforms-to-environmental-regulation-to-boost-growth-and-protect-nature

Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/mar/27/abundance-by-ezra-klein-and-derek-thompson-review-make-america-build-again

Some accompanying listening.

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York

https://open.spotify.com/show/090wd4VVywMtYCC5PSngvH?si=OWKfRjOiRnWR4az9LKXJFA&nd=1&dlsi=44c4e94d871c4bac

Rain - The Beatles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK5G8fPmWeA

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

The BNG

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 09:00:23 +0000

Over a year on from it becoming mandatory, what is to be made of BNG?

On the one hand, according to an open letter signed by a 40-strong coalition of housebuilders and environmental groups to mark the first anniversary, “BNG is a true success story. Over the past year, it has unlocked unprecedented investment in local habitats, while also driving green growth.”

On the other hand, only a tenth of respondents to Planning’s consultants survey believed that the system is working well, perhaps because, according to the HBF, nearly 40% of local planning authorities do not have access to in-house ecological expertise.

What is really going on..?

To find out, Sam Stafford invited five experts in in this field to talk about what, in their view, is working well, or at least as expected; what is not working well, or at least not as expected; and what, if anything, needs to change.

Those experts are Martin Hutchings, Helen Nyul, Neil Beamsley, Julian Arthur and Nina Pindham.

They talked about small sites, exemptions, metrics and matrices, management companies, phased development, going above the mandatory 10%, Local Nature Recovery Strategies and the proposed Nature Restoration Fund.

Some accompanying reading.

On BNG

Biodiversity Net Gain One Year On: Is This World-Leading Scheme Taking Root?

What consultants really think about the market, public harassment, agency staff at councils – and more (£)

Biodiversity Net Gain: One year on

‘A Practical Guide to Biodiversity Net Gain’ by Nina Pindham

The Planning Advisory Service bulletin

What 500 Planning Applications Reveal About Biodiversity Net Gain in Action

Ecologists and environmental scientists call for a small sites levy one year on from mandatory BNG for small sites

Assistance Required: 'The Snagging List'

Some accompanying listening.

Evergreen - Rose City Band

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

If I Ruled the World

Sat, 12 Apr 2025 09:00:28 +0000

Sam Stafford was down in The Big Smoke recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Matthew Spry, Simon Ricketts, Hana Loftus, Vicky Payne and Mike Kiely.

In a good ol’ fashioned Adam Buxton-style ramblechat they talked about anything and everything. They talked about stat cons; they talked about skills, resources and leadership within LPAs; they talked about the need for efficiency gains in development management to deal with the expected uptick in planning applications; they talked application fees; they talked about power lines; they talked about a national scheme of delegation; they talked about NPSs, SDSs, local plans and NDMPs; and then they talked about a national scheme of delegation again.

There is something in here for everybody.

Some accompanying reading.

Reeves to put £2bn into affordable housing to ‘sweeten the pill’ of cuts

Bureaucratic burden lifted to speed up building in growth agenda

Planning Fees – All Power to Local Authorities?

People living near new pylons in Great Britain could get £250 a year off energy bills

On modernising planning committees

Assistance Required: 'The Snagging List'

Some accompanying listening.

Nas ft. Lauryn Hill - If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Back in Black

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 10:00:22 +0000

The fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning has been especially fast-paced, ever-changing and rock and roll of late.

How then to try to catch up? Sam Stafford thought that the best way of doing so was to reprise the ‘Labour of Love’ episode that he published back in August of last year. Here then you will hear elements of nine conversations recorded online between friends of the podcast old and new about nine themes of the Government’s crystalising reform agenda.

Catriona Riddell, Andrew Taylor, Jane Meek and Alex Coley talk about strategic planning, devolution and local government reorganisation (06.54);

Greg Dickson, John Sayer, Rebecca Clutten and Anthony Lee talk about CPO, land value capture and benchmark land value (17.42);

Claire Petricca-Riding, Gilian MacInnes, Sarah McLaughlin and Robbie Owen talk about infrastructure planning (28.12);

Andrew, Shelly Rouse, Mike Kiely and Adele Morris talk about planning committees (36.26);

Claire, Hana Loftus, Nina Pindham and Neil Beamsley talk about development and nature recovery (46.11);

Andrew, Annie Gingell, Hana and Sarah Young talk about Grey Belt (54.22);

Andrew and Paul Smith talk about statutory consultees (01.02.42);

Ben Castell, Katie Wray, Vicky Payne and Hana talk about design and placemaking (01.13.21); and

Hashi Mohamed, Kathryn Ventham and Simon Mirams talk about the flood risk sequential test (01.24.45).

The full conversations will appear on the 50 Shades YouTube channel in due course and Sam will share the respective links on the 50 Shades Bluesky, LinkedIn and TikTok channels when they are published.

Some accompanying reading.

JEKC

David's Tribute

St. John's Hospice

Bowel Cancer UK

Context

'Biggest building boom' in a generation through planning reforms

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill

The Planning & Infrastructure Bill: An Overview

Devolution

Devolving local growth: how do the emerging geographies shape up?

CPO / LVC / BLV

Compulsory purchase process: guidance (October 2024 update)

Law Commission seeks views on compulsory purchase laws

Compulsory Purchase Process and Compensation Reforms

How far can land value capture be pushed?

Infrastructure

Growth drives major infrastructure and housing planning reform proposals

Planning Committees

Planning Reform Working Paper: Planning Committees

On modernising planning committees

Modernising Planning Committees National Survey 2025

Nature Restoration

Planning Reform Working Paper: Development and Nature Recovery

Land Use Consultation

Grey Belt

How grey is the Green Belt?

The “Grey Belt” has arrived

Colouring In The Grey Belt: The PPG

Grey belt policy having only a marginal impact at best

Grey Belt Impact Assessment

Stat Cons

Bureaucratic burden lifted to speed up building in growth agenda

Reform of the Statutory Consultee System

Cons & Pros

On Stat Cons

Flood Risk Sequential Test

More Afloat – New NPPF and the Sequential Test

Enhancing flood and coastal erosion risk digital services with the latest data and mapping

Some accompanying listening.

Back in Black - AC/DC

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

A Brief History of Planning 2010-2024

Sat, 19 Oct 2024 09:00:15 +0000

Back in March 2024 friend of the podcast Catriona Riddell gave a lecture at UCL’s Bartlett School of Planning that she called ‘Strategic Planning in England - Where did we go so wrong?’.

Sam Stafford couldn’t be there that night, but Catriona shared her slides on LinkedIn and they read to Sam almost like a ‘Brief History of Planning 2010-2024’, which he thought a good subject for an episode.

As well as Catriona, who was Director of Planning at the South East England Regional Assembly when the Coalition Government came to power in 2010, Sam approached another friend of podcast, Steve Quartermain, Chief Planner between 2008 and 2020, who was also keen to be involved. Sam felt though that a political perspective on things was also needed so he approached Greg Clark.

Greg was appointed Director of Policy for the Conservative Party in 2001 before being elected as MP for Royal Tunbridge Wells in 2005. He has held a number of senior Government roles, including, and of most relevance to planners, Minister for Decentralisation and Cities within the Department for Communities and Local Government between May 2010 and September 2012 and Secretary of State for CLG between May 2015 and July 2016. Greg was also briefly Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities between July 2022 and September 2022.

Greg, pleasingly, was also keen to be involved, and the four of them finally got together at Soho Radio Studios in early October 2024.

There were many, many topics of possible conversation in Sam's notes for the recording. They did not actually get to the latter part of the 2010-2024 period, so they did not get to, for example, the Standard Method, the 2020 White Paper, and the Theresa Villiers / LURB amendments brouhaha, but that was because they ended up dwelling on arguably the big three topics of that 2010-2024 period, which are the revocation of the Regional Strategies, Localism and the NPPF. They did also touch, right at the end of the conversation, on permitted development rights.

Standby for insights into what Eric Pickles had DCLG staff do on his first day at the Department, the amount of thought that was given to what would replace the RSSs (spoiler alert, not much…) and how the NPPF came into being…

Some accompanying reading.

Has the localism genie been put back in the bottle?

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/09/has-localism-genie-been-put-back-in.html

Some accompanying viewing.

Catriona’s Bartlett School of Planning lecture - Strategic planning in England: where did we go so wrong?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D2xXMwVNrk

Jerry’s Final Thought

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7h0mIy6Jho

Some accompanying listening.

The Wheel – Bill Callahan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPjxq2-j6xY

Any other business.

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

100 Days of Labour

Sat, 12 Oct 2024 09:00:14 +0000

Saturday 12 October 2024 marks 100 days of the new Labour Government.

In anticipation of this milestone Landmark Chambers and Town Legal hosted a seminar in London this week to provide an in-depth review of Labour's first 100 days in power and the impact on planning law and policy.

The session was recorded so that Sam Stafford could share it by way of the 50 Shades podcast and planners will be glad that it was recorded because it contains analysis and insight of the highest order. This episode includes:

Rupert Warren talking about the NPPF, local plans and housing;
Meeta Kaur talking about new towns;
Russell Harris talking about London;
Simon Ricketts talking about infrastructure and commercial development; and
Isabella Buono talking about Grey Belt and affordable housing.

Some accompanying reading.

https://www.landmarkchambers.co.uk/resources/100-days-of-labour-a-planning-law-and-policy-perspective-full-presentation

Some accompanying listening.

All My Friends – LCD Soundsystem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObvLGOE-_Qk

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Not the NPPF

Sat, 05 Oct 2024 09:00:10 +0000

Last week, on NPPF deadline day, Sam Stafford was in Manchester and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Katie Wray, David Diggle, Greg Dickson, Mark Parkinson and Claire Petricca-Riding at the studios of Reform Radio.

Conscious that the podcast has covered the revised NPPF in episodes 128 and 131, they talked about some of the other current hot planning topics. They talked about brownfield passports and why existing tools in the box are not being used already; they talked about the Labour Party Conference, which led on to conversation about a Plan for England; and they talked about what the New Towns Taskforce would need to do to meaningfully advance that agenda. And then they talked a bit more towards to the end about brownfield passports again.

They did try not to mention the NPPF, but, as you will hear, were unsuccessful in so doing...

Some accompanying reading.

Planning Reform Working Paper: Brownfield Passport

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-reform-working-paper-brownfield-passport

The New Towns Taskforce

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/the-new-towns-taskforce

Brownfield urban regeneration: how to deliver more growth, homes and jobs with the support of communities

https://www.britishland.com/news/brownfield-urban-regeneration-how-to-deliver-more-growth-homes-and-jobs-with-the-support-of-communities/

Brownfield Passports: building on old foundations?

https://www.irwinmitchell.com/news-and-insights/expert-comment/post/102jjwb/brownfield-passports-building-on-old-foundations

Brownfield Passports…To What? When? How?

https://simonicity.com/2024/09/28/brownfield-passportsto-what-when-how/

Design codes will help fill our cities with the missing middle

https://www.pricedout.org.uk/design-codes-will-help-fill-our-cities-with-the-missing-middle/

Some accompanying listening.

A Shared Sense Of Purpose - Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMhN3pWyBR0

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

The YIMBY Crowd

Sat, 21 Sep 2024 09:00:13 +0000

"‘The moment has come’: pro-building Labour YIMBYs are set to raise the roof" was the title of a piece in the Observer ahead of the Labour Party Conference (link below).

For many of the most ambitious of the new cohort of Labour MPs, this is the fashionable campaign of the moment, not for economic growth but as a social justice movement – and one that many of the new millennials entering parliament hope to stake their careers on.

Inside Labour it is not a left-right divide, but some of its champions are prepared for it to mean internal party conflict between those who are radicalised on the housing crisis, and more nervous colleagues in rural or suburban seats won for the first time by Labour who might be tempted to retreat into nimbyism on local issues as a way of trying to keep their seats.

The point about first time Labour MPs retreating into NIMBYism is interesting in the context of the proposed changes to the standard method that is currently being consulted upon, but it was the point about YIMBYism not being a left-right divide inside Labour that Sam Stafford found most interesting because of a piece in the New Statesman back in April called ‘Not all YIMBYs are your friends - the pro-housing coalition is less united than it seems’ (link also below).

As it so happens, Sam approached the people quoted in the New Statesmen piece about recording a chat about the politics of housing and met four of them recently to do just that.

The four are John Myers, co-founder of the YIMBY Alliance; Robert Colville, columnist and Director of the Centre for Policy Studies; Jonn Elledge, journalist, author and fan of local government reorganisation; and Aydin Dikerdem, Cabinet Member for housing on the London Borough of Wandsworth.

They were going to talk about whether Kier Starmer’s self-declaration as a YIMBY marks the movements arrival into the political mainstream; whether the ends, more housing, is more important than the means; and who should get a say over what goes where and why. Some of that they did, but the remainder of the conversation, as Listeners will hear, goes off in all kinds of directions.

Some accompanying reading.

‘The moment has come’: pro-building Labour YIMBYs are set to raise the roof

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/15/the-moment-has-come-pro-building-labour-yimbys-are-set-to-raise-the-roof

Not all YIMBYs are your friends

https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2024/04/no-not-every-yimby-your-mate-housing

All hail the ‘MIMBYs’: the open-minded voters who might just save Labour’s housing plans

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/05/labour-housing-plans-keir-starmer-houses

By Sam: YIMBYs and NIMBYs. Is planning becoming a new front in the culture war?

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/06/yimbys-versus-nimbys-is-planning-new.html

By Aydin: The sky pool is a symbol of a greater housing scandal

https://www.huckmag.com/article/the-sky-pool-is-a-symbol-of-a-greater-housing-scandal

By Robert: The (not so) green belt — and why we should build on it (£)

https://www.thetimes.com/article/c7049594-3836-4563-ae4e-caa27eb5409e?shareToken=631cd93bdff30c14ac98a86bd21b483b

Some accompanying listening.

The In Crowd – Dobie Gray

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOWO--z1S8A

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

The Masterplan

Sat, 07 Sep 2024 09:00:05 +0000

If you have listened to episodes 125 and 128 you will know Sam Stafford sought to cover, pre-publication, what could and should be in the new version of NPPF. With the consultation deadline now starting to loom large, this episode seeks to cover what is actually in it.

Sam was in London earlier this week and caught up with friends of the podcast Andrew Taylor, Hashi Mohamed, Vicky Payne and Simon Ricketts at Soho Radio Studios.

They will need no introduction to regular listeners, but for new listeners, Andrew is Group Planning Director at Vistry, Hashi is a Barrister at Landmark Chambers; Vicky is an Associate at Jas Bhalla Works and an Independent Consultant; and Simon is a Partner at Town Legal.

As you will hear over the next 45 minutes or so they crammed in as much as possible. They talked about the proposed new stock-based standard method and transitional arrangements for local plans, they talked about Grey Belt, 50% affordable housing and benchmark land values; and they touched on beauty, design codes, vision-led transport planning, the flood risk sequential test, neighbourhood plans, safeguarded land, and application fees.

Some accompanying reading.

Lichfields’ NPPF resource

https://lichfields.uk/proposed-reforms-to-the-nppf-and-other-changes-to-the-planning-system?email

Simon’s blog

https://simonicity.com/2024/08/02/50-shades-of-grey-belt/

Zack Simons' blog

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/planningreformday-2024-what-just-happened

Vicky on Design

https://www.theplanner.co.uk/2024/08/01/more-substance-style-new-nppfs-design-outlook

Philip Barnes on BLV

https://philipbarnesblog.wordpress.com/2024/08/28/green-belt-vs-grey-belt-vs-benchmark-land-values-vs-50-affordable-housing/

Create Streets - Stepping off the Road to Nowhere

https://www.createstreets.com/projects/stepping-off-the-road-to-nowhere/

Some accompanying listening.

The Masterplan - Oasis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPPi2D6GK7A

Some accompanying viewing.

Alam Partridge’s big plate

https://youtu.be/swJFOE49LRQ?si=bmR85Y7USmizHBef

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Hitting the High Notes - Mike Best

Sat, 31 Aug 2024 09:00:06 +0000

In Hitting the High Notes episodes Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permissions or projects that helped to shape them as professionals. And, so that Listeners can get to know people a little better personally, for every project or stage of their career Sam also asks his guests for a piece of music that reminds them of that period. Think of it as town planning’s equivalent of Desert Island Discs.

Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

Sam's guest for this episode is Mike Best who many planners, especially in the West Midlands, will know from his twenty years at Turley.

Their conversation was recorded at Birmingham Podcast Studios in July 2024 and takes in Mike's early career in Local Government at Rotherham and Coventry and his move into consultancy with Jones Lang Wootton as was. Taking in retail parks, racecourses and regeneration, the projects that Mike talks Sam through highlight the breadth of the planning profession.

Some accompanying listening.

Mike’s Spotify playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3U6RUbhmrcUOzqBe7NvF6F?si=L-6LiPRWQ2m1zwgoIgiyCw&pi=e-3vODKymtRKed&nd=1&dlsi=df762b96aa044203

Ignoreland – REM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03gauuHIgME

A Design for Life – Manic Street Preachers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfEoVxy7VDQ

Limelight – Rush

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgj2br-teu4

The Whole of the Moon – Waterboys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBW8Vnp8BzU

Twice If You’re Lucky – Crowded House

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcKh-VeFxX0

Inner City Life – Goldie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-P98B2skts

Some accompanying reading

Mike’s Blog

https://mikesbestlaidplans.wordpress.com/

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

To Rebuild or to Retrofit?

Sat, 17 Aug 2024 09:00:07 +0000

To rebuild or to retrofit? That is the question posed by former Secretary of State Michael Gove’s intervention in planning applications for the redevelopment of M&S’ Oxford Street store and the former Museum of London building.

According to the Climate Change Committee, direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from buildings account for 23% of the UK total.

How can we create energy-efficient, carbon neutral and climate resilient new buildings and what is needed to accelerate the decarbonisation of existing buildings?

The greenest building, so it is said, is the building that already exists and a ‘retrofit fit first, not retrofit only’ position appears to be emerging as the default, but this involves understanding which development options would have the lowest embodied carbon intensity and operational carbon emissions. Who is measuring what and how?

Friend of the podcast Katie Wray kindly convened a group of experts in this field to tackle these questions in a conversation recorded online in April 2024. Katie, Director in Real Assets Advisory team at Deloitte, spoke to Iain Shaw, Mike Keaveney and Alex Edwards. Iain is a Director at Max Fordham, Mike is a Land & Development Director at Grainger; and Alex is ESG Director at Bruntwood SciTech.

They talk about where the drivers for change in this area are coming from, how decisions around rebuild and retrofit are arrived at, and the concept of ‘value for carbon’.

Some accompanying reading.

Retrofit First: The City of London, Camden, now Westminster- who will be next?

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2024/april/02/retrofit-first-the-city-camden-now-westminster-who-will-be-next/

UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard

Home | UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (nzcbuildings.co.uk)

Climate Change and Historic Building Adaptation Historic England Advice Note DRAFT

Climate Change and Historic Building Adaptation - draft for consultation (historicengland.org.uk)

City of London Corporation’s heritage building retrofit toolkit

https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/assets/Services-Environment/Heritage-Buildings-Retrofit-Toolkit.pdf

Retrofit and Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings

https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/technical-advice/retrofit-and-energy-efficiency-in-historic-buildings/#:~:text=We%20use%20the%20term%20retrofit,and%20use%20of%20the%20building

Manchester Climate Change Framework (see section on retrofit)

MANCHESTER CLIMATE CHANGE FRAMEWORK(2020-25) | 2022 UPDATE (squarespace.com)

Some accompanying listening.

Build It Up, Tear It Down by Fatboy Slim

https://youtu.be/bxHjytBY7Z8?si=k0dTMcz8CO8Im-bg

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here. You can also sign up for the 50 Shades Newsletter via the 50 Shades Blog.

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Labour of Love

Sat, 03 Aug 2024 09:00:11 +0000

Sam Stafford has mentioned previously that the podcast would consider the new Government’s reform agenda and this is an attempt at doing so. The specifics of the NPPF consultation will be covered in more depth in due course, but what Listeners will hear in this jam-packed extravaganza of an episode is an exploration of that reform agenda in it’s broader sense.

In anticipation of the NPPF, Sam invited some of the Shades alumni to discuss some of the policy areas of most interest to them and how the new Government could and should approach them.

The voices that Listeners will hear belong to Vicky Payne, Hana Loftus, Ben Castell, Andrew Taylor, Pooja Agrawal, Claire Petricca-Riding, David Diggle, Nicola Gooch, Shelly Rouse, Gilan Macinnes, Ian Wray, Paul Smith, Mike Kiely, Simon Ricketts and Annie Gingell.

Listeners will hear:

Vicky, Hana, Ben, Andrew and Pooja talk about design and placemaking (05:23);
Claire, David and Nicola talk about planning for infrastructure and the environment (20:02);
Shelly, Gilan and Pooja talk about LPA capacity (26:32);
Ian, Paul, Mike and Nicola talk about Grey Belt (38:38);
Ian, Paul and Vicky talk about New Towns (50:34);
Paul, Shelly and Andrew talk about devolution and ‘greater than local’ planning (01:02:03);
Nicola, Andrew, Gilian and Simon talk about land value capture (01:15:32); and
Paul, Annie, Shelly and Andrew talk housing targets (01:27:36).

This episode only features parts of those eight conversations. Listen to the end to find out how and where to listen to all eight conversations in full in due course.

Some accompanying reading.

#PlanningReformDay 2024 - what just happened?

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/planningreformday-2024-what-just-happened

Letter from Deputy Prime Minister and Defra Secretary of State to environmental NGOs on planning and infrastructure bill

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-deputy-prime-minister-and-defra-secretary-of-state-to-environmental-ngos-on-planning-and-infrastructure-bill

Pathways to Planning

https://www.local.gov.uk/pathways-to-planning

The Green Belt. What it is and why; what it isn't; and what it should be

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-green-belt-what-it-is-why-it-is.html

Policy statement on new towns

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/policy-statement-on-new-towns/policy-statement-on-new-towns

Letter from the Deputy Prime Minister to local leaders: the next steps to devolution

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-the-deputy-prime-minister-to-local-leaders-the-next-steps-to-devolution/letter-from-the-deputy-prime-minister-to-local-leaders-the-next-steps-to-devolution

Land value capture back in focus

https://philipbarnesblog.wordpress.com/2024/07/12/land-value-capture-back-in-fashion/

Where next for the substandard method of assessing housing need?

https://www.turley.co.uk/comment/housebuilding-assessment-targets-housing-stock-approach

Some accompanying viewing.

https://www.youtube.com/@FiftyShadesofPlanning

Some accompanying listening.

Labour of Love – Hue & Cry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CYZ6q7Wr9c

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here. You can also sign up for the 50 Shades Newsletter via the 50 Shades Blog.

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Let's Get Digital

Sat, 20 Jul 2024 09:00:10 +0000

Long-serving Listeners might recall that for Episode 6 of 50 Shades of Planning Sam Stafford published a chat with Euan Mills, then of the Connected Places Catapult, on the potential for digital innovation, urban data, and user-centred design to improve the planning system.

Euan, now CEO and co-founder of Blocktype, got in touch with Sam Stafford earlier this year and asked if he could put together an episode on the progress that has been made over the past five years towards this aim.

This was both a kind invitation and a coincidental one because at around the same time the Spring Budget Statement included reference to “piloting the use of AI solutions to support planning authorities to streamline their local plan development processes, producing plans in 30 months rather than the current average of seven years. This builds on work to date which has already reduced planning officer processing times by up to 30% per application.”

This episode features four conversations that Euan recorded back in March with four people both very knowledgeable and very active in this space. They are Alistair Parvin, CEO of Open Systems Lab; Dr Sue Chadwick, Strategic & Digital Planning Advisor at Pinsent Masons; Matt Wood-Hill, Head of Digital Planning Software at MHCLG; and Paul Downey, Planning Data Service Owner at MHLCG.

During the course of this episode Listeners will learn a lot about how digital innovation, urban data, and user-centred design are improving the UK planning system.

Some accompanying reading.

Blocktype

blocktype.co.uk

Plan X

planx.uk

Planning Data

Planning.data.gov.uk

Open Digital Planning

opendigitalplanning.org

The Future of Planning - How we can rewire the planning system for the digital age

https://medium.com/@alastairparvin/the-future-of-planning-8a1f93e17ae1

Some accompanying listening.

Digital – Goldie (feat. KRS One) (Armand Van Helden Remix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1dgKcpgKxs

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here. You can also sign up for the 50 Shades Newsletter via the 50 Shades Blog.

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Housing by Popular Demand

Sat, 06 Jul 2024 09:00:07 +0000

One of the new Labour Government’s manifesto pledges is the construction of 1.5 million new homes between now and the end of this new parliament.

“We will ensure local communities continue to shape housebuilding in their area, but where necessary Labour will not be afraid to make full use of intervention powers to build the houses we need”, the manifesto states, which strikes a markedly different tone to the emphatically localist one adopted by the Conservatives upon entering office back in 2010.

So different in fact that according to the Daily Express recently “campaigners have demanded an apology from Sir Keir Starmer for treating nature and communities with “disdain” through his approach to housing policies and energy infrastructure.”

Now seemed like a good time then for Sam Stafford to publish a conversation between old friends of the podcast Andrew Taylor, Catriona Riddell and Paul Miner, and new friends of the podcast Jonathan Werran, Andy von Bradsky and Anna Clarke. This conversation, which is lead by Andrew and recorded online in April 2024 is about an essay collection compiled by Localis called ‘Building by consent – housing by popular demand’.

Localis, of which Jonathan is Chief Executive, asked a wide range of policy experts, local government leaders and industry bodies, to sketch their plan for what a successful planning system that generates community support for development might look like. Andrew, Catriona, Paul, Andy and Anna all provided contributions..

Some accompanying reading.

Labour’s planning proposals

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/04/labours-planning-proposals.html

A new dawn has broken, has it not?

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2024/july/05/a-new-dawn-has-broken-has-it-not

Sir Keir Starmer accused of 'making enemies' of voters as campaigners demand apology

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1912206/keir-starmer-housing-nature-communities

Building Communities

https://www.localis.org.uk/research/building-communities/

Building Consent

https://localis.org.uk/research/building-consent/

Long-Term National Housing Strategy

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2024-02-29/debates/48BADB17-4BC5-4D4A-81A9-6E80B85533AF/Long-TermNationalHousingStrategy#contribution-F4869BBB-7ECD-49E2-9E36-7AEA3060249D

Neighbourhood Planning Design Coding Guidance

https://neighbourhoodplanning.org/toolkits-and-guidance/neighbourhood-planning-design-coding-guidance/

Independent review of build out: final report

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-build-out-final-report

Start to Finish 3

https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/start-to-finish-3

Streamlining planning to build more homes

https://housingforum.org.uk/reports/key-publications/streamlining-planning-to-build-more-homes/

Some accompanying listening.

Wind of Change - Scorpions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4RjJKxsamQ

50 Shades T-Shirts & Newsletter

If you have listened to Episode 45 of 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here and you can also sign up for the 50 Shades Newsletter via the 50 Shaded Blog.

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

What Do We Want?

Sat, 22 Jun 2024 09:00:15 +0000

With a General Election now imminent Sam Stafford thought that it might be interesting to try to compare what is being offered by the main political parties in relation to housing, planning and development with what the housing, planning and development sector would like to see being offered.

In a conversation recorded at Outset Studios in Shoreditch Sam speaks to new friends of the podcast Richard Blyth, Tony Mulhall, Marie Chadwick and Ian Fletcher, and old friend of the podcast Paul Brocklehurst, about the policy proposals that their respective organisations are promulgating.

Richard is Head of Policy & Practice at the RTPI; Tony is a Senior Specialist at RICS; Marie is Policy Leader at the NHF; Paul is Chair of the LPDF; and Ian is Director of Real Estate Policy at the BPF.

Sam invites them all to outline their respective manifestos and then they focused on two key areas that everybody agreed need to be addressed: the need to get more resources into LPAs and the need to reintroduce strategic planning whilst at the same time getting local plans moving again.

Towards the end of the episode Sam also asks Marie about the issue of RPs not bidding for S106 sites, which is a very live one at present.

Some accompanying reading.

Blue belt, grey belt, wild belt – the manifestos compared

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2024/june/20/blue-belt-grey-belt-wild-belt-the-manifestos-compared

RICS’ Land & Rural Manifesto overview

https://www.rics.org/news-insights/rics-uk-general-election-land-and-rural-manifesto-review

The BPF General Election Manifesto

https://bpf.org.uk/our-work/general-election-2024/

LPDF’s 10 Point Plan for a Step Change in Delivery

https://lpdf.co.uk/latest-lpdf-publications

RTPI’s Planifesto

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/new/our-campaigns/rtpi-planifesto-2024/

Some accompanying viewing.

NHF’s campaign for a Plan for Housing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmM3WLCjcwQ

Some accompanying listening.

Manifesto by Roxy Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjkVYOArUQM

50 Shades - T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Efficiency Savings

Sat, 15 Jun 2024 09:00:11 +0000

In February 2024 Planning published a special report by Joey Gardiner entitled ‘how cost-saving consultants disrupted council planning services’.

Cash-strapped councils have been following management consultants’ advice to split up their planning teams. Staff have been put into central departments to handle additional non-planning tasks. But the upshot, say critics, has been declining performance and a staff exodus.

Joey’s piece highlighted the tumult at Tandridge, which in 2020 was formally threatened with designation over the quality of its decision-making. A subsequent PAS review of the council’s development management service, which was published in 2021, laid the blame squarely on a team structure “developed during the corporate restructure” that it said was “not fit for purpose”.

That local government has borne the brunt of the age of austerity is well known. According to the IFS, during the 2010s, councils’ overall core funding per person fell by an average of 26% in real terms, with higher council tax revenues only partially offsetting a 46% reduction in funding from central government.

Those in the sector know that planning and development has borne the brunt of that. Again according to the IFS, spending per person on planning and development fell by 58% between 2010/11 and 2019/20, which was second only to cuts to services for young people and Sure Start. Perhaps less well known, and what Joey’s article has helped to shine a light on, is the impact on planning services of the kind of whole-authority service transformations that some authorities have undertaken to in order to deal with these financial pressures.

To explore this issue further Sam Stafford invited four of the people quoted in Joey’s article to expand upon their experiences with him. They are old friends of the podcast Mike Kiely, Gilian MacInnes and Paul Barnard, and new friend of the podcast Peter Ford. In a conversation recorded at Soho Radio Studios at the end of April 2024 they talked about the pressures that LPAs have been and are under; why the nature of planning services do not lend it to whole-authority service transformations; and the impact of such upheavals. They also talked about whether there are too planning teams and whether Chief Planning Officers could and should be at the top decision-making table.

The episode starts though with a brief conversation that Sam recorded online with Joey Gardiner recently about his special report for Planning. Sam asked Joey how he went about putting the report together; what he found most striking in so doing; and what feedback he has had on it.

Some accompanying reading.

How cost-saving consultants disrupted council planning services (£)

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1860857/cost-saving-consultants-disrupted-council-planning-services

Tandridge District Council - DM Review

https://tandridge.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s4234/Appendix%20A%20-%20Development%20Management%20Review.pdf

Guildford Borough Council - Development Management Establishment Review

https://democracy.guildford.gov.uk/documents/s26379/Item%208%20-%20DM%20Budget%20Exec%20Report%20revised%20for%20Autumn%202022%20-%20FINAL-%20V4.pdf

How have English councils’ funding and spending changed? 2010 to 2024

https://ifs.org.uk/publications/how-have-english-councils-funding-and-spending-changed-2010-2024

Some accompanying listening.

Episode 84 of Room 106

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep84-how-cost-saving-management-consultants-are-impacting/id1596110607?i=1000649057189

A Shared Sense Of Purpose - Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan (Vince Clarke Remix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpeRnH2FLA4

Neutral Impact III (and a bit of Green Belt)

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 09:00:09 +0000

When Sam Stafford first covered nutrient neutrality, in February 2021, he described the process of eutrophication as a bit like the podcast itself: a little niche, but very important.

When Sam published a second episode in September 2022 it had grown in importance to the extent that Prime Minister Liz Truss had pledged to "scrap nutrient neutrality rules".

A Government press release issued in August 2023 stated that “through an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (LURB), the Government will do away with this red tape and allow for the delivery of more than 100,000 new homes desperately needed by local communities."”

The LURB amendments in question were subsequently defeated, nutrient neutrality rules have not been scrapped, and 2 June 2024 marks the fifth anniversary of Natural England’s first advice note for LPAs in the Solent Region. The question that Sam posed in that second Shades episode remains just as pertinent: how far away is a satisfactory resolution in those parts of the country that have been affected?

In order to provide an updated answer to that question Sam invited old friend of the podcast Rachel Jones and new friends of the podcast Andrew Smith and Gemma Nelmes to share their experiences. Rachel is Ecology Manager at Wiltshire Council; Andrew is Head of Development Management at the Lake District National Park Authority; and Gemma is an Associate at Stantec.

Eagle-eyed Listeners may have spotted that the title of this episode is Neutral Impact III (and a bit of Green Belt). Sam has very kindly been invited by Richard Kimblin at No. 5 Chambers and Sarah Young at LUC to contribute to a Green Belt Summit that they are holding on Wednesday 3 July. It is in London, but will be available to view online as well. The three of them had a brief preparatory chat last recently about the spur for the summit and the hopes for it. That chat features in the final section of the episode.

Some accompanying reading.

100,000 more homes to be built via reform of defective EU laws

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/100000-more-homes-to-be-built-via-reform-of-defective-eu-laws?pk_campaign=newsletter_6337

Natural England and Dorset Wildlife Trust buy Lyscombe farm

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/24310589.natural-england-dorset-wildlife-trust-buy-lyscombe-farm/

Claims that developers are responsible for water pollution are a load of poo

https://capx.co/claims-that-developers-are-responsible-for-water-pollution-are-a-load-of-poo/

Is the Government backtracking on environmental protection?

https://capx.co/is-the-government-backtracking-on-environmental-protection/

PAS Nutrient Neutrality Programme

https://www.local.gov.uk/pas/topics/environment/nutrient-neutrality-and-planning-system

Natural England Framework for Wetland Mitigation Proposals

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/collections/6543a2f8de0348f683187ff268a79687?item=4

Information on Nature Based Solutions as Nutrient Mitigation

https://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6680815300509696

Natural England’s nutrient mitigation scheme for developers

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/natural-englands-nutrient-mitigation-scheme-for-developers

CIRIA publishes new guidance on SuDS construction

https://www.ciria.org/CIRIA/News/CIRIA_news2/CIRIA_publishes_new_guidance_on_SuDS_construction.aspx

Green Belt Summit Details

https://www.no5.com/2024/05/greenbelt-summit/

Fields in Trust

https://fieldsintrust.org/

England’s nature chief calls for building on green belt to solve housing crisis

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/nov/18/england-nature-chief-tony-juniper-thinks-green-belt-land-solve-housing-crisis

The Green Belt. What it is and why; what it isn't; and what it should be

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-green-belt-what-it-is-why-it-is.html

Love Thy Neighbourhood Plan

Sat, 18 May 2024 09:00:10 +0000

What are we to make of neighbourhood planning? Friend of the podcast Ben Castell considers it a “grassroots planning revolution”. Perhaps less favourably it conjures for others images of corduroy and tweed-clad councillors convening a parish council working group to thwart plans for an incinerator or, worse still, new housing.

With neighbourhood planning now part of the furniture, but with the current opposition and possible next Government talking about ‘taking planning up a level’, Sam Stafford thought it time for the podcast to evaluate the story of neighbouring planning so far, which is lead in this episode by the afore-mentioned Ben Castell.

Ben is Planning Director at AECOM, where he has worked with a number of neighbourhood planning groups, and has also had two stints as Chair of his local Neighbourhood Forum.

Ben convened a group of planners with nuts-and-bolts experience in this field for a conversation recorded online in April 2024.

Samantha Banks is the Neighbourhood Planning Programme Manager at Locality, which has provided the government’s Neighbourhood Planning Support Programme since 2013. Samantha previously worked as the Neighbourhood Planning Manager at Herefordshire Council, leading a team that supported over 100 town and parish councils produce neighbourhood plans.

Graeme Markland has been the Neighbourhood Plan Continuity Officer at Thame Town Council since 2016 and before that was a technical and planning officer at Luton Borough Council and the Luton and South Bedfordshire Joint Technical Unit.

Leani Haim is a Planning Director at ONH, which provides planning and development services to town and parish councils, neighbourhood forums, landowners and developers. ONH has supported over 200 neighbourhood plan projects.

Now it is fair to say that Ben, Samantha, Graeme and Leani are all neighbourhood planning enthusiasts and for balance, in addressing the question as to how successful the enterprise has been, a more sceptical voice was required. About two thirds of the way through then Listeners will hear from another friend of the podcast, Simon Ricketts, who fits that bill and who kindly recorded his thoughts in advance so that Ben, Samantha, Graeme and Leani could mull them over in the final section of the episode.

Some accompanying reading.

Independent research on the impacts of neighbourhood planning

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-research-on-the-impacts-of-neighbourhood-planning

Neighbourhood planning in England: A decade of institutional learning

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305900623000107#bib169

Locality’s Key Neighbourhood Planning Data

https://neighbourhoodplanning.org/toolkits-and-guidance/key-neighbourhood-planning-data/

Locality’s Toolkits and Guidance

https://neighbourhoodplanning.org/toolkits-and-guidance/

Neighbourhood planning areas

https://communities.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=d195c3134caa46b5a638ad0c4f0cce77

Planning Practice Guidance

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/neighbourhood-planning--2

Some accompanying listening

You Woke Up My Neighbourhood – Billy Bragg (Ben’s choice)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnHxAxaara0

Who’s In Control? – Sea Power (Sam's choice)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5Lf0IiEZt8

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Grey Belt

Sat, 04 May 2024 09:00:09 +0000

Sam Stafford was in London recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Catriona Riddell, Shelly Rouse and Nicola Gooch at Soho Radio Studios. One topic, the hot topic of the past few weeks, dominated the conversation.

“Labour pledges housebuilding drive on Grey Belt with ‘golden rules’ to boost public services, affordable homes and improve green spaces”, so announced a press release dated 19 April.

Keir Starmer has today set out five ‘golden rules’ for Grey Belt housebuilding, pledging to deliver affordable homes, boost infrastructure and public services like schools and GPs, and improve genuine green spaces.

While reiterating that Labour will always take a 'brownfield first' approach to housing development, Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner are also pledging to release some land currently classed as Green Belt to build the homes Britain needs.”

On a visit to a housing development today, the pair will outline Labour’s plans to create a new class of 'Grey Belt' land to ensure grey and poor-quality parts of the Green Belt are prioritised, and that any development benefits local communities.

Plenty in there then for the gang to get their teeth in to. They discussed the practical issues associated with creating a new class of designation and how that might rub up against, for example, mandatory BNG. They also talked about how Grey Belt might interact with a mechanism for cross- boundary strategic planning, which Matthew Pennycook has said that Labour will introduce to overcome housing delivery challenges around towns and cities with tightly drawn administrative boundaries. All of that, as you will hear, led them on to local plan reform and what the next version of the NPPF looks like, as well as a remarkable statistic from Shelly on how much a local plan costs to prepare.

Some accompanying reading.

Labour’s planning proposals

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/04/labours-planning-proposals.html

The 80-year planning war over a Surrey airfield (£)

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-80-year-planning-war-over-a-surrey-airfield-lvjb3svr7

Some accompanying viewing.

What is Grey Belt land and why does Keir Starmer want to build on it?

https://youtu.be/4OvsXqdpy4s?si=S6mfS_uL-R15v-3b

Some accompanying listening.

Darkness on the edge of town – Bruce Springsteen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8HXvt-v5v0

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

A Hillside To Die On

Sat, 20 Apr 2024 09:00:10 +0000

Sam Stafford was in Manchester recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Greg Dickson and Claire Petricca-Riding.

During a conversation recorded at Reform Radio they talked about another exciting few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning. They talked about RPs not bidding for Section 106 sites, they talked about the 'Accelerated Planning System' consultation, so the proposals for the new Section 73B, the ten week determination period for major commercial applications, and restrictions on the use of extension of time agreements. They talked about the Flood Risk Sequential Test and touched on the Government response to a consultation on operational reforms to the NSIP process.

Some accompanying reading.

An accelerated planning system

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/an-accelerated-planning-system-consultation/an-accelerated-planning-system

Simon Ricketts’ S73B Blog

https://simonicity.com/2024/04/01/section-73-or-section-73b/

Zack Simons' Flood Risk Sequential Test Blog

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/buildin-in-the-rain-flood-risk-in-the-courts

Pre-application advice and Planning Performance Agreements

https://www.local.gov.uk/pas/development-mgmt/pre-application-advice-and-planning-performance-agreements-ppas

Power & Partnership: Labour’s plan to power up Britain

https://labour.org.uk/updates/stories/labours-plan-to-power-up-britain/

A Westminster Hall Debate on 13 March 2024

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2024-03-13/debates/65995D50-E335-444C-8065-405F91548338/PlanningReform

Labour’s planning proposals

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/10/labours-planning-proposals.html

Some accompanying viewing.

The fine kind of rain that soaks you through - Peter Kay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk8xHtbkhR8

Can you imagine a world without lawyers? - The Simpsons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG3uea-Hvy4

Some accompanying listening

Hillside Song - My Morning Jacket

https://youtu.be/XmLiKGpSC4g?si=4TkfP6YMFgfUYfJ1

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Hitting the High Notes - Nick Kilby

Sat, 13 Apr 2024 09:00:17 +0000

Sam's guest for this episode is Nick Kilby, founder and now Chief Executive Officer of Cratus Group, who kindly took the time to meet Sam at Soho Radio Studios in early April 2024.

Nick trained as a Stage Manager and Lighting Designer at Mountview Theatre School and worked in the early 1980s as a stage manager at the Edinburgh Festival and the National Theatre. Having produced his own shows Nick then got into cinema management, including the first Imax at the Trocadero Centre. He then got into politics and in 2006 was elected on to the Royal Borough of Kingston Council, which led to being asked about campaigning and lobbying. After being involved with the Abbey Mills ‘Mega’ Mosque at the end of the 2000s Nick then founded Cratus.

As Nick takes Sam through his six projects they talk about the keys to successful engagement and the role of the councillor in that. They talk about how consultants are only as good as the client lets them be; about what it really means to build communities; and they talk about localism and a certain Mr Eric Pickles.

Some accompanying reading.

All The Lonely People – Mike Gayle

https://www.mikegayle.co.uk/my-books/all-lonely-people

Want to build? Better hire a good lobbyist

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/want-to-build-better-hire-a-good-lobbyist-rc6gsg7qs (£)

My Favourite Building: Sam Stafford – The Piece Hall

https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/news/117312-prop-my-favourite-building-sam-stafford-the-piece-hall

Some accompanying viewing.

You See Me Laughin': The Last of the Hill Country Bluesmen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiW3oPv1vZc

Some accompanying listening.

McCartney: A Life in Lyrics

https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/mccartney-a-life-in-lyrics

Nick’s Spotify playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0bwjKHMaDAsodUAddsBpyr?si=0gPfuF0QTzSdwastIl-w9w&pi=e-D-xwFvBMToSz&nd=1&dlsi=dfe4a97887be4cb4

There is Power in a Union - Billy Bragg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwbzxemJZIc

We can Work it Out -The Beatles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-0if-ca6CE

Elgar Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61: 11. Andante - Nigel Kennedy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLD0jOyTnwU

A Father Now from 3 Guys Naked from the Waist Down - Original Off Broadway Cast

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nlSUmGk0G9IMZQDCW2uVCm3eZlrr8yD6U

Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuS5NuXRb5Y

Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso by Ennio Morricone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMZvAbk1kXQ

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Banishing Boxland

Sat, 23 Mar 2024 10:00:14 +0000

The Prime Minister recently announced plans to "turbocharge" development within England's largest towns and cities to mark a Government consultation on strengthening planning policy for brownfield development.

Sam Stafford thought then that now would be a good time to share a conversation that he recorded online in August 2023 with old friends of the podcast David Milner and Rebecca Coley, and new friend of the podcast Mark Aylward, about the redevelopment of big box retail parks.

The prompt for the conversation was a 2018 report that Sam had come across by Create Streets and Policy Exchange called ‘Better Brownfield’, which claimed that there are over 1200 sites across London currently occupied by single-storey big box retail and industrial sheds and that, by ‘banishing boxland’, these sites could accommodate between 250,000 and 300,000 new homes.

Who owns and manages assets like these? What is the market like for big boxes in the new world of online retail? And what are the opportunities presented by, and the barriers to, sites like this coming forward for a mixed-use redevelopment? These are the questions that Sam invited David, Mark and Rebecca to explore with him.

Some accompanying reading.

How to house London’s surging population? Banish “boxland” – by Susan Emmett

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/41218/how-to-house-londons-surging-population-banish-boxland

Better Brownfield

https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/better-brownfield/

Five retail and leisure trends to look out for in the post-pandemic era

https://www.savills.co.uk/blog/article/340262/commercial-property/five-retail-and-leisure-trends-to-look-out-for-in-the-post-pandemic-era.aspx

Pipeline of data centres needs to more than double by 2025 to meet demand for storage in Europe

https://www.savills.co.uk/insight-and-opinion/savills-news/336014-0/savills--pipeline-of-data-centres-needs-to-more-than-double-by-2025-to-meet-demand-for-storage-in-europe

The London Land Challenge; The Industrial Land Market

https://www.savills.co.uk/research_articles/229130/329623-0

Some accompanying listening.

Brighouse on Saturday Night – Roger Davies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PQmACfPhY4

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Capturing the Zeitgeist

Sat, 09 Mar 2024 10:00:09 +0000

This episode is a ramblechat that Sam Stafford recorded in London with friends of the podcast Hashi Mohamed, Simon Ricketts, Nicola Gooch and Andrew Taylor during which they reflected on another exciting few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning.

The conversation takes in the back-dating of Section 106 indexation and what that says about local authority finances; the need to consider PPAs, statutory consultees and performance targets in the round; BNG and Sam's debut appearance on Countryfile; the Brownfield Reform Day consultations on a presumption in favour of brownfield development, permitted development rights and the Mayor of London’s call-in powers; and the Competition & Markets Authority's report on the housebuilding industry. All in approximately 45 minutes or so.

Some accompanying reading.

Housebuilding market study final report

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housebuilding-market-study-final-report

Brownfield Reform Day

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/02/brownfield-reform-day.html

Biodiversity Unit Finder Map

https://www.futurehomes.org.uk/biodiversityunitfindermap

Short Term Thinking

https://simonicity.com/2023/04/14/short-term-thinking/

Can Local Plan Policies Require Developers To Go Beyond National Standards?

https://simonicity.com/2024/02/24/can-local-plan-policies-require-developers-to-go-beyond-national-standards/

Some accompanying listening.

Zeitgeist by Black Sabbath

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3FyNH9v7mU

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Critical Infrastructure

Sat, 24 Feb 2024 10:00:07 +0000

Building GP surgeries, schools and roads is not just difficult it is so difficult, according to no less of an expert on such matters than the Prime Minister, as to be a reason to not even contemplate growing existing towns and cities.

In introducing recent proposals to put “rocket boosters” under construction in existing built-up areas, Rishi Sunak was quoted in The Times as saying that “We need to build homes in the places where people need and want them. There’s little point trying to force large new estates on our countryside and Green Belt when that is where public resistance to development is strongest and where the GP surgeries, schools and roads don’t exist to support new communities.”

It is not uncommon though to see opinion polls from time to time highlighting that for people who are not supportive of more homes being built, building more or improving existing medical facilities would likely change their minds.

It is equally not uncommon though to see stories in the press from time to time with headlines like ‘we love our homes but we’re crying out for schools and GPs’.

Where is the line to be drawn between what applicants should reasonably be expected to provide as part of making a development acceptable in planning terms, and the access to health and education that citizens should reasonably expect their Government to provide for them?

How effective is the planning system in bringing together all of the actors and agencies that are responsible for the delivery of social infrastructure?

What are the barriers to LPAs spending what the Home Builders Federation reports to be £2.8bn in unspent S106 contributions?

These are questions that Sam Stafford explores with some old friends of the podcast and some new friends of the podcast.

The old friends are Andrew Taylor, Gilian MacInnes and Ben Woolnough. Andrew is Group Planning Director at Vistry Group; Gilian has her own consultancy and acts a trainer and interim manager in the public sector; and Ben is Planning Manager at East Suffolk Council.

The new friends are James Cutting and Isabella Buono. James is Head of Planning at Suffolk County Council and Isabella is a Barrister at Landmark Chambers.

Some accompanying reading.

Public attitudes to house building: findings from the British Social Attitudes survey 2018

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-attitudes-to-house-building-findings-from-the-british-social-attitudes-survey-2018

Our 'new town' with 2,500 homes and 1,000 more to come has no GP, the school is full and the closest supermarket is 25 minutes away - but we do have a nuclear fusion centre

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12392593/Our-new-town-nuclear-fusion-centre-no-GP-school-closest-supermarket-cafe-20-minute-walk-away.html

Section 106 agreements and unspent developer contributions in England and Wales report

https://www.hbf.co.uk/news/section-106-report/?pk_campaign=newsletter_6368

A taxing problem: County Councils “desperate” for CIL money to fund infrastructure

https://www.thedeveloper.live/opinion/opinion/a-taxing-problem-county-councils-desperate-for-cil-money-to-fund-infrastructure

Can You Use Section 106 To Buy Drugs (And To Fund Other Public Services)?

https://simonicity.com/2023/02/18/can-you-use-section-106-to-buy-drugs-and-to-fund-other-public-services/

Mind the Funding Gap: The curious case of s.106 contributions funding NHS services

https://imbusiness.passle.net/post/102i43y/mind-the-funding-gap-the-curious-case-of-s-106-contributions-funding-nhs-service

Some accompanying listening.

School by Nirvana

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp86SkWKRQE

Hitting the High Notes - Simon Ricketts

Sat, 03 Feb 2024 20:07:07 +0000

This episode is another in the Hitting The High Notes series.

If you have not listened to one before the basic proposition is that Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permissions or projects that helped to shape them as professionals.

And, so that Listeners can get to know people a little better personally, for every project or stage of their career Sam also asks his guests for a piece of music that reminds them of that period. Think of it as town planning’s equivalent of Desert Island Discs.

Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening, you will have to make do with You Tube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting The High Notes is self-proclaimed ubiquitous planning lawyer and 50 Shades stalwart Simon Ricketts, who was the number one-ranked planning solicitor in last years’ Planning Magazine law survey.

Their conversation was recorded at Soho Radio Studios in London back in May last year and takes in Simon's full and fascinating career. They talk about what makes a good client, a good consultant and a good project team; about how scratching a creative itch can lend one towards thought leadership; and about how to maintain an indie ethos whilst climbing the corporate ladder.

Some accompanying listening.

Simon’s Spotify Playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1W2IbJrD7lsLEfQ8XLxUwQ?si=bd98cfd052fb4098

A New England - Kirsty MacColl

https://youtu.be/Vnzpg5GgQCo?si=n-78J1RCuwRo9wmP

Missing - Everything But The Girl

https://youtu.be/U56Ns66Qrb8?si=Ulk_jTwlBGKb0E-H

Beat Surrender - The Jam

https://youtu.be/MHP0UxBuuGQ?si=1UBTSuFCFE1E9WSS

Fight Test – The Flaming Lips

https://youtu.be/fye1XtXQn9s?si=1SDPjiRSRmmoVvhx

Boredom – Buzzcocks

https://youtu.be/QoYiQ8Qsozk?si=8jp64JKmEroPa8KG

I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King

https://youtu.be/6913KnbMpHM?si=pqBQiX_HP2p0L8cC

Episode 32: Legal Eagles

https://pod.co/50-shades-of-planning/legal-eagles

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

NPPF 2023 Update - What Next?

Sat, 20 Jan 2024 10:00:12 +0000

At the kind invitation of Landmark Chambers and Town Legal, Sam Stafford was in London this week to contribute to a seminar on the NPPF update, which, eagle-eyed 50 Shades Listeners no doubt spotted, emerged as part of a cavalcade of Planning Reform Day announcements before Christmas.

The seminar was over-subscribed and so was recorded in order that it could be shared more widely as a podcast.

This episode features:

Rupert Warren KC talking about the implications of the NPPF for housing delivery, taking in the standard method, the cities uplift and the changes around five and four year land supply;
Anjoli Foster talking about the impact of the NPPF on plan-making, taking in Green Belt, transitional arrangements and the impact of this new version on plans that have paused, as well as soundness;
Meeta Kaur talking about the NPPF changes that relate to design and beauty, small sites and community-led housing, retirement housing and agricultural land;
Simon Ricketts talking about the linkages between the NPPF and the Levelling Up & Regeneration Act, with his observations on what provisions of the latter we make pay the closest attention to; and
Sam talking waffle.

Some accompanying reading.

Reforms to national planning policy

https://committees.parliament.uk/work/7281/reforms-to-national-planning-policy/

Reforms to national planning policy report: government response

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-national-planning-policy-report-government-response

Changes to 5YHLS under the revised NPPF: Not Great, Not Terrible

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2023/december/20/changes-to-5yhls-under-the-revised-nppf-not-great-not-terrible

Four out of Five

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/four-out-five-josef-cannon-ugqje/

Local Plan Preparation: Barriers and Opportunities

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/policy-and-research/research/local-plan-research-project/

Planning working paper

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-working-paper

Labour’s planning proposals

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/10/labours-planning-proposals.html

Labour pledges to tighten right-to-buy as part of UK housing overhaul

https://www.ft.com/content/2726620e-b6e5-4547-b358-ff4fe175171e

The Long-Term Plan for Housing II

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-long-term-plan-for-housing-ii.html

Some accompanying viewing.

Hashi’s appearance on Question Time

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001vfv6

Curb Your Enthusiasm, Happy New Years

https://youtu.be/U4rkzyGFFo0?si=2gCA8461BCnsqT7H

Some accompanying listening.

Future Love by Ride

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cN0vWnVaHU

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

🏆The #Planoraks Awards 2023🏆

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 10:00:09 +0000

Hopefully everybody involved in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country has had a restful Christmas and have managed to combine at least a little rest with digesting the cavalcade of announcements on Planning Reform Day.

This episode is the third of the festive 50 Shades triumvirate looking back at 2023. The first two did so by way of the 50 Shades Festive Christmas Quizzes. This third episode sees the return of Zack Simons’ Planaraks Awards, which Zack has again kindly agreed to reveal exclusively on the 50 Shades of Planning podcast.

In a conversation that Sam Stafford and Zack recorded at Soho Radio Studios on Planning Reform Day itself, just as the Secretary of State had given a speech entitled ‘Falling back in love with the future’ and just before the NPPF emerged, they canter through some of the high points and low points of the year just gone (mostly low points) and Zack confers awards for, amongst other things, the Most Futile Reform of the Year, the Most Hopeless Reform of the Year and the Worst Policy of the Year. Positivity does not abound, but Sam and Zack do try to generate some.

Along the way they touch on many of the things that regular readers of Zack’s #Planaraks Blog would expect them to, from amending consents, nutrient neutrality, application fees, the LURA, Green Belt and strategic planning.

Some accompanying reading.

Oscar Easton is fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support

https://www.justgiving.com/page/oscar-easton-1702480570488

🏆 The #Planoraks 2023 - worst planning reform of the year 🏆

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/-the-planoraks-2023-worst-planning-reform-of-the-year-

Thank You Mikael Armstrong: New Case On Scope Of Section 73

https://simonicity.com/2023/01/28/thank-you-mikael-armstrong-new-case-on-scope-of-section-73/

New Draft London Guidance On Affordable Housing/Viability

https://simonicity.com/2023/05/06/new-draft-london-guidance-on-affordable-housing-viability/

Making a bad situation worse? The impact of the proposed NPPF changes on housing supply

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2023/february/27/making-a-bad-situation-worse-the-impact-of-the-proposed-nppf-changes-on-housing-supply

Making a bad situation worse? How a fall in housing supply due to NPPF changes will cause social harm and undermine levelling up

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2023/february/27/making-a-bad-situation-worse-how-a-fall-in-housing-supply-due-to-nppf-changes-will-cause-social-harm-and-undermine-levelling-up/

Some accompanying listening.

Race for the Prize by The Flaming Lips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs56ygZplQA

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

🎅🏻The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz - London🤶🏻

Sat, 23 Dec 2023 10:00:08 +0000

Well Planning Reform Day finally arrived, just in time for the profession to be able to digest a cavalcade of announcements over Christmas, but not in time for the second and third of the festive 50 Shades episodes.

The podcast will be covering the new NPPF in due course, but put all of that hullabaloo to one side for now and let Sam Stafford and friends take a second look at another exciting year in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and world of town and country planning.

This is the London edition of the 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz, which was recorded at Soho Radio Studios with regular podcast contributors Andrew Taylor, Hashi Mohamed, Catriona Riddell and Simon Ricketts.

The gang did not get to talk about the NPPF, which was still only imminent, but did talk about many other topical things, including nutrient neutrality, application fees, and local plan intervention.

As was the case last year, and with the recent Manchester edition of the quiz, Sam Stafford is grateful to Richard Garlick and the team at Planning who kindly provided Sam with a selection of their most interesting stories of the year, from which he constructed twelve multiple choice questions for the two teams. Andrew and Hashi were Santas Little Helpers. Catriona and Simon were the Happy Little Elves. As in Manchester, and spoiler alert, they ended up again by complete chance with a tiebreaker and also as in Manchester a very special guest makes an appearance…

Some accompanying reading.

Oscar Easton is fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support

https://www.justgiving.com/page/oscar-easton-1702480570488

The Quiz Questions (£)

Question 1 – January

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1810877/undergraduate-planning-course-ceases-recruit-new-students

Question 2 – February

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1812011/supreme-court-rules-tates-abnormal-viewing-gallery-nuisance-overlooked-residents

Question 3 – March

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1816631/hunt-promises-funds-unblock-housebuilding-stymied-nutrient-water-pollution-rules-does-not-say

Question 4 – April

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1819512/housing-minister-overrules-inspector-refuse-165-home-aonb-scheme-generic-suburban-design

Question 5 – May

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1822650/gove-warns-ten-councils-improve-speed-decision-making-planning-powers-removed

Question 6 – June

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1824837/labour-intends-pass-law-allowing-councils-cpo-land-without-taking-account-hope-value

Question 7 – July

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1830757/gove-blocks-central-london-m-s-store-redevelopment-against-inspectors-recommendation

Question 8 – August

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1832975/governments-u-turn-ring-fencing-planning-fee-income-means-councils-developers

Question 9 – September

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1837483/housing-minister-orders-surrey-council-not-withdraw-plan-examination

Question 10 – October

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1844478/gove-tells-councils-pragmatic-viability-challenges-continue-plan-making-ahead-imminent-nppf-update

Question 11 – November

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1848657/chancellor-announces-32-million-bust-planning-backlog

Question 12 – December

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1850787/rowley-allows-2100-home-schemes-despite-inspector-citing-poor-design-recommending-refusal

Some accompanying listening.

Sam’s Christmas Crackers - The Ultimate Festive Soundtrack

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Dn44yamtsjrzsYH4rzbld?si=2iPYSpPgSYmeKCl1Sq8Vog&pi=e-8RGf4hGyTmqe

☃️The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz - Manchester🎄

Sat, 16 Dec 2023 10:00:10 +0000

So it is Christmas and, as Sam Stafford was asked in his appraisal, what have you done?

Another year over and a new one just begun.

If you cannot actually remember what you have done this year and if, as you look back, it has just been a blur of government consultation after government consultation, then the 50 Shades of Planning podcast is here to jog your memory and hopefully spread a little festive cheer. Or, Sam hopes, at least fill an hour or so during the wait, as is becoming another festive tradition, for a revised National Planning Policy Framework.

The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz is back to take a look at another madcap year in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning.

This is the Manchester edition of the Festive Quiz, which was recorded at Reform Radio with friends of the podcast Rebecca Coley, Katie Wray, Mark Parkinson and Shelly Rouse.

Sam is grateful to Richard Garlick and the team at Planning who kindly provided him with a selection of the most interesting stories of the year, from which, as you will hear, Sam constructed for Rebecca, Katie, Mark and Shelly twelve multiple choice questions. As it turned out he should have prepared a tie-breaker question and they should have kicked off a bit earlier because Katie had to leave before a very special guest arrived...

Some accompanying reading.

Oscar Easton is fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support

https://www.justgiving.com/page/oscar-easton-1702480570488

Pathways to Planning: information for councils

https://www.local.gov.uk/pathways-planning-council-info

The Quiz Questions (£)

January

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1810103/pins-union-members-strike-next-month-pay-action-expected-follow

February

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1814241/city-authority-spent-520000-single-barristers-advice-its-plan

March

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1814948/council-isolates-planning-team-tackle-application-backlog

April

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1818578/natural-england-launches-nutrient-credit-scheme-unlock-housebuilding-logjam

May

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1822940/inspector-allows-100-homes-surrey-green-belt-finding-councils-housing-land-supply-just-15-years

June

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1826493/inspector-backs-clarksons-plans-open-farm-cafe-expand-car-park-blocks-restaurant-use

July

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1831379/new-style-local-plans-involve-three-checks-inspectors-during-draft-stage-government-proposes

August

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1833696/19-things-need-know-governments-latest-proposals-changing-permitted-development-rights

September

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1838053/goves-new-super-squad-expert-planners-likely-work

October

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1840198/starmer-pledges-bulldoze-restrictive-planning-system-building-new-towns-releasing-low-quality-green-belt-development

November

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1847770/council-agrees-pay-appellants-100k-costs-following-bad-committee-decision-made-against-officer-advice

December

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1850491/council-fears-bankruptcy-loss-4400-homes-result-scrapping-hs2-northern-leg

Some accompanying listening.

Sam’s Christmas Crackers - The Ultimate Festive Soundtrack

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Dn44yamtsjrzsYH4rzbld?si=2iPYSpPgSYmeKCl1Sq8Vog&pi=e-8RGf4hGyTmqe

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Pre-Apps and PPAs

Sat, 09 Dec 2023 10:00:10 +0000

As far back as Sam Stafford can remember Planning Performance Agreements (PPAs) have been the answer to questions about both how to get more resources into LPAs and how to improve application timescales. As Sam says in introducing this episode, he has been working for over twenty years, those questions remain unanswered, and PPAs remain a code yet to be cracked.

Why, for example, according to Planning Magazine, were PPAs used for 30.3% of decisions in Solihull last year, but only in 1.3% of decisions in South Cambridgeshire?

Why also, for example, do some authorities charge nothing for pre-application advice for residential developments of over 250 homes, some authorities charge thousands of pounds, and some authorities charge tens of thousands of pounds?

The Planning Advisory Service (PAS) has sought to crack the code. It has worked with the University of Gloucestershire, Hyas Associates and the Countryside and Community Research Institute to deliver a DLUHC-funded programme on best practice in pre-application advice and PPAs.

Sam mentioned this research in Episode 109 because of Jeremy Hunt’s reference in the Autumn Statement to a new “premium” planning service that will be introduced next year to include a guarantee of accelerated decision dates. Details are awaited, but Planning Magazine reports that, according to insiders, this new “premium” service is likely to involve a more formal version of PPAs.

No better time then for Sam to share a conversation about the PAS research and best practice that he recorded online back in July of this year with friend of podcast Shelly Rouse, Matt Bowers and Max Whitehead. Shelly is a principal consultant at PAS, Matt is an Associate Director at Hyas Associates and Max is a Planning Director at Bloor Homes.

They talk about the high hopes that applicants always have for pre-app, but why some LPAs see it as a ‘nice to have’ rather than a ‘have to do’; they talk about the utopian vision of having all statutory consultees around a development team table at the same time; and they talk about the barriers to doing pre-app and PPAs well and the keys to success.

Sam would like to extend a particular vote of thanks to editing wizard Ashley Bellinger for skilfully dealing with some gremlins in Shelly's original recording.

Some accompanying reading.

The PAS research and guidance

https://www.local.gov.uk/pas/development-mgmt/pre-application-advice-and-planning-performance-agreements-ppas

Housebuilding market study

https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/housebuilding-market-study

Strategic Planning in England

https://uwe.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4UEEyOZZBP6qEZ0

Some accompanying listening.

Performance by Happy Mondays

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtpD5mOgyKo

Some accompanying viewing.

The opening scene in Goodfellas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UAPOI5fuAM

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

A B~~~~~'s Muddle

Sat, 02 Dec 2023 10:00:13 +0000

Before heading to London for the week, Sam Stafford caught up with 50 Shades stalwarts Paul Smith, Katie Wray and Ian Wray for a wide-ranging ramblechat at the Reform Radio studios in Manchester.

Paul is Managing Director at the Strategic Land Group, a Director at the LPDF and a columnist for Housing Today.

Katie is a Director at Deloitte.

Ian is an Honorary Professor and Fellow at the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice & Place at the University of Liverpool and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences .

The four of them spent an hour or so chatting about all manner of things, including the private management of public space; embodied carbon; infrastructure planning and the notion of compensation payments for affected communities; the Autumn Statement and associated announcements; the Competition & Market Authority's working paper on planning; and the role of Everton’s new stadium in both their recent loss of points and the loss of Liverpool’s World Heritage Site status.

Sam would like to apologies to Listeners for his use of a naughty word.

Some accompanying reading.

Climate Change and Historic Building Adaptation Historic England Advice Note

https://historicengland.org.uk/about/what-we-do/consultations/guidance-open-for-consultation/

M&S given permission to appeal Gove’s Oxford Street refusal

https://www.building.co.uk/news/mands-given-permission-to-appeal-goves-oxford-street-refusal/5126450.article

Essex pylon corridor compensation plan 'insulting'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-67523588

Rooms for debate: polling on the housing crisis, Green Belt and planning system

https://www.adamsmith.org/research/rooms-for-debate

Autumn Statement 2023

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-statement-2023

Getting Great Britain building again: Speeding up infrastructure delivery

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/getting-great-britain-building-again-speeding-up-infrastructure-delivery/getting-great-britain-building-again-speeding-up-infrastructure-delivery#short-term-package

Pre-application advice and Planning Performance Agreements

https://www.local.gov.uk/pas/development-mgmt/pre-application-advice-and-planning-performance-agreements-ppas

Housebuilding market study

https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/housebuilding-market-study

A Perfect Storm

https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/a-perfect-storm

Pathways to Planning: information for councils

https://www.local.gov.uk/pathways-planning-council-info

Some accompanying viewing.

Brian Clough on how to settle a difference of opinion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7FBfdErGgw

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Going Public

Sat, 25 Nov 2023 10:00:07 +0000

The RTPI's recently published ‘State of the Profession’ report identified, perhaps unsurprisingly, that planners are increasingly being employed in the private sector, with numbers growing by a third over the last decade. The number of planners working in the public sector has reportedly shrunk by a quarter over the same period.

Pleasingly though and perhaps contrary to preconceptions, this flow is not one way and some planners are making the move into or back into the public sector. The recruitment, and indeed the retention, of staff is clearly fundamental to building the skills and capacity within LPAs that is needed if they are to do everything that everybody expects of them.

Helping to facilitate this recruitment is Public Practice, a not-for-profit social enterprise with a mission to build the public sector’s capability to improve the quality, equality and sustainability of places.

Their leading service is an Associate Programme, which places mid-career built environment practitioners into placements as ‘Associates’ within local authorities to work across a wide range of place-based roles.

In this episode you will hear a chat that Sam Stafford recorded with Pooja Agrawal, CEO at Public Practice, about the work of the organisation, and then you will hear from four professionals who have made the move from private to public. The four are

Andrew Martin, Principal Planner at East Suffolk Council;
Iona Norton, Housing, Energy and Sustainability Manager at Greenwich Council;
Oli Boaler, Economic Development Manager at Rochdale Development Agency; and
Hannah Haddad, Head of Strategic Planning Applications at Hounslow Council.

Oli and Iona are Public Practice alumni and Hannah is a current Associate.

You will hear the four of them talk thoughtfully and candidly about their career paths to date and the reasons why they have taken the decisions that they have, as well as their experiences, good and bad, in both private and public sectors.

Some accompanying reading

State of the Profession 2023

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/policy-and-research/state-of-the-profession-2023/

Public Practice’s Associate Programme

https://www.publicpractice.org.uk/associates/apply-associates

Sam’s career advice for his younger self

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2020/04/memories-of-200809-career-advice-for-my.html

Some accompanying listening

It’s All About The Benjamins – Puff Daddy, featuring The Notorious B.I.G., Lil' Kim and The Lox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c58ppLPJcQ

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

A Plan for England

Sat, 11 Nov 2023 10:00:11 +0000

"Regional Spatial Strategies bridged the gap between those planning issues determined by local policy or concern, and those subject to policy goals defined at a national level – such as those for housing or renewable energy. The intended abolition of regional spatial planning strategies leaves a vacuum at the heart of the English planning system which could have profound social, economic and environmental consequences set to last for many years”

So concluded, presciently, the all party Commons Communities and Local Government Committee in March 2011.

What is to be done about the ongoing vacuum at the heart of the English planning system? Is it time to contemplate a 'Plan for England' and, if so, what does that look like? What is it for? What does it include? Is it a single document with nation-wide coverage or a composite of regional priorities? Where does responsibility for it sit? From which organisations and institutions does power have to be taken or conferred in order for a Plan for England to be prepared?

These are questions that four friends of the podcast, Catriona Riddell, Ian Wray, Jim Steer and Matthew Spry, ruminate on during an online conversation recorded for this episode.

Catriona runs her own consultancy business, is strategic planning advisor to the Planning Officers Society, and vice-chair of the TCPA.

Ian is an Honorary Professor and Fellow at the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice & Place at the University of Liverpool and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences .

Jim is a pioneer of current day transport planning having founded renowned consultancy Steer Davies Gleave, now Steer Group of which Jim remains a board member. Jim is a Fellow and Past President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport, and is a Director at Greengauge21, a group he established in 2006 to foster debate on a high-speed rail network for Britain.

Matthew Spry is Head of Lichfields’ London office and also a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Some accompanying reading.

Abolition of Regional Spatial Strategies: a planning vacuum? - Communities and Local Government Committee

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmcomloc/517/51708.htm

Why England needs a spatial plan and what we can learn from the devolved nations

https://www.thersa.org/blog/2019/06/england-plans

Do We Need a Plan for England?

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/heseltine-institute/blog/doweneedaplanforengland/

Labour’s planning proposals

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/10/labours-planning-proposals.html

Hacking Housing: Nine supply side hacks to fix out housing system error

https://www.appghousing.org.uk/

Rachel McLean’s letter to Harborough (Appendix J)

https://cmis.harborough.gov.uk/cmis5/Meetings/tabid/73/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/mid/410/Meeting/5787/Committee/846/SelectedTab/Documents/Default.aspx

The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Housing_and_Planning_Advice_Unit

Some accompanying viewing.

Peter Kay’s Taxi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cDXc3VYylk

Some accompanying listening.

Episode 98: The Power of Plans – New York

https://pod.co/50-shades-of-planning/the-power-of-plans-new-york

Music To Plan Towns To – The ultimate town planning-themed playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/73JzYK9UqCXRiUjQhgSID4?si=9a0ceb021338436a

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

A LURA LURA Laughs

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 09:00:10 +0000

Whilst in London this week Sam Stafford recorded an end-of-month ramblechat with Ben Castell, Catriona Riddell, Gilian Macinnes and Nicola Gooch.

The conversation takes in all manner of things, including the Levelling Up & Regeneration Act, news of which broke during the recording. They talk about the two part documentary 'Britain's Housing Crisis: What Went Wrong?' and touch too on nutrient neutrality. For the die hard 50 Shades fans there is some strategic planning and housing target chat in there too. A disclaimer though. This episode does feature some singing so consider yourselves warned about that.

Some accompanying reading.

New laws to speed up planning, build homes and level up

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-laws-to-speed-up-planning-build-homes-and-level-up

Francis Maude’s review of Whitehall should lead to cross-party agreement on civil service reform

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/francis-maudes-review-whitehall

Section 106 agreements and unspent developer contributions in England and Wales

https://www.hbf.co.uk/news/section-106-report/

Priced Out's manifesto

https://www.pricedout.org.uk/manifesto/

Lib Dems members rebuff leadership with vote to keep housebuilding targets

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/25/lib-dems-members-rebuff-leadership-with-vote-to-keep-housebuilding-targets

How housing targets are stopping us building enough homes

https://longwall.substack.com/p/how-housing-targets-are-stopping

Some accompanying viewing.

Britain's Housing Crisis: What Went Wrong?

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/10/britains-housing-crisis-what-went-wrong.htm

Some accompanying listening.

Episode 90 – No hope?

https://pod.co/50-shades-of-planning/no-hope

Tell Laura I Love Her by Ray Peterson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTjQgkHzbTk

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Planning is Brilliant

Sat, 21 Oct 2023 09:00:08 +0000

A few months ago old friend of the podcast Rebecca Coley, Head of Planning & Development at Trafford Council, messaged Sam Stafford suggesting a 50 Shades episode on “the hidden work of LPAs that slows everything down, e.g. political pressure to investigate particular enforcement cases, the endless complaints that are actually neighbour disputes, FOI, all that kind of stuff".

Sam thought that a good idea so they put together a group of senior planners to explore these issues further. That group included two other old friends of the podcast, Mike Kiely and Gilan Macinnes, and two new friends of the podcast, Simon Thomas and Dean Hermitage.

Mike is Chair of the Planning Officers Society; Gilian is a consultant working for the Planning Advisory Service and takes on interim management roles within LPAs; Simon is Head of Planning at Canterbury; and Dean is Director of Planning at Uttlesford.

They recorded a conversation online towards the end of September 2023 that does take in all of the hidden work that slows everything down, including complaints, FOI, and Environmental Information Regulations. They talk about the other less positive aspects of taking on a senior role, such as tackling online abuse and misinformation, as well as saving money and the likelihood of increased planning application fees being used to improve planning services.

They also though talk about the more positive aspects of taking on senior roles such as the ability to shape major schemes, shape the future of places, and, when at the top table, shape wider local authority priorities.

Some accompanying reading.

Why we need Chief Planners at the top table in local authorities

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/blog/2021/september/richard-blyth-why-we-need-chief-planners-at-the-top-table-in-local-authorities/

Freedom of information and Environmental Information Regulations

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/foi-eir-and-access-to-information/freedom-of-information-and-environmental-information-regulations/

Technical consultation: Stronger performance of local planning authorities supported through an increase in planning fees: government response

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/increasing-planning-fees-and-performance-technical-consultation/outcome/technical-consultation-stronger-performance-of-local-planning-authorities-supported-through-an-increase-in-planning-fees-government-response

Some accompanying listening.

Masterplan by My Morning Jacket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-MRRr7MyXk

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

A Conversation with Ben Everitt

Sat, 07 Oct 2023 09:00:08 +0000

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Housing Market & Housing Delivery is a cross-party group of MPs and Peers dedicated to improving the UK housing market. It has published a report called ‘Hacking housing: nine supply side hacks to fix our housing system error’ (link below) and the recommendations include changing the narrative around new development; a ‘grown-up conversation’ about Green Belt and incentivising LPAs to plan positively.

Most eye-catching though are these recommendations.

"Making planning sexy

Bring back the chief planner because going to work and designing communities that will last hundreds of years is actually a pretty cool job.
Sub-regional spatial strategies which is possibly the least sexy sounding document around, but genuinely one of the most useful – a framework for strategic development, unencumbered by the constraints faced by Local Plans.
More resources for planning teams, better paid planners because our planners are overworked, underpaid and unloved.
More routes into planning so that we can meet demand with conversion courses, apprenticeships, visas and prestigious degrees.
Whitehall shuffle: make the planning ministry sexy by elevating the role to cabinet level, having reporting lines from junior ministers in each government department, and placing the role in the Cabinet Office."

The Housing Market & Housing Delivery APPG is chaired by Ben Everitt who kindly gave up some of his time back in June this year to record a conversation with Sam Stafford.

Their conversation takes in many of the themes that underpin the report, as well as the role and standing of the planning profession, how Ben got into politics and Sam's old geography teacher…

Some accompanying reading.

‘Hacking housing: nine supply side hacks to fix our housing system error’

https://www.appghousing.org.uk/

Sam’s Green Belt blog

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-green-belt-what-it-is-why-it-is.html

Some accompanying listening.

The Only Fools & Horses closing theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxOEhc960Bc

Some accompanying viewing

Jerry Springer’s Final Thought on British politics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-90FGJFrW1U

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

The Mortar Bombs of Division

Sat, 30 Sep 2023 09:00:15 +0000

Sam Stafford had planned more of a ramble-type chat with Pete Swift, Jonathan Easton and Claire Petricca-Riding, but, reflective of the news that has dominated the agenda of late, their conversation, recorded online, focuses on planning for the environment and specifically nutrient neutrality and net zero.

They talk less about the nuts and bolts, practical implications of the respective recent announcements in these areas (links below) and more about the political narrative. Thanks largely to Pete the conversation gets quite philosophical at times and Sam hopes that it is all the more interesting for that.

This being the 50 Shades of Planning podcast Listeners can though look forward to a little bit of housing target chat as well.

Some accompanying reading.

House of Lords Built Environment Committee’s report on the impact of environmental regulations on development

https://committees.parliament.uk/work/7328/the-impact-of-environmental-regulations-on-development/

Government neutrality update on 29 August

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nutrient-neutrality-announcement-explainer

Government neutrality update on 20 September

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nutrient-neutrality-update

Sunak to rip up green rules to build 140,000 homes despite Labour and Natural England opposition (£)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/09/23/rishi-sunak-majority-140k-homes-labour-nutrient-neutrality/

PM speech on Net Zero: 20 September 2023

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-on-net-zero-20-september-2023

The affordability impacts of new housing supply: A summary of recent research

https://www.london.gov.uk/media/102314/download

How housing targets are stopping us building enough homes

https://longwall.substack.com/p/how-housing-targets-are-stopping

UK Green Building Council’s ‘Embodied Ecological Impacts knowledge Hub’

https://ukgbc.org/our-work/topics/embodied-ecological-impacts/

Require planning fees be ringfenced for planning services

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/643493

Small builders, big burdens

https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/small-builders-big-burdens

Southwark’s Land Commission

https://www.southwark.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/southwark-land-commission

Some accompanying viewing.

Richard Curtis uses Al Pacino’s Any Given Sunday speech to inspire global action on climate change

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/richard-curtis-uses-al-pacinos-any-given-sunday-speech-to-inspire-global-action-on-climate-change-357182/

Some accompanying listening.

This can’t go on – Bill Ryder-Jones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byUoDKTVEac

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

One Staircase or Two?

Sat, 23 Sep 2023 09:00:15 +0000

If you are involved in the delivery of tall buildings, especially in London, where Sadiq Khan has blamed Government dithering for delaying 34,000 homes on major development sites, then the second staircase issue will already be on your radar.

By way of background, the Government consulted on Approved Document B of the Building Regulations between 23 December 2022 and 17 March 2023. The consultation document stated that:

“30 metres is an accepted threshold for increased safety measures such as increased fire resistance provisions and marks a recognised trigger representing an increase in the level of risks in buildings overall. We therefore propose to introduce a new trigger in Approved Document B making provisions such that new residential buildings more than 30 metres are provided with a second staircase.”

Then, on 14 February 2023, the Mayor of London mandated that all residential buildings over 30 metres must have two staircases.

Then, ahead of the response to the consultation on Approved Document B, Michael Gove announced in his “Long-term plan for housing” speech on 24 July 2023 the Government’s intention to mandate second staircases in new residential buildings above 18 metres in height, not the 30 metre threshold that had been consulted on.

Mr Gove promised in his speech that there would be “transitional arrangements in place to make sure that there is no disruption to housing supply”, but, to date, none have emerged and, as Anna Clarke at The Housing Forum has said:

The lack of technical specifications means that those designing or constructing tall buildings don’t have clear instruction on exactly what they need to do. They are also unable to make sensible evidence-based decisions on risk for themselves, because they are not clear on the core purpose of the two staircases.

To learn more about the second staircases Sam Stafford recently went to a Planning Futures breakfast seminar that was held at Central Hall in Westminster. So that Sam could help 50 Shades listeners learn more about this issue Hannah David and Cian Bryan at Planning Futures kindly arranged for the session to be recorded.

On the panel that day and who share their insights in this episode are:

Allison Flight, Deputy Head of Development Management at the GLA;
Adrian Dobson, Executive Director Professional Services at RIBA;
Mark Wilson, Operational Lead for Policy and Planning Gateway One at the HSE;
Rhodri Williams, Technical & Sustainability Director at HBF; and
Emma Williamson, Director of Planning at Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation.

Some accompanying reading.

Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: Hackitt review

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/independent-review-of-building-regulations-and-fire-safety-hackitt-review

Letter from the Housing Forum to the Secretary of State

https://housingforum.org.uk/second-staircases-letter-from-thf-to-secretary-of-state/#:~:text=The%20requirement%20for%20a%20second,the%20purpose%20or%20design%20requirements.

Sadiq Khan accuses Government of ‘dither and delay’ over fire safety rules

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/sadiq-khan-michael-gove-18m-building-height-second-staircase-fire-safety-b1106890.html

HSE’s planning and fire safety guidance

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/planning/planning-and-fire-safety

Some accompanying listening.

Guidance by Thievery Corporation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLEChpC9L3k

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Last of the Summer Whine

Sat, 02 Sep 2023 09:00:12 +0000

Sam Stafford was in London this week and managed to catch up with some of the 50 Shades crew for a conversation about another turbulent few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning.

Sam met Andrew Taylor, Gilian Macinnes, Simon Ricketts and Nicola Gooch at Soho Radio Studios for a wide-ranging, whistle-stop catch-up that took in application fees in the context of wider local authority funding challenges; a new local plan consultation in the context of the ongoing crisis in local plan-making; and NSIPs in the context of Labour’s possible proposals for a new wave of new towns. The gang also touch on Green Belt, PD rights and BNG. Michael Gove’s "Long-term plan for housing" also gets a cursory mention.

Some accompanying reading.

Long-term plan for housing: Secretary of State's speech

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/long-term-plan-for-housing-secretary-of-states-speech

Plan-making reforms: consultation on implementation

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/plan-making-reforms-consultation-on-implementation

Permitted development rights

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/permitted-development-rights

Operational reforms to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) consenting process

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/operational-reforms-to-the-nationally-significant-infrastructure-project-consenting-process

Six in ten people in England would keep the Green Belt as it is

https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/six-in-ten-people-in-england-would-keep-green-belt-as-it-is

Statement: Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funds

https://www.woking.gov.uk/news/statement-community-infrastructure-levy-cil-funds

Technical consultation: Stronger performance of local planning authorities supported through an increase in planning fees: government response

New towns are building blocks of Labour’s plan for UK growth

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/url-labour-party-new-towns-uk-house-building-plan-2023-d8gp3zkj2

The Golf Belt

https://golfbelt.russellcurtis.co.uk/

Sussex Section 106 agreement marks key moment for developers in Biodiversity Net Gain provision

https://www.c-l-m.co.uk/clm-news/sussex-section-106-agreement-marks-key-moment-for-developers-in-biodiversity-net-gain-provision/

The Government’s Big Move On Nutrient Neutrality – Now We Have Seen The Government’s LURB Amendment

https://simonicity.com/2023/08/29/the-governments-big-move-on-nutrient-neutrality-now-we-have-seen-the-governments-lurb-amendment/

LURB Watch 2: The nutrient amendments have landed

https://imbusiness.passle.net/post/102imu5/lurb-watch-2-the-nutrient-amendments-have-landed

Summer madness: what have you missed?

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/summer-madness-what-have-you-missed

Some accompanying viewing.

Three Blokes in a Bath

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80sSbLzSuak

Some accompanying listening.

Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder

https://youtu.be/I1_uU9eIZRo?si=W8d-tYxQUKcq8Zh_

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Hitting the High Notes - Hashi Mohamed

Sat, 19 Aug 2023 09:00:19 +0000

This episode is another in the Hitting The High Notes series, which is planning’s equivalent of Desert Island Discs. In these episodes Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six projects that helped to shape them as professionals. And, so that we can get to know people a little better personally, for every project or stage of their career Sam also asks his guests for a piece of music that reminds them of that period.

Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening, you will have to make do with You Tube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

This episode features a conversation that Sam recorded with Hashi Mohamed at Soho Radio Studios in London towards the end of July 2023.

Regular listeners will recall that Hashi featured in episode 78, which was the recording of a conversation that he and friend of the podcast Simon Ricketts had had on Clubhouse about Hashi’s book ‘A Home of One’s Own’.

Sam's conversation with Hashi also takes in ‘A Home of One’s Own’, as well as Hashi’s other book, ‘People Like Us - What It Takes to Make It in Modern Britain’. In addition to the politics of housing and social mobility, you will also hear Hashi talk about his remarkable arrival in this country and a career in the law that has seen him become one of Planning Magazine’s top-rated junior barristers. His ‘Three A’s’ are top tips for any professional and listen out too for the best planning inquiry tale you will hear bar nun.

Sam also marks this 100th episode with some extended bonus waffle at the end, which was recorded whilst he was sunning himself in southern Spain.

Hashi’s song selections

Unforgettable - Nat King Cole

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFyuOEovTOE

You’ll Never Walk Alone - Gerry & The Pacemakers

https://youtu.be/OV5_LQArLa0

Shaking of the Sheets – Steeleye Span

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I16WqxSMCu0

Changes - Tupac

https://youtu.be/eXvBjCO19QY

Still D.R.E - Dr Dre

https://youtu.be/_CL6n0FJZpk

A change is gonna come – Sam Cooke

https://youtu.be/wEBlaMOmKV4

Hashi’s Spotify playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6LIyBa2ifAY9EClQMdvrom?si=a8d8417838c3488e

Some accompanying listening.

Analysis: Housing, Planning and Politics

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0014ptp

Analysis: Adventures in Social Mobility

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p04zrkxv?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Gettin’ In The Way – Cooper T

https://youtu.be/BX9UkVoGRj8

Some accompanying reading.

Raising the bar: Hashi Mohamed’s journey from child refugee to top lawyer

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jan/12/hashi-mohamed-child-refugee-barrister-people-like-us

Hashi’s books

https://www.hashimohamed.com/the-book

The housing theory of everything by Sam Bowman, John Myers and Ben Southwood

https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-housing-theory-of-everything

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Another Conversation with Clive Betts

Sat, 22 Jul 2023 09:00:16 +0000

Long-serving listeners might recall that for episode 45 of the podcast Sam Stafford published a conversation with Clive Betts, MP for Sheffield South East, about the then Housing, Communities & Local Government Committee’s recently-published report on the future of the planning system in England. Clive chaired that committee and has been involved in housing and planning-related select committees of different names since 2002. He has been a member of parliament since 1992.

That 2021 report, which considered the ‘Planning for the Future’ white paper of August 2020, highlighted concerns about "the lack of detail, which has made it very difficult to assess the possible practical implications” and concluded that “Government should consult on the details of proposed reforms to prevent unintended consequences and harms resulting from them”.

Here we are a couple of years on and the now Levelling Up, Housing & Communities Committee, which Clive still chairs, has published another report on reforms to national planning policy and he very kindly made time to record another online conversation with Sam about it. Their wide-ranging, whistle-stop conversation takes in, amongst the other issues covered by the Committee's inquiry, the politics of the NPPF consultation, housing targets, a 'Plan for England', Green Belt (obviously), the Infrastructure Levy and local authority resources.

Some accompanying reading.

The LUHC Committee’s planning reform report

https://committees.parliament.uk/work/7281/reforms-to-national-planning-policy/publications/

The HCLG Committee’s 2021 planning reform report

https://committees.parliament.uk/work/634/the-future-of-the-planning-system-in-england/publications/

The LUHC Committee’s report on funding for “Levelling Up”

https://committees.parliament.uk/work/6928/funding-for-levelling-up/publications/

Philip Barnes’ blog on abolishing hope value

https://philipbarnesblog.wordpress.com/2023/07/11/is-it-really-the-hope-that-kills-you/

The UK now spends more on housing benefit than on most government departments

https://www.newstatesman.com/chart-of-the-day/2022/11/uk-spending-housing-benefit-government-departments

Gove’s department hands back £1.9bn meant to tackle England’s housing crisis

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/12/gove-department-hands-back-19bn-meant-tackle-england-housing-crisis

Community Infrastructure Levy review: report to government

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-infrastructure-levy-review-report-to-government

Some accompanying viewing.

Sam’s evidence to the LUHC Committee’s planning reform inquiry

https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/be5501c6-ca1a-4aaf-9c69-f444392df7fd

Some accompanying listening.

Episode 90 of 50 Shades of Planning – No hope?

https://pod.co/50-shades-of-planning/no-hope

Feels Like We Only Go Backwards by Tame Impala (s/o to Simon Ricketts)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wycjnCCgUes

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

The Power of Plans - New York

Sat, 01 Jul 2023 09:00:00 +0000

This episode is part of an international triumvirate, which has been put together with the help of old friend of the podcast, Ian Wray, and new friend of the podcast, Lucy Natarajan.

Ian, regular listeners will know, is a Professor at the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place at University of Liverpool.

Lucy is one of the editors of the Built Environment journal, a co-founder of Place Alliance, an Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes and an Associate Professor at UCL’s Bartlett School of Planning.

Ian and Lucy compiled the December 2022 edition of Built Environment and sought in so doing to explore ‘the power of plans’. This, they endeavoured to do, by way of a series of internationally commissioned case studies on grand plans that have been shown to work, asking how they worked and why. In this series Sam Stafford explores with Lucy and Ian three of those case studies.

In this episode, in a conversation recorded remotely at the end of November 2022, Sam and Lucy talk to Bob Yaro about New York, a city that has experienced rapid growth, rapid decline and an impressive economic turnaround. New York has long been planned on a city region scale, but the origin of it’s series of great plans lies in a small number of planning pioneers and philanthropists.

That economic turnaround has much to do, despite it not having a statutory function, with the Regional Planning Association, with which Bob is heavily involved and who’s role he describes as “advancing ideas whose time has not yet come".

Some accompanying reading.

Built Environment – The Power of Plans

https://www.alexandrinepress.co.uk/built-environment/power-plans

The Big Plans That Built New York City

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-02-02/how-new-york-s-master-planners-shaped-a-metropolis

Ian’s recommendation.

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert Caro

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/23/the-power-broker-robert-moses-and-the-fall-of-new-york-robert-caro-review

Some accompanying listening.

Ian’s recommendation.

New York, New York by Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzCdxrfcAtc

Bob's recommendation

Take The A Train by Duke Ellington

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb2w2m1JmCY

Sam’s recommendation.

The Only Living Boy in New York by Everything But The Girl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgA6cpPNXEk

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

The Power of Plans - Dublin

Sat, 01 Jul 2023 09:00:00 +0000

This episode is part of an international triumvirate, which has been put together with the help of old friend of the podcast, Ian Wray, and new friend of the podcast, Lucy Natarajan.

Ian, regular listeners will know, is a Professor at the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place at University of Liverpool.

Lucy is one of the editors of the Built Environment journal, a co-founder of Place Alliance, an Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes and an Associate Professor at UCL’s Bartlett School of Planning.

In this episode, in a conversation recorded remotely at the end of November 2022, Sam and Lucy to Jim Steer about Dublin, to which, by common consensus, town planning in the 1960s and 1970s was not kind, with large-scale road building to serve car-dependent suburbs and little investment in public transport. In the early 1990s though an EU-funded Dublin Transportation Initiative put the city on a new path…

Some accompanying reading.

Built Environment – The Power of Plans

https://www.alexandrinepress.co.uk/built-environment/power-plans

The Dublin Transportation Initiative

https://voicesofsteer.steergroup.com/post/102i3aj/the-importance-of-process-in-planning-the-dublin-transportation-initiative-par

Jim recommends the following by Frank McDonald:

The Destruction of Dublin, Gill and Macmillan, 1985
Saving the City, Tomar, 1989
Ireland's Earthen Houses (jointly with Peigin Doyle), A&A Farmar, 1997
The Ecological Footprint of Cities (editor), International Institute for the Urban Environment, 1998
The Daily Globe: Environmental change, the public and the media (contributor), Earthscan, 2000
The Construction of Dublin, Gandon Editions, 2000

Some accompanying listening.

Jim’s recommendation.

Summer in Dublin by Bagatelle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMhWll_mfGk

Ian’s recommendation.

The Maids of Mitchelstown by The Boty Band

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVE7gZ1GnBc

Sam’s recommendation

Big by Fontaines DC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiLk6G5N-3Y

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

The Power of Plans - Shenzen

Sat, 01 Jul 2023 09:00:00 +0000

This episode is part of an international triumvirate, which has been put together with the help of old friend of the podcast, Ian Wray, and new friend of the podcast, Lucy Natarajan.

Ian, regular listeners will know, is a Professor at the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place at University of Liverpool.

Lucy is one of the editors of the Built Environment journal, a co-founder of Place Alliance, an Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes and an Associate Professor at UCL’s Bartlett School of Planning.

In this episode, in a recording made online in June 2023, Ian and Sam talk about Shenzen with Mee Kam Ng. Shenzen is a city that, when designated as China’s first Special Economic Zone in the late 1970s was a border town with a population of less than 250,000 and is now the country’s ‘Silicon Valley’, with a population of over 17 million.

Some accompanying reading.

Built Environment – The Power of Plans

https://www.alexandrinepress.co.uk/built-environment/power-plans

Ian’s recommendation.

How Asia Works by Joe Studwell

https://groveatlantic.com/book/how-asia-works/#:~:text=In%20How%20Asia%20Works%2C%20Joe,Asia%20and%20why%2C%20and%20for

Mee Kam’s recommendations

Theorising Urban Planning in a Transitional Economy: The Case of Shenzhen, People's Republic of China

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/40112599.pdf

Strategic Planning of China's First Special Economic Zone: Shenzhen City Master Plan (2010–2020)

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14649357.2011.626316

The Story of Shenzhen

https://www.metropolis.org/sites/default/files/resources/the_story_of_shenzhen_2nd_edition_sep_2019_0.pdf

Spatial Planning for Smart Sustainable Development?

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14649357.2022.2139075

Some accompanying listening.

Mee Kam’s recommendation.

Story of Spring (Guangdong Province's 30th Anniversary of Reform and Opening Up) by Dong Wenhua

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfRHaKwvOxs

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

An Engaging Conversation

Sat, 17 Jun 2023 09:00:12 +0000

A little while ago Sam Stafford was approached by the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC), the professional membership body for clerks to town, parish and community councils across England and Wales, about contributing to an episode of their podcast.

Sam subsequently met Shelley Parker, Linda Carter and Andrew Towlerton at Factory Studios in Bristol in April 2023 for a discussion largely focussed on how parish councils and the development industry can work better together. Shelley, who chaired the discussion, is the SLCC’s external affairs and policy development manager; Linda is currently SLCC president; and Andrew is the SLCC’s national planning advisor.

The conversation, which hopefully busts some myths along the way, touches on the role of the clerk, the role of the ward councillor, localism, the then recent NPPF consultation, the management of public open space, affordable housing and community land trusts.

The SLCC has already shared the recording via it's podcast, but Sam said that he would share it via the 50 Shades platform as well.

50 Shades of Planning is the podcast by planners and for planners so if you would like to use it as a platform for sharing anything that needs talking about then do please feel free to get in touch with Sam at samstafford@hotmail.com or via @samuel_stafford on Twitter.

Some accompanying listening.

Rules of Engagement by King Creosote

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcKPu6Yo8q4

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Hitting the High Notes - Steve Quartermain

Sat, 10 Jun 2023 09:00:08 +0000

Hitting The High Notes is town planning’s equivalent of Desert Island Discs. In these episodes Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permissions or projects that helped to shape them as professionals. And, so that we can get to know people a little better personally, for every permission or project Sam asks his guests for a piece of music that reminds them of that period of their career.

Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening to this episode, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting The High Notes is Steve Quartermain. Steve was the government’s Chief Planner for twelve years, during which time and perhaps most notably he oversaw the introduction of the transformative National Planning Policy Framework. Prior to this, as you will hear, Steve spent thirty years in local government, starting as an unqualified graduate trainee designing local plan covers in Epping Forest and ending having helped to lead Hambleton to beacon council status.

Steve's song selections.

The Battle of Epping Forest by Genesis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFuIYyXiD5w

OK Computer by Radiohead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTOqwbuQq_U

The theme to All Creatures Great & Small

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6aquEsK_JQ

House of Fun by Madness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QnBccG_ChI

If It Happens Again by UB40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s54m7TIFN7w

I’m Still Standing by Elton John

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHwVBirqD2s

Steve's Spotify playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5XDlkcNbob5NCgcKAxXUGU?si=lXf4qpHVT4araW2SQtGO8g&nd=1

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Licensed to IL

Sat, 13 May 2023 09:00:08 +0000

Think back for a moment to August 2020, to the ‘Planning for the future’ white paper, and to then Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s desire for “radical reform unlike anything we have seen since the Second World War. Not more fiddling around the edges, not simply painting over the damp patches, but levelling the foundations and building, from the ground up, a whole new planning system for England.”

Alongside proposals for “growth, renewal and protection areas” and a new nationally-determined, binding housing requirement that LPAs would have to deliver through their local plans, the white paper proposed to replace the “uncertain and opaque” methods by which developer contributions are sought with a “non-negotiable, nationally set, value-based, flat-rate charge equal to a fixed proportion of the development’s value, above a yet-to-be-determined threshold, that would be levied on the scheme's completion.”

This new infrastructure levy would “deliver more of the infrastructure existing and new communities require whilst maintaining at least as much affordable housing by capturing a greater share of the uplift in land value that comes with development”.

Further details of the now locally-determined Infrastructure Levy emerged in May last year alongside the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill, which will provide the legislative basis for it. Then, on 17 March this year a consultation was launched seeking views on technical aspects of the design of the Infrastructure Levy.

Friend of the podcast, Simon Ricketts, convened one of his Planning Law Unplanned Clubhouse sessions on 19 April to discuss the Infrastructure Levy with a stellar panel that included Clare Fielding, Sasha Gordon, Sam Bensted and Anthony Lee. They have all kindly agreed to let Sam Stafford share a recording of their discussion for this episode.

In the Clubhouse room that day and from whom you will also hear contributions were Nicola Gooch and Gilian MacInnes.

The discussion takes in rate-setting, thresholds, buffers, the examination of Infrastructure Delivery Strategies and the impact on the delivery affordable housing.

Some accompanying reading.

Technical consultation on the Infrastructure Levy

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/technical-consultation-on-the-infrastructure-levy

Land Value Capture (the Select Committee report)

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmcomloc/766/766.pdf

How far can land value capture be pushed? (The Savills report)

https://www.savills.co.uk/research_articles/229130/267514-0

Joint letter to the Secretary of State on the proposed Infrastructure Levy (from the NHF)

https://www.housing.org.uk/news-and-blogs/news/joint-letter-to-the-secretary-of-state-on-infrastructure-levy/

Council's planning service has no way of tracking developer contributions worth millions of pounds, report finds

https://www.northantslive.news/news/northamptonshire-news/councils-planning-service-no-way-8323143

Community Infrastructure Levy review: report to government

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-infrastructure-levy-review-report-to-government

Some accompanying listening.

Fight For Your Right by the Beastie Boys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6-lDqGZJ_0

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

50 Shades Artwork.

The image of the Piece Hall is used with the kind permission Ellis Robinson (I: @ellisjrobinson) and has been turned into the 50 Shades logo by friend of the podcast Vicky Payne (I: @_.vicky_payne._).

Life Lessons

Sat, 06 May 2023 09:00:11 +0000

A short while ago friend of the podcast Shelly Rouse got in touch with Sam Stafford asking for suggestions for a lecture that Shelly was giving for another friend of the podcast Charlotte Morphet and her soon-to-be planning grads at Leeds Beckett University.

Shelly was after some words of wisdom to help the students with job hunting and the move into the big wide world of work. Sam and Shelly subsequently opened it up to some of the 50 Shades gang and the level of interest and insight was such that Tom Whitehead proposed that it be turned into a 50 Shades episode.

This episode then is comprised of some of the past 50 Shades contributors sharing their life lessons. These are predominantly aimed at soon-to-be-grads, but Sam (@samuel_stafford) and the gang hope that they will be of relevance and interest to all planners.

In addition to Shelly (@rouse_shelly) and Tom, there are contributions from Andrew Taylor (@AndrewJTaylor3), Ian Wray, Katie Wray (@kluw), Catriona Riddell (@CatrionaRidde1) and Hana Loftus (@hanaloftus).

Some accompanying reading.

The RTPI

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/

Shelly’s presentation

https://www.slideshare.net/PAS_Team/leeds-beckett-lecture-career-advicepptx

Sam’s blog

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2020/04/memories-of-200809-career-advice-for-my.html?m=1

Some accompanying viewing .

Sam’s RTPI London ‘Career Stories’ presentation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtzHdB1Hr3w

Some accompanying listening.

Sam’s ‘Careering Off Course’ playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7wBmP4UjeN1Av0y5xQpx9J?si=7aRF5CZRQNSsOU4zMFlzug&nd=1

Sam’s podcast with the Society of Local Council Clerks

https://www.slcc.co.uk/news-publications/slcc-podcasts/

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

The image of the Piece Hall is used with the kind permission Ellis Robinson (I: @ellisjrobinson) and has been turned into the 50 Shades logo by Vicky Payne (I: @_.vicky_payne._).

All Politics is Local

Sat, 22 Apr 2023 09:00:14 +0000

A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. The planning system, it could be contended, is a triangle.

At one vertex there are the officers, the professionals, the technocrats, battling gainfully to get a local plan in place so as to determine planning applications in accordance with it.

At another vertex there are the great British public, whose consciousness is only really pricked by planning when an application is mooted that might add vital seconds to waiting times at the end of their road.

At the third vertex there are the councillors, who have a responsibility for both a councils’ corporate priorities and the priorities of the people likely to influence their re-election prospects.

The role of the councillor has increased considerably, it could be said, since the localism genie was let out of the bottle back in 2010, with an expectation that nobody has sought to dampen since that communities are very much in control even if a site has already been allocated or already has an outline permission.

As planning has become more contentious, arguably as a result of said genie being out of said bottle, the number of independent councillors has also increased, and they often soon realise that a council's priorities and the public’s priorities might be two very different things.

Is too much expected of councillors or too little? Do councillors have too much power or too little? Should the planning triangle be an equilateral one, with all three parties in perfect harmonious balance, or are the needs of one group any more acute than the others?

These are questions that Sam Stafford explored in a conversation recorded remotely with Kevin Whitmore, Catriona Riddell and Adele Morris in December 2022, but is being published now with local elections again back on the horizon.

Kevin (T: @kevin_whitmore) is Head of North & Midlands at BECG. Catriona (T: @CatrionaRiddel1) is a Director at Catriona Riddell & Associates. Adele (@AdeleLibDem) is a former councillor in Southwark and a member peer at the Planning Advisory Service.

Some accompanying reading.

'Four ways of making councillors accountable for poor decisions' by Catriona (£)

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1799108/four-ways-making-councillors-accountable-poor-decisions-catriona-riddell

Rebuilding Trust – research and a discussion paper from Grosvenor

https://www.grosvenor.com/property/property-uk/community-success/building-trust

87% of planners say social media fuels misinformation on local planning issues

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/news/2023/march/87-of-planners-say-social-media-fuels-misinformation-on-local-planning-issues/

Probity in Planning – LGA and PAS advice for councillors and officers making planning decisions

https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/34.2_Probity_in_Planning_04.pdf

Some accompanying listening.

Canned Heat – Let’s Work Together

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXo6G5mfmro

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

The image of the Piece Hall is used with the kind permission Ellis Robinson (I: @ellisjrobinson) and has been turned into the 50 Shades logo by Vicky Payne (I: @_.vicky_payne._).

No Hope?

Sat, 01 Apr 2023 09:00:16 +0000

In June 2022 the Government consulted on proposals to abolish hope and development value when assessing compensation for land compulsorily purchased for certain kinds of schemes. Nine months after it closed, a response has yet to be published, but many CPO professionals made the point at the time that the proposals would be unfair and that there was no evidence that the risk of paying hope value compensation was deterring promoters from bringing forward CPOs.

On 13 March 2023, however, the Government tabled amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, which is currently at Committee Stage in the House of Lords. One such amendment would allow “a minister confirming a compulsory purchase order to direct, in certain cases involving affordable housing, health or education, that compensation should be assessed on the basis that no new planning permission would be granted for the land”.

It is known from last June’s consultation document that the Government view is that hope value can lead to “perverse outcomes” that “artificially inflate” compensation because the valuation assumes permission will be granted, even in cases where the likelihood of permission being granted may be relatively low.

What though about the practical impacts of this change?

Should the need for housing (and in particular affordable housing) trump the “equivalence” compensation principle? Will the risk of CPO on this basis spook the development sector such that the measures are in any event counter-productive?

This episode is a recording of friend of the podcast Simon Ricketts’ Planning Law Unplanned Clubhouse discussion on this subject that took place on 23 March 2022 during which Simon put these questions to Raj Gupta, Jonathan Stott, Greg Dickson, Rebecca Clutten, Venus Galarza and David Baker.

Some accompanying reading.

The June 2022 CPO reform consultation

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/compulsory-purchase-compensation-reforms-consultation/compulsory-purchase-compensation-reforms-consultation

The Compulsory Purchase Association's response to the 2022 reform consultation

https://www.compulsorypurchaseassociation.org/compulsory-purchase---compensation-reforms--consultation.html

"LURB in the Lords - No Hope" (Raj’s Blog)

https://www.townlegal.com/wp-content/uploads/Compulsory-Reading-LURB-in-the-Lords-%E2%80%93-No-Hope.pdf

Government amends Bill to allow councils to buy land for affordable housing at existing use value (£)

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1817953/government-amends-bill-allow-councils-buy-land-affordable-housing-existing-use-value

The LURB Amendments

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3155/publications

Some accompanying listening.

This Land Is Your Land by My Morning Jacket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AvTezD4XIU

In Color by My Morning Jacket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2XzUYneUcc

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

A Conversation with Bethany Cullen

Sat, 18 Mar 2023 10:00:12 +0000

When Karolina Grebowiec-Hall contacted Sam Stafford about sharing her podcast with his LinkedIn network Sam went a step further and invited Karolina to share it by way of the 50 Shades platform.

Karolina has created a website called Pinch Yourself You’re A Planner. As she says on it, "I’m discomforted when the conversation about planning and planners reinforces the negatives and misguides how we see ourselves. Planners are a passionate bunch. We need opportunities to take back the conversation, define by ourselves who we are and reclaim the joy of what we do."

Karolina’s hope for PYYAP.com is that it will "take shape through blog posts and regular interviews with professionals, pooling shared learning and soliciting contributions from planners who are keen to call out people who inspire them."

In Karolina's most recent conversation, which Sam is sharing here, she talks to Bethany Cullen, Head of Development Management at Camden, about life in DM, which, as Bethany says, is often mis-characterised as a reactive regulatory box-ticking exercise rather than something positive and creative.

50 Shades of Planning is the podcast by planners and for planners so if you would like to use it as a platform for anything you are doing or if you have any ideas for episodes that celebrates what planning is and why planners do it then do please feel free to get in touch with Sam at samstafford@hotmail.com.

Some accompanying reading.

Public Practice

https://www.publicpractice.org.uk/

The regeneration of Kings Cross

https://www.kingscross.co.uk/about-the-development

Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Children's Cancer Centre

https://www.goshccc.info/

The UK Dementia Research Centre’s new research centre

https://ukdri.ac.uk/news-and-events/a-leap-forwards-for-the-future-home-of-uk-dri-at-ucl

Some accompanying listening.

Let's Push Things Forward by The Streets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UGtlUMMkOU

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Planning for a Feminist City

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Spatial planning can only deliver a safe, healthy and sustainable environment for all if it is sensitive to the needs of all, which means taking into account the different roles women and men have in society and the different expectations and requirements they have from the planning system.

Nobody could argue with that principle, but what does it mean in practice? What does planning policy look like when viewed through a gender lens, how do we plan on a gender inclusive basis at a city-wide scale and what does that look like on the ground?

This episode has been put together by Sam Stafford (@samuel_stafford) with the help of Women in Planning (@womeninplanning) and the Royal Town Planning Institute to mark International Women's Day. It is comprised of three parts that will tackle those questions by way of three separate conversations.

In Part 1 you will hear Shelly Rouse (@rouse_shelly) talk to Karen Horwood (@karenhhorwood) and Natalya Palit (@natpalit) about women in planning, woman and planning and gender mainstreaming.

In Part 2 you will hear Phoebe Threlfall and Katie Shoosmith (@KFluzza) talk to Holly Bruce (@cllrhollybruce) about Holly’s ambition to make Glasgow a Feminist City.

And in Part 3 you will hear Vicky Payne (@Victoria_Payne) talk to Imogen Clark, Helen Fadipe (@hfadipe) and Katie Wray (@kluw) about making space for girls. At the end of that segment you can also look forward to Vicky getting on the 50 Shades soapbox.

Some accompanying reading.

Make Space For Girls' Research Report 2023

https://www.makespaceforgirls.co.uk/resources/research-report-2023

RTPI Material:

Feminist City - Claiming Space in a Man-made World, by Leslie Kern

https://www.versobooks.com/books/3842-feminist-city

The substantive and descriptive representation of women in planning: analysis from practice and academia

https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/tpr.2022.12

Gender mainstreaming in urban planning: What can the UK learn from Vienna with regards to adopting a gender mainstreaming approach to shape built outcomes?

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/media/4471/george-pepler-report_200301_final.pdf

World Bank Gender Inclusive Urban Planning and Design-

https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/publication/handbook-for-gender-inclusive-urban-planning-and-design

Women-Friendly Urban Planning Toolkit

https://www.citiesalliance.org/resources/publications/cities-alliance-knowledge/women-friendly-urban-planning-toolkit#:~:text=Cities%20Alliance%20is%20launching%20the,and%20voices%20in%20urban%20planning

Some accompanying viewing

What would a city designed by women be like?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-50269778

What is a feminist city and where in the UK is becoming one?

https://www.itv.com/news/2023-02-28/how-does-a-place-become-the-uks-first-feminist-city

Some accompanying listening

The Visible Women Podcast with Caroline Criado Perez

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/visible-women-with-caroline-criado-perez/id1627229311

A Leeds Beckett podcast in which Karen considers how we can plan towns and cities better for women and girls.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/we-inspire-2-sustainable-cities/id1547786504?i=1000550421074

Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill (Shelly's choice)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0oeqAQ1qE8

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Life on the Front Line II

Sat, 25 Feb 2023 10:00:08 +0000

‘Are you planning a 50 Shades on the local authority staffing crisis?’

It was that message from a 50 Shades listener that prompted Episode 60 of the podcast, which Sam Stafford called ‘Life on the Front Line’.

At around the same time, Catriona Riddell used a Planning Magazine column to highlight low morale in LPAs, citing hostility towards planners and the planning system from every quarter.

Catriona revisited this theme in another recent column and Sam thought that it would be interesting to revisit 'Life on the Front Line' too.

This episode, like the first one, has been informed by a ‘call-for-evidence’ and the submissions can all be viewed on the 50 Shades Blog (see below).

What is it like for senior officers managing people and budgets in the current climate? What is it like navigating major schemes through the system when team members might not be based in the same part of the country let alone the same part of an office building? A year on from Episode 60, what is life like now on planning’s front line?

Sam puts these questions to Catriona, Peter Geraghty, Paul Barnard and Sarah McLaughlin.

Catriona (@CatrionaRiddel1) is a Director at Catriona Riddell & Associates.

Peter (@planitpres) is an Executive Director at Hertsmere Borough Council and Junior Vice-President of the Planning Officers Society.

Paul (@Paul_Planning) is Service Director at Plymouth City Council.

Sarah is Head of Growth & Infrastructure at Hertfordshire County Council and Deputy Chair of the Planning Working Group at the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport.

Some accompanying reading.

The Life on the Front Line II Blog

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2022/12/call-for-evidence-life-on-front-line-ii.html

The LGA's 2022 Local Government Workforce Survey

https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/2022-local-government-workforce-survey

We need to put planning and the planning profession at the heart of levelling-up

https://www.theplanner.co.uk/2022/11/16/we-need-put-planning-and-planning-profession-heart-levelling

Council planning chiefs must show purpose to keep isolated junior staff on board

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1807553/council-planning-chiefs-show-purpose-keep-isolated-junior-staff-board-catriona-riddell?bulletin=planning-daily&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=eNews%20Bulletin&utm_source=20221209&utm_content=Planning%20Resource%20Daily%20(142)::www_planningresource_co_u_20&email_hash=

Under resourcing, harassment, and internet trolling leaves more than 75% of planners overstretched

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/news/2023/january/under-resourcing-harassment-and-internet-trolling-leaves-more-than-75-of-planners-overstretched/

Some accompanying listening.

Keep on keeping on by Curtis Mayfield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-l91O9VxN0

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

What Does a Good Local Plan Look Like?

Sat, 04 Feb 2023 10:00:08 +0000

Local plan-making is in something of a crisis. Lichfields reported in April 2022 on the 11 local plans that had at that time been overtly delayed, paused or withdrawn. Indeed the number of plans published in draft, submitted for examination and adopted in 2022 were all at the lowest level for a decade.

This year is likely to be little better as more and more LPAs initially waited for, and more latterly are digesting, a NPPF consultation and the direction of the reform agenda. Lichfields are now reporting that 38 LPAs have overtly delayed, paused or withdrawn their plans, and this does not include those that are covertly doing so.

For every local plan that has fallen away because of Green Belt, housing numbers and Duty-to-Cooperate-related matters is a local plan that is not progressing a positive response to, for example, climate change, economic growth, and health and wellbeing.

The NPPF consultation states that the Levelling-Up & Regeneration Bill will put the foundations in place for delivering a genuinely plan-led system, but, in eschewing ‘the big issues’ and lowering the bar for plans to get over in order to be sound, it conveys a distinctly unambitious sense that any plan is better than a proper plan.

What are the barriers to plan-making and how can they to be overcome? What is the positive case for plan-making and how can it be better made? What does a good local plan look like?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to John Cheston, Ian Butt, Kim Tagliarini, Chris Outersides and Catriona Riddell.

John Cheston is Planning Policy Manager at Buckinghamshire Council. Ian Butt is Head of Place & Policy at Castle Point Borough Council. Kim is Head of Planning & Environmental Health at Elmbridge Council. Chris is Strategic Plan Director at South West Hertfordshire. Catriona is a Director at Catriona Riddell & Associates.

Some accompanying reading.

What does a good local plan look like?

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/01/what-does-good-local-plan-look-like.html

Start me up – but then you stopped: the continuing cost of local plan delays

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2023/january/30/start-me-up-but-then-you-stopped-the-continuing-cost-of-local-plan-delays/

How to make planning for housing a vote winner (£)

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1811474/planning-housing-vote-winner

Some accompanying listening.

Masterplan by My Morning Jacket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-MRRr7MyXk

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

More Homes. Better Places. So Far As Possible.

Sat, 14 Jan 2023 10:00:09 +0000

It will not have escaped the attention of regular 50 Shades listeners that a consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was launched shortly before Christmas and, knowing that it was coming, friend of the podcast Simon Ricketts arranged one his 'Planning Law Unplanned' Clubhouse sessions for the first week back. Simon kindly agreed to record the discussion so that Sam Stafford could share it by of the 50 Shades platform.

Listeners will hear in this episode an excellent dissection of the motivations behind, key provisions within, and likely impact of, the proposed changes to the NPPF by a stellar line-up of planning professionals. The discussion includes contributions David Diggle, Rebecca Coley, Annie Gingell, Vicky Payne, Catriona Riddell, Zack Simons, Nicky Linihan, Greg Dickson, Hana Loftus and Steve Quartermain.

Some accompanying reading.

Levelling-up & Regeneration Bill: reforms to national planning policy

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/levelling-up-and-regeneration-bill-reforms-to-national-planning-policy

Zack’s NPPF Blog

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/notes-on-reform-whats-the-nppf-for

Sam’s NPPF Blog

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/01/national-planning-policy-fudge.html

Catriona’s column in Planning Magazine (£)

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1809880/why-goves-nppf-revisions-harder-meet-housing-need-catriona-riddell

Some accompanying listening.

Planning Magazine’s Room 106 Podcast on the NPPF that features Catriona

https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/ep29-your-30-minute-guide-to-how-the-proposed/id1596110607?i=1000593883827

The Village Green Preservation Society by The Kinks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sEzRKQLkds

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

🏆 The #Planoraks Awards 2022 🏆

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 10:00:13 +0000

Even by the standards of the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning 2022 has been quite a year. Who better to review it, Sam Stafford thought, than Zack Simons, one of the most erudite, informed and entertaining thought leaders in the planning profession. Sam and Zack consider some of the year's important planning stories and, excitingly, Zack hands out his 2022 #Planarak Awards.

A point of clarification. In discussing the controversial foreword to the Pre-Submission Spelthorne Local Plan, Sam suggested that it had not been removed from the Submission version. It actually has been.

Some accompanying reading.

The Levelling Up White Paper

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/levelling-up-the-united-kingdom

Michael Gove scraps radical planning law following fierce Tory backlash

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/02/25/michael-gove-scraps-radical-planning-law-following-fierce-tory/#:~:text=Mr%20Gove%20disclosed%20his%20decision,is%20no%20standalone%20Planning%20Bill.%E2%80%9D

New minister suggests tweaks to local housing need and five-year land supply requirements

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1748434/new-minister-suggests-tweaks-local-housing-need-five-year-land-supply-requirements#:~:text=The%20new%20housing%20minister%20Stuart,the%20levelling%2Dup%20agenda%E2%80%9D

Turley’s neutrality update

https://www.turley.co.uk/comment/nutrient-neutrality-march-2022-update-it-just-got-whole-lot-bigger

Counting the cost of delay: The economic impact of Local Plan delay to housing delivery

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2022/april/26/counting-the-cost-of-delay-the-economic-impact-of-local-plan-delay-to-housing-delivery/

The LURB

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3155

Michael Gove: Britain needs beautiful homes and communities. That’s why I’ll clamp down on developers of soulless dormitories

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10816969/MICHAEL-GOVE-Britain-needs-beautiful-homes-communities.html

‘New NPPF to come out next month, says Gove

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1789261/new-nppf-next-month-says-gove

Council rips up local plan following Truss’s pledge to cut ‘Stalinist’ housing targets

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/council-rips-up-local-plan-following-trusss-pledge-to-cut-stalinist-housing-targets/5119693.article

The Growth Plan

https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/the-growth-plan

Michael Gove’s Written Ministerial Statement

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-12-06/hcws415

The #Planoraks 2022 🏆 - worst planning reform of the year

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/-the-planoraks-2022-worst-planning-reform-of-the-year

Council says its draft local plan will make area a ‘less attractive place to live’ due to brutal housing targets

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1792929/council-says-its-draft-plan-will-area-less-attractive-place-live-due-brutal-housing-targets

Sunak’s vow to stop housebuilding on green belt labelled as ‘desperate’

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/28/rishi-sunak-warned-pledge-to-stop-green-belt-development-will-worsen-uk-housing-crisis

Boris Johnson pledges no homes will be built on green fields

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/10/06/boris-johnson-pledges-no-homes-green-fields/

Some accompanying listening

Round and Round by New Order

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1tjQqWqqAA

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

🎅🏻The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz - Manchester🤶🏻

Sat, 17 Dec 2022 10:00:13 +0000

It’s cold, dark and miserable and, alas, there is little in Michael Gove’s recent Written Ministerial Statement to warm the cockles of a planner’s heart. Hopefully then the return of the 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz will spread some seasonal cheer.

Even by the standards of the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning it has been quite a year. With the help of Richard Garlick at Planning magazine, who provided Sam Stafford with some of the most-read stories on PlanningResource.co.uk, Sam quizzes some of the 50 Shades alumni on 2022’s highlights and lowlights.

Expect fun, frivolity and an appearance from a very special guest…

Some accompanying reading.

January

Housebuilder Barratt acquires land promoter Gladman

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1738870/housebuilder-barratt-acquires-land-promoter-gladman

February

Appeal Court upholds ruling that planners can ignore schemes’ downstream’ environmental effects

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1741047/appeal-court-upholds-ruling-planners-ignore-schemes-downstream-environmental-effects

March

Essex council votes against adopting local plan

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1750732/essex-council-votes-against-adopting-local-plan

April

City council isolates planning department for two weeks to clear applications backlog

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1754358/city-council-isolates-planning-department-two-weeks-clear-applications-backlog

May

Housing land supply requirement scrapped for authorities with up-to-date plans

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1755937/housing-land-supply-requirement-scrapped-authorities-up-to-date-plans

June

We will prevent PINS ‘imposing’ unrealistic housing figures on communities, says Gove

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1789386/will-prevent-pins-imposing-unrealistic-housing-figures-communities-says-gove

July

Tory leadership hopeful pledges to scrap ‘top-down Stalinist housing targets’

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1793500/tory-leadership-hopeful-pledges-scrap-top-down-stalinist-housing-targets

August

Truss pledges to ditch advice that blocks housing on nutrient water pollution grounds

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1796345/truss-pledges-ditch-advice-blocks-housing-nutrient-water-pollution-grounds

September

The planning track record of new housing secretary Simon Clarke

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1798201/planning-track-record-new-housing-secretary-simon-clarke

October

Council delays local plan work over housing need and national policy uncertainties

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1802582/council-delays-local-plan-work-housing-need-national-policy-uncertainties#:~:text=A%20Midlands%20council%20has%20ditched,%E2%80%9Cimportant%20matters%20from%20government%E2%80%9D

November

Government to ‘refocus’ investment zone programme on universities

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1805590/government-refocus-investment-zone-programme-universities#:~:text=The%20chancellor%20has%20said%20that,planning%20rules%20or%20housing%20delivery

December

What Gove’s changes to housing need will mean for local plan-making

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1808430/goves-changes-housing-need-will-mean-local-plan-making

Call For Evidence - Life on the Front Line II

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 10:00:00 +0000

It was about a year ago that Catriona Riddell first wrote in Planning magazine about low morale in local planning authorities, which Catriona, Peter Geraghty, Paul Brocklehurst and Sam Stafford followed up with the 'Life on the Front Line' episode (no. 60).

'Life on the Front Line' was informed by a 'Call for Evidence', the submissions to which, mostly anonymised, are reproduced on Sam's 50 Shades blog (link below).

Catriona has again used her Planning magazine column to raise the issue of morale in LPAs, making the point that, one year on, it does not feel like things have improved much.

Many of the factors impacting on morale have been well documented, Catriona writes, but whilst there seems to be some general agreement around the causes, little has been offered in the way of solutions.

As Catriona writes, too many authorities are actively discouraging a return to the office, which is not healthy; not conducive to team working; and is unlikely to support the accessibility that planning departments need to offer as a public service. Further, this continuing prioritisation of virtual working affords limited access to both formal training and mentoring, and informal development opportunities for younger, less experienced planners

Sam would like to revisit Life on the Front Line for another 50 Shades episode that explores in more detail whether and how things have changed over the last year or so. This then is another Call for Evidence, which is open to planners across all sectors and not just those in local government. If anybody would like to send Sam their thoughts on the issues raised by Catriona, or indeed any other issues that are impacting on your ability to do your job, do please drop him a line to samstafford@hotmail.com and he will add them to the Life on the Front Line Blog, anonymously if preferred.

The invitation last year was mostly taken up by junior officers and so Sam would be especially keen to hear this time from more senior officers and service leaders. What is it like managing people and budgets in the current climate? What are the obstacles to getting people back in the office and how can they be overcome? How has the 'top-down targets' farrago affected relationships with members?

All planners are invited to share this invitation across their professional networks.

Some accompanying reading.

The Life on the Front Line Blog

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/12/life-on-front-line.html

Council planning chiefs must show purpose to keep isolated junior staff on board, by Catriona Riddell

🎄The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz - London☃️

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 10:00:00 +0000

It’s cold, wet and miserable and, alas, there is little in Michael Gove’s recent Written Ministerial Statement to warm the cockles of a planner’s heart. Hopefully then the return of the 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz will spread some seasonal cheer.

Expect fun, frivolity and an appearance from a very special guest…

Some accompanying reading

January

Minister announces new performance measures for planning inspectors to speed up appeal decisions

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1738709/minister-announces-new-performance-measures-planning-inspectors-speed-appeal-decisions

February

Government announces first council to be designated under ‘special measures’ programme for seven years

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1739648/government-announces-first-council-designated-special-measures-programme-seven-years

March

Councils to freeze decisions on housing applications following Natural England recreation advice

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1749748/councils-freeze-decisions-housing-applications-following-natural-england-recreation-advice#:~:text=A%20moratorium%20on%20determining%20planning,damage%20a%20protected%20forest%20site.

April

Councils three times more likely to successfully defend design refusals following NPPF change, research finds

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1754069/councils-three-times-likely-successfully-defend-design-refusals-following-nppf-change-research-finds

May

New leader says council to consider withdrawing local plan after branding housing target as ‘nonsense’

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1788258/new-leader-says-council-consider-withdrawing-local-plan-branding-housing-target-nonsense

June

New NPPF to come out next month, says Gove

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1789261/new-nppf-next-month-says-gove

July

Truss pledges new simplified planning zones to create 21st century Bournvilles

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1794102/truss-pledges-new-simplified-planning-zones-create-21st-century-bournvilles

August

Government plans to take powers to shorten national infrastructure examinations

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1797265/government-plans-powers-shorten-national-infrastructure-examinations?bulletin=planning-daily&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=eNews%20Bulletin&utm_source=20220830&utm_content=Planning%20Resource%20Daily%20(75)::www_planningresource_co_uk_art&email_hash=

September

Affordable housing and environmental requirements ‘to be relaxed in new investment zones’

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1799678/affordable-housing-environmental-requirements-to-relaxed-new-investment-zones#:~:text=Services%20Guide%20Show-,Affordable%20housing%20and%20environmental%20requirements%20'to,relaxed%20in%20new%20investment%20zones'&text=The%20government%20is%20set%20to,growth%2C%20according%20to%20media%20reports.

October

Gove returns as levelling up secretary

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1803168/gove-returns-levelling-secretary

November

Half of councils lack the capacity to monitor compliance with planning enforcement, says survey

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1806623/half-councils-lack-capacity-monitor-compliance-planning-enforcement-says-survey

December

Government promises ‘strengthened’ green belt protections and penalties for ‘slow’ developers

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1807348/government-promises-strengthened-green-belt-protections-penalties-slow-developers

Catch Up

Sat, 19 Nov 2022 10:00:00 +0000

This is an old skool, Adam Buxton-style ramble chat 50 Shades episode in which Sam Stafford fills his lunch hour with what he enjoys most: talking about planning with some of his planning friends.

Planning being the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world that it is there was a lot to take in. Sam's conversation with Simon Ricketts, Claire Petricca-Riding and Vicky Payne covers a busy week that included the Autumn Statement; amendments to the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill; what Michael Gove had to say in a keynote speech; COP27 and the Supreme Court's Hillside Parks decision.

Simon Ricketts (@sricketts1) is a Partner at Town Legal.

Claire Petricca-Riding (@petriccaRiding) is a Partner and National Head of Planning & Environmental Law at Irwin Mitchell.

Vicky Payne (@Victoria_Payne) is Strategy, Research & Engagement Lead at the Quality of Life Foundation.

Some accompanying reading.

Simon’s ‘All Systems Gove’ blog (which itself includes lots of interesting links)

https://simonicity.com/2022/11/19/all-systems-gove/

Sam’s 'State of Planning' Blog

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-state-of-planning.html

Banking on Brownfield - a Lichfields report

https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/banking-on-brownfield

Michael Gove's speech to the CPS conference

https://capx.co/unlocking-the-change-this-country-needs/

Robert Jenrick and the 'perception of landbanking'

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/government-will-act-on-build-out-rates-jenrick-confirms/5112044.article

The Quality of Life Foundation

https://www.qolf.org/

Simon’s Hillside Parks Blog

https://simonicity.com/2022/11/02/running-down-that-hillside/

Some accompanying listening

Hillside Song by My Morning Jacket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbxrWHfblKo

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

What Town Planners Do

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 10:00:10 +0000

Planning is rarely out of the news these days, certainly in England. It gets mentioned in speeches by party leaders, it garners headlines in the national and local press and has been the focus of multiple reform initiatives, especially over the last twenty years. Yet, these debates largely concern the ‘planning system’ and its policies, targets, methods, legislation and decision-making procedures.

What about the planners themselves? What do they do all day?’ These are not an unreasonable questions for a town planning-based podcast to ask, especially for an episode timed to coincide with World Town Planning Day, and, helpfully, are questions that a study to be published by four academics, Geoff Vigar, Abigail Schoneboom, Jason Slade and Malcom Tait, seeks to answer.

Their book, ‘What Town Planners Do’ (from where Sam Stafford pilfered that opening paragraph) offers "a unique insight into the everyday lives of planners and those in associated built environment occupations" and readers are promised "an exceptional account of the micro-politics of a knowledge-intensive profession". "It seeks to put planners and where they work at centre stage".

Sam talks in this episode about the themes of the study and the four ethnographic case studies from which they emerge with three of the study’s authors. Geoff Vigar is a Professor of Urban Planning at Newcastle University; Abigail Schoneboom is a Lecturer in Urban Planning at Newcastle University and Jason Slade is a Lecturer in Town Planning at Sheffield University.

Some accompanying reading.

The Working in the Public Interest programme

https://witpi.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/home

What Town Planners Do

https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/what-town-planners-do

Some accompanying listening.

Music To Plan Towns To - Sam's town planning-themed Spotify playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/73JzYK9UqCXRiUjQhgSID4?si=hKtgaaweTAeloOk1sEJ85w

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

A Home of One's Own

Sat, 15 Oct 2022 09:00:14 +0000

This episode is published with thanks to Simon Ricketts and his Planning Law Unplanned Clubhouse forum. Simon recently had a Clubhouse chat with Hashi Mohamed about Hashi’s book ‘A Home of One’s Own’ and they kindly agreed to record it so that Sam Stafford could share it via his 50 Shades podcast.

Simon is a partner at Town Legal, author of the Simonicity planning blog and a frequent 50 Shades contributor. Hashi is a broadcaster, barrister and public speaker, and links to his work can be found below, including to his Radio 4 Analysis programme ‘Planning, Housing & Politics’.

These are the themes that Simon and Hashi explore in their conversation about ‘A Home of One’s Own’, with some contributions towards the end of the discussion from Lucy Wood, James Pargeter and Kim Power.

Some accompanying reading.

Simon’s Simonicity blog

https://simonicity.com/

Hashi’s website

https://www.hashimohamed.com/

Some accompanying listening.

Planning Law Unplanned

https://www.clubhouse.com/club/planning-law-unplan?utm_medium=ch_club&utm_campaign=7-ikaMXnsZEKQ2GVi2x7xQ-412656

Hashi’s Radio 4 Analysis programme

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0014ptp

The Charlatans – A House Is Not A Home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKqJf1r77TM

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Hitting the High Notes - Peter Dixon

Sat, 08 Oct 2022 09:00:13 +0000

Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening to this episode, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting The High Notes is Peter Dixon. Peter's studies at Cambridge started with archaeology and anthropology, but finished with land economy. Having started his career as a surveyor with JR Eve, Peter co-founded planning consultancy Hepher Dixon, which was subsequently acquired by Savills, before retraining as a barrister. Their conversation takes in the changing role of the planning consultant, the circular nature of planning policy, Noel Coward, motorway service areas and a football stadium.

Peter's song selections.

Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPUmE-tne5U

Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6O1AYUrVQs

Louisa by Noel Coward

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jJpZE1PSlI

Grouch of the Day by Squeeze

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP3paAlx54k

Kaddish, Deuz Melodies Hebraiques No 1 by Maurice Ravel (from Camille Thomas’ ‘Voice of Hope)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEZ9wwVbZMQ

Between the Devil and the deep Blue Sea by George Harrison

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMJEtLjnO7E

Peter's Spotify playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3g5MWyrbKY41lyhfxKcfb1?si=PPqbzrwoTg2oxYxi-POGGw

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

A Stimulating Growth Conversation

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 09:00:08 +0000

It will not have gone unnoticed that the Government published a 'Growth Plan' on Friday 23 September 2022 with implications for the Development Consent Order regime and the introduction of a new Investment Zone concept. Additional information about Investment Zones was published the following day (links below).

Friend of the podcast Simon Ricketts hastily convened one of his 'Planning Law, Unplanned' Clubhouse sessions for the Tuesday evening to which Sam Stafford, along with Iain Thomson, Shelly Rouse, Nicola Gooch and Jonathan Easton, were invited to contribute. This episode then is slightly different from previous ones in that they all kindly agreed to record that conversation so that some of it could be used and shared by Sam for 50 Shades. You will hear then in the next forty five minutes or so some thoughts from that group on what is known and not known about the Growth Plan and what the implications for planning may or may not be.

Simon Ricketts (@sricketts1) is a Partner at Town Legal.

Iain Thomson (@KingofSurbo) is MD at Bellona Advisors.

Shelly Rouse (@rouse_shelly) is a Principal Consultant at the Planning Advisory Service.

Nicola Gooch (not on Twitter) is a Partner at Irwin Mitchell.

Jonathan Easton (@jonnye47) is a full-time Barrister at Kings Chambers and a part-time punster.

Some accompanying reading.

The Growth Plan

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-growth-plan-2022-documents/the-growth-plan-2022-html

Additional information about Growth Zones

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investment-zones-in-england

Simon's Growth Plan Blog

https://simonicity.com/2022/09/23/what-does-the-growth-plan-mean-for-development-and-infrastructure/

Iain's Growth Plan Blog

https://www.bellona-advisors.co.uk/reports/growth-plan-analysis/

Nicola's Growth Plan Blog

https://imbusiness.passle.net/post/102hxsn/what-truss-did-on-my-holidays-its-much-more-than-just-the-mini-budget

Sam's Growth Plan Blog

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2022/09/in-investment-zone.html

Zack Simon's Growth Plan Blog

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/investment-zones

Some accompanying listening.

Docklands Renewed by Sea Power

https://youtu.be/hCVDjaelqDM

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Neutral Impact II

Sat, 10 Sep 2022 09:00:00 +0000

When Sam Stafford introduced Episode 38 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast on nutrient neutrality he described the topic of eutrophication as a bit like the podcast itself. A little niche, but very important. Since then, February 2021, whilst the podcast remains a little niche, the nutrient neutrality issue has very much broken into the mainstream of planning consciousness.

Sam and his guests in Episode 38 spoke for the most part about the Solent, which was the first SPA within which Natural England recommended that LPAs withhold planning permission unless negative impacts of development can be ruled out completely. In March this year, 2022, Natural England announced that a further 20 catchments covering 42 additional local authorities were also subject to the restriction, which brings to a total of 27, the number of catchments, and 74, the number of LPAs, that are now subject to the restrictions.

The HBF has calculated that at least 100,000 homes are currently delayed because of the nutrients issue.

A further eighteen months on Sam revisits the questions posed in Episode 38. What has the impact of this issue been? How far away is a satisfactory resolution in those parts of the country that have been affected? And, with change afoot for both the post-Brexit environmental assessment regime and the planning system more broadly, what lessons can be drawn for planning at the scale of a river catchment?

Sam's guests in this episode are:

Marian Cameron, Director, Marian Cameron Consultants Ltd;
Max Tant, Flood Risk Manager, Kent County Council;
Rachel Jones, Ecology Manager & Senior Nutrient Project Officer, Wiltshire Council; and
Simon Packer, Director, Turley

Some accompanying reading

George Eustice’s WMS

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-plan-to-reduce-water-pollution

July's Chief Planner Letter

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1093278/Chief_Planner_Letter_with_Nutrient_Neutrality_and_HRA_Update_-_July_2022.pdf

How a Tesco chicken deal may have helped pollute one of the UK’s favourite rivers

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/14/tesco-chicken-deal-uk-favourite-river-wye-pollution

Truss vows to ditch nutrient neutrality rules

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/truss-vows-to-ditch-nutrient-neutrality-rules/5118915.article

Achieving nutrient neutrality for new housing development – The economic impact of the under-delivery of housing.

https://www.hbf.co.uk/news/report-achieving-nutrient-neutrality-new-housing-development-economic-impact-under-delivery-housing/

New report finds Natural England significantly over estimates the impact of new housing development on nutrient pollution.

https://www.hbf.co.uk/news/new-report-finds-natural-england-significantly-overestimates-impact-new-housing-development-nutrient-pollution/

Some accompanying listening.

Episode 38 – Neutral Impact

https://pod.co/50-shades-of-planning/neutral-impact

Dirty Water by The Jesus & Mary Chain

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na85WcMSqjo

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

An Esoteric Discussion about the Planning System

Sat, 20 Aug 2022 09:00:15 +0000

Sam Stafford revisits the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill with regular 50 Shades contributors Claire Petricca-Riding, Vicky Payne and Paul Smith. Their conversation explores what the Bill is and is not, what it may and may not mean, and where it may or may not go next. This episode also touches on design and environmental matters in more detail than the previous episode on the LURB, which was number 71.

Claire Petricca-Riding (@PetriccaRiding) is a Partner and National Head of Planning & Environmental Law at Irwin Mitchell. Vicky Payne (@Victoria_Payne) is an Associate Principal at URBED. Paul Smith (@Paul_SLG) is Managing Director at The Strategic Land Group.

Some accompanying reading.

The Beginning of the End of Environmental Impact Assessments - Stefano DAmbrosio-Nunez, Irwin Mitchell

https://imbusiness.passle.net/post/102hplw/the-beginning-of-the-end-of-environmental-impact-assessments

How to submit written evidence to Public Bill Committees

https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/offices/commons/scrutinyunit/written-submissions/

Sleepy Suburbs – Centre for Cities

https://www.centreforcities.org/publication/sleepy-suburbs-housing-crisis/

Testing Design Codes in England – Matthew Carmona

https://matthew-carmona.com/2022/06/22/88-testing-design-codes-in-england-21-lessons/

Some accompanying listening.

All You Do Is Talk – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-8aCX5cyYs

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Housing People

Sat, 06 Aug 2022 09:00:09 +0000

Housing, 50 Shades listeners, will know, is slap bang in the middle of the intersection between planning and politics and nothing offers both the illustration and impact of this than affordable housing.

Research commissioned by the National Housing Federation and Crisis from Professor Glen Bramley at Heriot-Watt University in 2018 identified a need for 340,000 homes each year in England to 2031, including 145,000 affordable homes.

According though to recent research from Turley and Tetlow King, commissioned by the LPDF, it is estimated that only 35,500 net additional affordable homes have been delivered on average in each of the last ten years.

Delivery is especially poor in the country’s largest urban centres. The largest 19, excluding London, have collectively added around 1,200 affordable homes per annum over the last ten years.

Whether there is a housing crisis, or a challenge, or whether all of this is just a figment of the construction industry’s imagination, will depend upon whether you ask a single parent in emergency accommodation, a politician in electioneering mode or Simon Jenkins. What is indisputable however is that the planning system has a huge role to play in all of this.

Why are we where we are? What are the obstacles to delivering more affordable housing and how might they be overcome?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Antony Pollard, Head of Economics at Turley; Annie Gingell, Principal Planner at Tetlow King; and Marie Chadwick, Policy Leader at the National Housing Federation.

Some accompanying reading.

Housing supply requirements: low-income households & homeless people

https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/housing-models-and-access/housing-supply-requirements-across-great-britain-2018/

An Affordable Housing Emergency

https://www.lpdf.co.uk/latest-publications

Five things we learned from Homes England’s Affordable Homes Programme data

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/five-things-we-learned-from-homes-englands-affordable-homes-programme-data-74347#:~:text=The%20Affordable%20Homes%20Programme%20is,of%20thousands%20of%20affordable%20homes

Simon Jenkins plumbs new depths of housing nonsense

https://capx.co/simon-jenkins-plumbs-new-depths-of-housing-nonsense/

People in housing need 2021

https://www.housing.org.uk/resources/people-in-housing-need-2021/

The damaging legacy of Right to Buy

https://neweconomics.org/2022/05/the-damaging-legacy-of-right-to-buy

Notes from the Green Belt: what’s so very special about Colney Heath?

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/notes-from-the-green-belt-whats-so-very-special-about-colney-heath

Some accompanying listening.

A House Is Not A Home - The Charlatans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LljqVqRPiUI

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

A Gentle Conversation about Density

Sat, 23 Jul 2022 09:00:11 +0000

Where should we build 300,000 new homes every year?

We could build tall buildings, which can have transformative effects on city centres and their skylines, but might not necessarily match delivery with need.

Or we could build urban extensions and new settlements, which could be imbued from the outset with the highest possible design and build standards, but are very difficult to deliver.

Or we could densify, gently, existing suburbs. We could incentivise LPAs, residents and SME builders to upgrade older, less energy-efficient housing stock, especially in those parts of the cities with the greatest potential to reduce car dependency. This too though is a challenge. Centre for Cities found that over a fifth of neighbourhoods outside city centres have built no new houses since 2011, while half have built, on average, less than one home each year.

Why are our suburbs the way they are? What are the barriers to densification and how might they be overcome?

Sam Stafford puts these question to Samuel Hughes, Hana Loftus and Ben Woolnough

Samuel (@scp_hughes) is a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford and a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange and Create Streets. Hana Loftus (@hanaloftus), is a Director at HAT Projects and an Associate at Public Practice. Ben (@benhoward_w) is Planning Manager at East Suffolk Council.

Some accompanying reading

‘What have been the impacts of the introduction of the standard methodology for calculating housing need on planning for housing?’ A report for Barratt Developments by the University of Liverpool

https://www.barrattdevelopments.co.uk/~/media/Files/B/Barratt-Developments/materials-and-downloads/uol-standard-methodology-final-report.pdf

‘New settlements in local plans: Not everything in the garden is rosy’ by Matthew Spry at Lichfields

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2020/may/26/new-settlements-in-local-plans-not-everything-in-the-garden-is-rosy/

‘Sleepy suburbs. The role of the suburbs in solving the housing crisis’ by Anthony Breach and Elena Magrini at Centre for Cities.

https://www.centreforcities.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Sleepy-Suburbs.pdf

‘Intensification and how to achieve it’ by Hana

http://virtualhana.blogspot.com/2022/04/intensification-and-how-to-achieve-it.html

‘Street Votes - what's the big idea?’ by Hana

http://virtualhana.blogspot.com/2022/04/intensification-and-how-to-achieve-it.html

‘Strong Suburbs’ by Samuel and Ben Southwood for Policy Exchange

https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/strong-suburbs/

‘Learning from History’ by Ben Southwood for Create Streets

https://www.createstreets.com/projects/learning-from-history-december-29th/

‘New Suburbia: What is a suburb?’ by Simon Cooke

https://theviewfromcullingworth.blogspot.com/2022/04/new-suburbia-1-what-is-suburb.html

Supurbia by HTA Design

https://www.hta.co.uk/project/supurbia

The Croydon Suburban Design Guide

https://suburbandesign.croydon.gov.uk/

‘Mayor Perry delivers on planning promise to protect Croydon’s local character by removing planning design guide’

https://lbc-app-w-newscroydon-p.azurewebsites.net/mayor-perry-delivers-on-planning-promise-to-protect-croydons-local-character-by-removing-planning-design-guide/

Some accompanying listening

Skirmish in the Suburbs by Snapped Ankles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s714eMCbdX4

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

LURB

Sat, 09 Jul 2022 09:00:14 +0000

50 Shades listeners are a perceptive bunch and will have a spotted that the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill (LURB) was introduced to Parliament on 11 May. Whilst the word planning does not appear on the front of the bill it does appear 680 times inside and so, for a planning podcast that purports to have it's figure on the pulse, it is about time that Sam Stafford put a panel together to discuss it.

Helpfully for Sam, Andrew Taylor (@AndrewJTaylor3), past 50 Shades contributor and friend of the podcast, did it for him. Andrew invited Sam to contribute to a National Planning Forum (@nat_plan) seminar on the LURB and, in preparation for the event, which took place on 5 July 2022, Sam invited the other panellists to record a preparatory chat. You will here in this episode then from:

Tony Burton (@Tony4Place), free range consultant on community, planning, design and environment;
Simon Ricketts (@sricketts1), Partner at Town Legal;
Catriona Riddell (@CatrionaRiddel1), Director at Catriona Riddell & Associates; and
Jennie Baker (@1jenniebaker), Associate Director at Lichfields.

PS. Perceptive 50 Shades listeners will also have spotted that the UK Government began to collapse on the evening of 5 July 2022 and that the future of the LURB is now uncertain. This though hopefully remains an interesting and relevant discussion.

Some accompanying reading.

The LURB

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3155

The policy paper that accompanies the LURB

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/levelling-up-and-regeneration-bill

Neighbourhood Planners London

https://www.neighbourhoodplanners.london/

Lichfields' analysis of the role of neighbourhood plans in housing delivery

https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/local-choices

Simon's recent LURB blog

https://simonicity.com/2022/07/02/summer-of-lurb/

Lichfields' LURB resource

https://lichfields.uk/the-levelling-up-and-regeneration-bill/

Matthew Carmona's blog on the design code pilots

https://matthew-carmona.com/2022/06/22/88-testing-design-codes-in-england-21-lessons/

The National Planning Forum

https://www.natplanforum.org.uk/

Some accompanying listening.

Everything is simple by Widowspeak

https://youtu.be/mPa08P7e_e0

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Hitting the High Notes - Anna Rose

Sat, 25 Jun 2022 09:00:39 +0000

Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening to this episode, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting The High Notes is Anna Rose. After eschewing a career in fashion, Anna worked as a legal advisor at the National Farmers Union before joining Rugby Borough Council and working her way to become Head of Planning & Culture. After a spell as Service Director at Milton Keynes Council, Anna has since 2017 been the Head of the Planning Advisory Service at the Local Government Association. Sam and Anna's conversation takes in the relationships and skills required to plan strategically and deliver major new development; leadership and systems thinking; and LPA recruitment practices.

Anna's song selections.

Fluorescent Adolescent - Arctic Monkeys

Human - The Killers

Try – P!NK

Zombie – Jamie T

Tilted – Christine & The Queens

If I Got It (Your Love brought It) – Aaron Frazer

Anna's Spotify playlist

Some accompanying reading

The Planning Advisory Service

Houlton, Rugby

MK Futures 2050

PAS' 'Return To Work' project

Any other business.

If you are a new listener do please check out the back catalogue where you will find episodes on myriad planning topics, as well as other episodes in this Hitting The High Notes series, and remember that by subscribing new episodes will magically appear in your phone as soon as Sam has published them.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Place, Politics and the Piece Hall

Sat, 11 Jun 2022 09:00:00 +0000

When Sam Stafford saw that Create Streets and Onward were bringing their 'Restitch' conference to Halifax's Piece Hall, his favourite building, he could not have been more excited. He was though even more excited when the organisers agreed to let him set up a 'pop-up' recording studio at the back of one of the breakout rooms so as to record conversations with some of the conference's contributors during the day.

This bumper episode then is the accumulation of those recorded conversations and in it you will hear from (broken down into time slots if you are dipping in and out):

2m:35s

Ben Page, Chief Executive Officer, Ipsos (@benatipsos)

16m:05s

Andrew Taylor, Group Planning Director, Countryside (@AndrewJTaylor3) & Pete Gladwell, Group Social Impact & Investment Director, L&G (@petegladwell)

28m:48s

Amy Burbidge, Senior Master Development and Design Manager, Homes England (@AmyBurbidge2); Mike Axon, Managing Director, Vectos: and David Milner, Deputy Director, Create Streets (@djjmilner)

49m:00s

Neil O’Brien, Harborough MP & Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at DLUHC (@NeilDotObrien)

54m:45s

Nicky Chance-Thompson, Chief Executive, The Piece Hall Trust (@NickyChanThomDL)

01h:07m:00s

Tim Swift, Leader of Calderdale Council (@TimSwift)

01h:23m:10s

Nicholas Boys Smith, Director, Create Streets (@boys_nicholas)

Some accompanying reading

The 'Piece Hall Effect' is bringing millions into Calderdale's economy, new report reveals

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/piece-hall-effect-bringing-millions-calderdales-economy-new-report-reveals-1746319

Some accompanying viewing/listening

Gravity by Embrace, live at The Piece Hall (Sam was there)

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2421918771409236

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Three Things (or 'The 50 Shades Manifesto For Sensible Planning Reform')

Sat, 21 May 2022 09:00:11 +0000

Regular 50 Shades Listeners will know that Sam Stafford recently had dinner with a DLUHC Minister. The conversation during dessert turned, with a set piece Planning Bill off of the agenda, to the three most impactful things that Michael Gove could do to improve the planning system. Sam subsequently shared his thoughts on Twitter (see link below) and they provoked a bit of a discussion, which he thought worthy of exploring further in a 50 Shades episode.

This then is what prompted Episode 65’s 'Call for Evidence' in which Sam invited 50 Listeners to share their own suggestions for practical, pragmatic changes that, with little fuss and fanfare, could have a positive, meaningful impact on the planning system. Sam discusses the submissions, let's perhaps call them the '50 Shades Manifesto For Sensible Planning Reform', in this episode with Claire Petricca-Riding, Jonathan Easton and Paul Smith.

Claire (@PetriccaRiding) is a Partner and National Head of Planning & Environmental Law at Irwin Mitchell. Jonathan (@jonnye47) is full-time planning barrister at Kings Chambers and a part-time punster on Twitter. Paul (@paul_slg) is Managing Director at the Strategic Land Group.

Some accompanying reading.

Sam’s three areas for impactful planning reform

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2022/03/three-things.html

Planning for the better future – RTPI Proposals for Planning Reform in England

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/policy/2021/march/planning-for-a-better-future/

Local development planning in Scotland - regulations and guidance consultation: part B - proposals for development planning regulations

https://www.gov.scot/publications/local-development-planning-regulations-guidance-consultation-part-b-proposals-development-planning-regulations/

The Future of Strategic Planning in England by the County Councils Network and Catriona Riddell Associates

https://www.countycouncilsnetwork.org.uk/report-calls-on-government-to-implement-a-new-planning-model-as-two-thirds-of-councils-say-the-pressure-on-their-infrastructure-is-excessive-due-to-housing

RTPI South West Pilot Mentoring Programme for early career planners

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/swmentoring

'The Queen’s Speech – Levelling Up and Planning Reform, what can be legislated for?'

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2022/may/10/the-queen-s-speech-levelling-up-and-planning-reform-what-can-be-legislated-for/

Government response to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee report on The Future of the Planning System in England

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-the-planning-system-in-england-government-response-to-the-select-committee-report/government-response-to-the-levelling-up-housing-and-communities-select-committee-report-on-the-future-of-the-planning-system-in-england

The Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill: Highlights, Headlines and Henry the Eighth

https://imbusiness.passle.net/post/102hof6/the-levelling-up-regeneration-bill-highlights-headlines-and-henry-the-eighth

Local Plans Expert Group: report to the Secretary of State

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-plans-expert-group-report-to-the-secretary-of-state

Sir Oliver Letwin’s independent review of build out

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-build-out-final-report

Some accompanying listening.

The Verve – Three Steps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFiM4FORyC8

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Leading From The Front

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 09:00:09 +0000

‘Is there a local authority staffing crisis', Sam Stafford asked Catriona Riddell, Peter Geraghty and Paul Brocklehurst in Episode 60. That episode, regular listeners might recall, was informed by a 'Call for Evidence' and Sam invited people across the profession to share their thoughts on what life is actually like on planning’s front line.

It quickly became apparent that Catriona, Peter, Paul and Sam would not be able to do the submissions justice in an hour-long conversation so Sam reproduced them in full on the 50 Shades Blog.

To say that this topic struck something of a nerve is a bit of an understatement. The blog, at the time of this recording, has been viewed over 12,000 times. It does make for uncomfortable reading. Joey Gardiner described it in Planning magazine as a ‘veritable howl of despair’. “It portrays a system on the edge”, wrote Joey, “manned by staff crushed by overwork and pandemic isolation, and suffering regular abuse from the public and even members”.

The position is not uniform across the country, of course, and there are, also of course, lots of good planners in good local authorities doing lots of good work. That being said, based upon that Call for Evidence, there is a very strong case to say that there is indeed a local authority staffing crisis.

So then. What is to be done? Planners know that planning can and indeed should be at the heart of improving existing places and making great new ones. Why doesn’t everybody? Planners know the value of planning, but if local authority planners aren’t being valued, and aren’t being paid their worth, then who can blame them for doing something more rewarding?

Sam explores these themes in this episode with Ben Woolnough, Rebecca Coley, Pooja Agrawal and Paul Frainer.

Ben (@benhoward_w) is Planning Manager, East Suffolk Council; Rebecca (@PlanningGeek) is Head of Planning & Development at Trafford Council; Pooja (@AgrawalPooj) is CEO and co-founder at Public Practice; and Paul (@paulfrainer) is Head of Place/Climate Programme Lead at TPXimpact (latterly Assistant Director – Strategy & Economy at South Cambs and Cambridge City Councils).

Some accompanying reading.

The Life on the Front Line Blog

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/12/life-on-front-line.html

The Design Code Pathfinder Programme

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/communities-empowered-to-shape-design-of-neighbourhoods

Local Government Terms & Conditions (Green Book)

https://www.local.gov.uk/local-government-terms-and-conditions-green-book

East Suffolk's GIS-based Annual Monitoring Report

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/dfbbb431cf6c44c88bc58975e59ce191

Some accompanying viewing.

Public Practice in Greater Cambridge

https://vimeo.com/635177034

Some accompanying listening.

Higher ground by Stevie Wonder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wZ3ZG_Wams

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Hitting the High Notes - Pete Swift

Sat, 09 Apr 2022 09:00:11 +0000

Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening to this episode, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting The High Notes is Pete Swift. After graduating in Landscape Design & Plant Science at Sheffield University, and spending some time in Japan, Pete (@peteswifysan) co-founded landscape and design practice Planit. Their conversation takes in the Liverpool International Garden Festival, Michael Douglas in Black Rain and Tom Hicks and George Gillett's tenure at Anfield.

Pete's song selections.

Absolute - Scritti Politti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7Mk_JgesEM

Can’t be sure - The Sundays

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yARVs1ZNLjU

Unfinished Sympathy - Massive Attack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWmrfgj0MZI

Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYIAfiVGluk

Silver (Tidal Wave) - Echo and the Bunnymen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmYB8VejrC8

The System only Dreams in Total Darkness - The National

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O6duDDkhis

Pete's Spotify playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3VTPF6fYR45eQhrXJUrwos?si=PgY_UlMITiyVGROEeY3Nrg__;!!CbnuSKVWDws!xq_Lry1gzPm_vSXH2qTUMwK0ui4WeiwCcGwaxdDkr8dJFnOU

Some accompanying reading

Planit

https://www.planit-ie.com/our-projects/

Festival gardens: The fascinating and controversial history behind one of Liverpool's beauty spots

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/story-festival-gardens-wasteland-international-17133347

Why is there a Japanese Kyoto Garden in Holland Park?

https://londonist.com/london/great-outdoors/why-is-there-a-japanese-kyoto-garden-in-holland-park

Liverpool Waters

https://liverpoolwaters.co.uk/

What’s planned for Manchester Town Hall and Albert Square

https://secure.manchester.gov.uk/info/500354/our_town_hall/7297/our_town_hall_project_-_the_transformation/2

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Call for Evidence - Three Things

Wed, 30 Mar 2022 22:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford's Twitter friends might have spotted that he had dinner with a DLUHC Minister last week. The conversation during dessert turned, with a set piece Planning Bill now off the agenda, to the three most impactful things that Michael Gove could do to improve the planning system. Sam subsequently shared his thoughts on Twitter and they provoked a bit of a discussion, which he thought worthy of exploring further in a 50 Shades episode.

This then is a Call for Evidence. Sam would like to know the three most impactful things that 50 Shades Listeners think Michael Gove could do to improve the planning system. Let's not talk in general terms about things like, for example, LPA resources or in radical terms about things like, for example, 'Growth, Renewal and Protection Areas'. Let's not "level the foundations and build, from the ground up, a whole new planning system for England". Let's talk in practical, pragmatic terms about the relatively modest changes that, with little fuss and fanfare, and certainly no requirement for legislation, could have a positive, meaningful impact on what it is that Planners are trying to achieve.

Sam's plan is to review your submissions with some of the regular 50 Shades crew and then he will piece everything together for onward transmission to Mr Gove.

If you are interested in being involved please send your contributions to samstafford@hotmail.com before the end of April.

Some accompanying reading.

Sam's Three Things

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2022/03/three-things.html

Some accompanying listening.

Three is a Magic Number by Bob Dorough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDbeVB4admk

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Think Differently

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 10:00:17 +0000

When we think of diversity, and the awareness and inclusion in public life of people of different identities, we perhaps instinctively think of ethnicity, sexuality and age. We perhaps do not think instinctively of neurodiversity. Sam Stafford's youngest boy’s school, for example, had made space in the calendar to raise awareness of ethnicity, sexuality and age discrimination, but not, until it was pointed out, neurodiversity. This despite the fact that around 1 in 7 people in the UK are neurodivergent.

Neurodiversity, for anybody unfamiliar with the term, is the diversity of all human brains, which includes those with Dyslexia, Autism, ADHD, Dyspraxia and other neurological conditions. The movement is centred around the principle that there is no “normal” or “right” type of brain.

This is manifestly important to planning because a system cannot be considered effective if it is not engaging with, and working for, 15% of the population. This means that we need to talk about neurodiversity within the profession and within the workplace; we need to talk about engaging the neurodiverse in planning; and we need to talk about designing and delivering for the neurodiverse.

Sam discusses these three themes in this episode with Keeley Mitchell (Trainee Planning Officer at Dacorum Council), Krystian Groom (Associate Director at BECG), Jenny Offord (Senior Planning & Enabling Manager at Homes England) and Atefeh Motamedi (Strategic Planner at Atkins).

The Neurodiversity in Planning group, which is mentioned throughout this episode, can be contacted via LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13908485/) or neurodiversityinplanning@outlook.com.

Some accompanying reading.

'Why planning should be more neurodiverse' by Layla Vidal-Martin

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/blog/2021/april/why-planning-should-be-more-neurodiverse/

BECG’s Neurodiversity in Planning Toolkit

https://becg.com/neurodiversity-in-planning-toolkit-launched/

'Why is housing for people with autism a failure?' by Deborah Smith

https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/insight/why-is-housing-for-people-with-autism-a-failure/#utm_source=Place+North+West&utm_campaign=INSIGHT___Latest_expert_tips___2021-07-30&utm_medium=email

'How cities can be redesigned for neurodiversity' by Elissaveta M Brandon

https://www.fastcompany.com/90662691/how-cities-can-be-redesigned-for-neurodiversity

First building design standard for sensory and neurological needs – BSI

https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/about-bsi/media-centre/press-releases/2020/october/project-launch-first-building-design-standard-for-sensory-and-neurological-needs/

'Planning with Autism in Mind: A Six Feelings Framework' by Kyle Ezell

https://www.planning.org/blog/blogpost/9155086/

The Autism ASPECTSS Design Index

https://www.autism.archi/aspectss

'14 Patterns of Biophilic Design' by Terrapin Bright Green

https://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/reports/14-patterns/

Some accompanying viewing.

RTPI Webinar Part 1. Designing for Neurodiversity - Autism Friendly Environments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO3X1P4zYmc

RTPI Webinar Part 2. Engagement

https://www.bigmarker.com/rtpi-enterprise/Neurodiversity-in-Planning-Part-2-5c89d09112d3a1fe69ebe8d4

Paddy & Christine McGuiness – Our Family and Autism

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00122vl

Some accompanying listening.

Wu Tang Clan – Think Differently (Instrumental)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxAT7W8i03k

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

No Little Plans

Sat, 05 Mar 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Is planning for America anathema to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness? Is it true, as ideologues like Friedrich Von Hayek, Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand have claimed, that planning leads to dictatorship, that the state is wholly destructive, and that prosperity is owed entirely to the workings of a free market?

This is the synopsis of 'No Little Plans', Ian Wray's 2019 book that goes in search of an America shaped by government, plans and bureaucrats, not by businesses, bankers and shareholders.

Ian discusses 'No Little Plans' in this episode with Sam Stafford; Katie Wray; and, all of the way from the USA as the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast goes global, Karen Trapenberg Frick.

Ian Wray is Honorary Professor and Fellow in the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy at Liverpool University. He was formerly Chief Planner at the North West Development Agency between 200 and 2010.

Katie Wray (@kluw) is an Assistant Director at Deloitte.

Karen Trapenberg Frick (@TrapenbergFrick) is an Associate Professor in City & Regional Planning, at the University of California.

'No Little Plans' was Ian's follow-up to 2016's 'Great British Plans', which Sam, Ian and Katie discuss in Episode 36.

Some accompanying reading.

No Little Plans - How Government Built America’s Wealth and Infrastructure

https://www.routledge.com/No-Little-Plans-How-Government-Built-Americas-Wealth-and-Infrastructure/Wray/p/book/9781138594104

LEGO Can Build a Northern Overground

https://journal.theaou.org/articles/lego-can-build-a-northern-overground/

The essential state - Pandemic, norms and values, and the new authoritarianism

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1473095220969626?journalCode=plta

A Sure Bet: Megaprojects - Not on Time and Not on Budget

https://www.alexandrinepress.co.uk/Oakland_Bay_Bridge

Some accompanying listening.

For UK Listeners

Jimi Hendrix plays the Star Spangled banner at Woodstock in 1969

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3-b3ViNTMI

For US listeners

The Village Green Preservation Society -The Kinks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc7dmu4G8oc

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

An Amassing of Think Tanks

Sat, 12 Feb 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Who are the people and the organisations that have had the most influence over planning during the past couple of years?

One could make a case for Jack Airey and Policy Exchange. Airey, who joined Localis having graduated in geography, became Head of Housing at Policy Exchange before being appointed Downing Street’s special adviser on housing and planning. In the spirit of Dominic Cummings’ shake-up of government apparatus, the attraction of Airey could have been his Policy Exchange paper called ‘Rethinking the Planning System for the 21st Century’, some of which found it’s way into the albeit now seemingly-jettisoned ‘Planning for the Future’ White Paper.

One could also make a case for Nicholas Boys-Smith and Create Streets. Boys-Smith, a history graduate, desk officer in the Conservative Research Department and banker, founded Create Streets in 2013; was a co-chair of the Build Better, Build Beautiful Commission; and was appointed by the previous Secretary of State as chair of an ‘Office for Place’.

Conspicuously neither are planners...

Could a case be made for present planning policy being influenced by Think Tanks to a degree not seen since the simplified planning promoted by right-leaning Think Tanks like the Centre for Policy Studies in the 1980s? Either way, it is a reminder of the influence of Think Tanks on the planning policy agenda, which makes it a topic worthy of conversation on a town planning-based podcast.

Why and how do Think Tanks do what they do? Where do policy ideas come from? And how do bright ideas get turned into actual policy?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Samuel Hughes (@SCP_Hughes), Research Fellow at the University of Oxford and Senior Follow at Policy Exchange; Anya Martin (@AnyaMartin8), Director at PricedOut and a researcher in the social housing sector; and Matthew Lesh (@matthewlesh), Head of Public Policy at the IEA.

Some accompanying reading.

'Rethinking the Planning System for the 21st Century' by Jack Airey

https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/rethinking-the-planning-system-for-the-21st-century/

‘Beware of ‘Policy Intern Brain’ – the source of so many bad ideas’ by Anya Martin

https://capx.co/beware-of-policy-intern-brain-the-source-of-so-many-bad-ideas/

‘Build me up, level up: popular homebuilding while boosting local communities’ by Matthew Lesh

https://www.adamsmith.org/research/build-me-up-level-up

‘Strong Suburbs’ by Samuel Hughes and Ben Southwood

https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/strong-suburbs/

‘Living Tradition’ by Samuel Hughes

https://www.createstreets.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Living-Tradition.pdf

‘Learning from History’ by Ben Southwood

https://www.createstreets.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Tottenham-Paper-1.9.pdf

‘The Green Noose: An analysis of Green Belts and proposals for reform’ by Tom Papworth

https://www.adamsmith.org/news/press-release-free-up-3-7-percent-of-londons-green-belt-to-build-one-million-new-homes-says-new-report

‘A place in the sun’ by Anya Martin

https://www.worksinprogress.co/issue/a-place-in-the-sun/

‘Housing Politics in the United Kingdom’ by Brian Lund

https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/housing-politics-in-the-united-kingdom

Some accompanying listening.

Wah Wah (Think Tank) by Happy Mondays

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyERDM7cbSo

Some accompanying viewing.

How policy is formulated in Westminster (Part 2 - Please see episode 55 for Part 1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZXpeH28MpM

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Hitting the High Notes - Wayne Hemingway

Sat, 22 Jan 2022 10:00:08 +0000

Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening to this episode, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting The High Notes is Wayne Hemingway. In 1979 Wayne completed a degree in Geography & Town Planning at UCL, co-founding at the same time fashion business Red or Dead. In 1999, having sold the company, he co-founded Hemingway Design, which specialises in affordable and social design. Their conversation takes in squatters, hipsters and Gorillaz.

Wayne's song selections.

Me No Pop (12" version) by Coati Mundi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPHN6wBm4sI

(We don’t need this) Fascist Groove Thang (12" version) by Heaven 17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV5dbcOmw6I

Harlem River Drive (album version) by Bobbi Humphrey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVoWOSCkvQ0

Dare by Gorillaz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAOR6ib95kQ

The light pours out of me by Magazine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nImOq_eWHEM

Tees Happy (12" version) by North End

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRDUu96mzvw

Wayne’s Spotify playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5cDgsrUij1o5Ktf412S6oZ?si=1MSBGIExT36jvU0sdZYAyg

Wayne’s Mixcloud

https://www.mixcloud.com/hemingwaywayne/

Some accompanying reading

Hemingway Design

https://www.hemingwaydesign.co.uk/

Go home to Wayne’s World

https://www.independent.co.uk/property/house-and-home/property/go-home-to-wayne-s-world-9211553.html

Staiths South Bank – A retrospective

https://www.gateshead.gov.uk/media/3820/Staiths-South-Bank-a-retrospective/pdf/Staiths-Retrospective.pdf?m=636440213994870000

Barratt Developments’ ‘Great Places Initiative

https://www.barrattdevelopments.co.uk/~/media/Files/B/Barratt-Developments/documents/gp-booklet-v1-2014.pdf

Dreamland: Margate amusement park sold for £2.3m

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-56171446

Hipster-led Regeneration

https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/news-opinion/hipster-led-regeneration-wayne-hemingway

Incredible Edible Todmorden

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/09/incredible-edible-yorkshire-towns-food-growing-scheme-takes-root-worldwide

East Point / First Light, Lowestoft

https://firstlightlowestoft.com/east-point-pavilion/

Vintage-by-the-Sea, Morecambe

https://www.decopublique.co.uk/vintage-by-the-sea-1

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Life on the Front Line

Sat, 08 Jan 2022 10:00:13 +0000

"Are you planning a 50 Shades on the local authority staffing crisis?"

Sam Stafford usually likes it when people get in touch with him to suggest topics for 50 Shades episodes, but found this message from a team leader at a local authority striking and sobering.

Is there a local authority staffing crisis? If so why and what can be done about it? Informed by equally striking and sobering responses to Episode 57's 'Call for Evidence' (see below a link to the 'Life on the Front Line' Blog), Sam puts these questions to Catriona Riddell, Peter Geraghty and Paul Brocklehurst, who try to do as much justice to this most weighty of topics as is possible within an hour or so.

Catriona (@CatrionaRiddel1) is a Director at Catriona Riddell & Associates.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/catriona-riddell-b418a322

Peter (@planitpres) is Executive Director at Hertsmere Borough Council and Chair of the Development Management Network at the Planning Officers Society, but contributes to this episode in a personal capacity.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-geraghty-mciob-fcabe-frtpi-frsa-facss-5832899b

Paul Brocklehurst is Chair of the Land Promoters & Developers Federation (@THELPDF) and a former Chief Executive of Catesby Estates.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-brocklehurst-68827b6a

Some accompanying reading.

The Planning town hall resources survey

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1720094/planning-town-hall-resources-survey?bulletin=planning-people&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=eNews%20Bulletin&utm_source=20210915&utm_content=Planning%20People%20(48)::&email_hash

Three reasons for low morale at planning authorities, by Catriona Riddell

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1734244/three-reasons-low-morale-planning-authorities-catriona-riddell

Life on the Front Line, Sam's Blog

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/12/life-on-front-line.html

The Raynsford Review

https://www.tcpa.org.uk/raynsford-review

English Planning: The Fruits of 10 Years of Austerity and Reform, by Peter

https://planning.org/blog/9189021/english-planning-fruits-of-10-years-of-austerity-and-reform/

Where the government’s review of local authority planning resources has got to, by Joey Gardiner

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1735446/governments-review-local-authority-planning-resources?bulletin=planning-weekly-edition&utm_medium=EMAIL&utm_campaign=eNews%20Bulletin&utm_source=20211210&utm_content=Planning%20Email%20Edition%20(7)::&email_hash=

We need to talk about Local Government: the levelling-up agenda, and the planning system, depends on it, by Nicola Gooch

https://imbusiness.passle.net/post/102heht/we-need-to-talk-about-local-government-the-levelling-up-agenda-and-the-planning

Some accompanying listening.

Keep on keeping on by Curtis Mayfield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-l91O9VxN0

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

🎅🏻The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz - The Final🎅🏻

Fri, 24 Dec 2021 10:00:11 +0000

Sam Stafford and friends are in Manchester for the 50 Shades Christmas night out, but, before hitting the town, there is the small matter of the Festive Christmas Quiz to attend to.

It's the Final so quizmaster Sam tests the successful semi finalists Paul Smith, Vicky Payne, Claire Petricca-Riding and Jonathan Easton on more planning news stories from past twelve months.

Paul (@Paul_SLG) is Managing Director at The Strategic Land Group. Vicky (@Vicky_Payne) is an Associate Principal at URBED. Claire (@PetriccaRiding) is a Partner and National Head of Planning and Environmental Law at Irwin Mitchell. Jonathan (@jonnye47) is a full-time Barrister at Kings Chambers and a part-time punster.

Some accompanying reading.

January

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-56023895

February

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1706331/authorities-permitted-development-conversions-made-highest-proportion-housing-delivery-2019-20

March

https://www.theplanner.co.uk/news/fall-in-delivery-of-bungalows-as-demand-rises

April

https://imbusiness.passle.net/post/102gvw4/my-what-big-teeth-you-have-high-court-invalidates-cil-liability-notice-issued-2

May

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/delighted-leicester-family-told-can-5444379

June

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/boris-johnson-homes-plan-turning-off-tory-voters-chesham-amersham-by-election-loss-6ft6vtkdl

July

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-planning-policy-framework--2

August

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/7626005/michael-gove-aberdeen-nightclub-rave/

September

https://www.adamsmith.org/research/build-me-up-level-up

October

https://one.welhat.gov.uk/article/12177/Local-Plan-meeting-put-on-hold

November

https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/tulip-rejected-over-embodied-carbon-and-heritage-concerns

December

https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/crime/fareham-luxury-homes-developer-knightsgate-fined-ps40000-after-destroying-habitat-of-rare-dormice-3478346

Some accompanying listening.

Sam's Christmas Crackers - The Ultimate Festive Soundtrack

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Dn44yamtsjrzsYH4rzbld?si=AlBrDD3aQjib3VpLj-sHjg

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

🎄The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz - Semi-Final 2🎄

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford and friends are in Manchester for the 50 Shades Christmas night out, but, before hitting the town, there is the small matter of the Festive Christmas Quiz to attend to.

In this second semi-final quizmaster Sam tests Tom Whitehead, Mike O'Brien, Jonathan Easton and Claire Petricca-Riding on their knowledge of twelve planning news stories from past twelve months.

Tom (a Twitter Lurker) is Group Town Planning at Brookhouse. Mike (@O_B_1_Mike) is a Director at Pinnacle Planning. Jonathan (@jonnye47) is a full-time Barrister at Kings Chambers and a part-time punster. Claire (@PetriccaRiding) is a Partner and National Head of Planning and Environmental Law at Irwin Mitchell.

Some accompanying reading.

January

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-reforms-make-it-easier-and-cheaper-for-leaseholders-to-buy-their-homes

February

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-for-sustainable-growth-in-the-oxford-cambridge-arc-spatial-framework/planning-for-sustainable-growth-in-the-oxford-cambridge-arc-an-introduction-to-the-spatial-framework

March

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56359865

April

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-56945191

May

https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/jenrick-vows-to-stop-architects-imposing-their-visions-on-communities

June

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1720094/planning-town-hall-resources-survey

July

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2021/07/tory-blue-wall-nimby-Labour-planning-housing-yimby-Greens-Lib-Dems

August

https://srpinventories.co.uk/how-landlords-can-take-advantage-of-new-permitted-development-rights/

September

https://planning.warrington.gov.uk/swiftlg/apas/run/WPHAPPDETAIL.DisplayUrl?theApnID=2020/36311&theTabNo=4&backURL=%3Ca%20href=wphappcriteria.display%3ESearch%20Criteria%3C/a%3E%20%3E%20%3Ca%20href=%27wphappsearchres.displayResultsURL?ResultID=2584094%26StartIndex=0%26SortOrder=APNID%26DispResultsAs=WPHAPPSEARCHRES%26BackURL=%3Ca%20href=wphappcriteria.display%3ESearch%20Criteria%3C/a%3E%27%3ESearch%20Results%3C/a%3E

October

https://localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/property/404-property-news/48549-major-provider-of-social-housing-loses-3m-high-court-battle-with-council-over-application-of-community-infrastructure-levy

November

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/world-leading-environment-act-becomes-law

December

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-59580929

Some accompanying listening.

Sam's Christmas Crackers - The Ultimate Festive Soundtrack

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Dn44yamtsjrzsYH4rzbld?si=AlBrDD3aQjib3VpLj-sHjg

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

☃️The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz - Semi-Final 1☃️

Sat, 18 Dec 2021 10:00:12 +0000

Sam Stafford and friends are in Manchester for the 50 Shades Christmas night out, but, before hitting the town, there is the small matter of the Festive Christmas Quiz to attend to.

In this first semi-final quizmaster Sam tests Katie Wray, Greg Dickson, Vicky Payne and Paul Smith on their knowledge of twelve planning news stories from past twelve months.

Katie (@kluw) is an Assistant Director at Deloitte Real Assets Advisory. Greg (@GregDickson1) is a Partner at Barton Willmore. Vicky (@Vicky_Payne) is an Associate Principal at URBED. Paul (@Paul_SLG) is Managing Director at The Strategic Land Group.

Some accompanying reading.

January

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/right-to-regenerate-to-turn-derelict-buildings-into-homes-and-community-assets

February

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/councils-hit-out-at-governments-unrealistic-new-planning-formula-69616

March

https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/budget/budget-2021-rishi-sunak-failed-mention-northern-powerhouse-george-osborne-2014-899302

April

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9486617/Race-retail-parks-town-shopping-areas-footfall-near-EQUAL-level-2019.html

May

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-05-18/uk-property-wealth-data-2021-show-big-gap-between-black-and-white-homeowners

June

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-06-08/nearly-80-of-towns-getting-share-of-725m-of-government-funding-represented-by-conservative-mps

July

https://placealliance.org.uk/research/design-deficit/

August

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1725416/number-enforcement-notices-drops-lowest-level-ever

September

https://www.centreforcities.org/blog/what-does-the-public-think-about-levelling-up/

October

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/24/the-word-crazy-is-associated-with-the-wrong-kind-of-golf

November

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/yorkshire-to-get-just-two-miles-of-high-speed-track-under-boris-johnsons-integrated-rail-plan-3463377

December

https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/feeding-the-pipeline

Some accompanying listening.

Sam's Christmas Crackers - The Ultimate Festive Soundtrack

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Dn44yamtsjrzsYH4rzbld?si=AlBrDD3aQjib3VpLj-sHjg

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Call for Evidence - Life on the Front Line

Sat, 11 Dec 2021 10:00:05 +0000

"Are you planning a 50 Shades on the local authority staffing crisis?"

Sam Stafford usually likes it when people get in touch with him to suggest topics for 50 Shades episodes, but found this message from a team leader at a local authority striking and sobering.

In a subsequent conversation this person confided in Sam that their team is virtually in crisis mode.

It is probably fair to say that the planning system is in crisis, but then it is also probably fair to say that the planning system is always in crisis…

There is, of course, the issue of resources. Whilst according to a Planning magazine survey slightly more LPAs are predicting growth in planning department budgets (25%) rather than a contraction (22%), this has to be seen in the context of a 38% real-terms fall in net current expenditure on planning functions between 2010–11 and 2017–18.

Beyond resources though the current crisis feels more like an existential crisis of confidence. Catriona Riddell has written in Planning Magazine about low morale in local planning authorities, citing hostility towards planners and the planning system from what can feel like every quarter.

That low morale is manifesting itself in the ability of LPAs to attract and retain staff. “The biggest headaches surround securing the services of more experienced planners with 10 to 15 years under their belt”, said one head of service to Planning magazine. “There is only so long that vacancies can remain unfilled without a severe knock-on consequences for the delivery of services”.

This then is a 'Call for Evidence' to inform an episode that Sam is planning on the local authority staffing crisis with Catriona Riddell, Peter Geraghty and Paul Brocklehurst. What is life actually like on the front line? Are you a junior officer sat at home physically and operationally distant from your line manager, drowning in files that you have absolutely no chance of dealing with on your own? Are you a planning consultant being pushed by your client to get a scheme to committee being told by a senior officer that they’re already writing one report this month and couldn’t possible write two? Are you a Head of Service desperately trying to find somebody, anybody to help wade through tens of thousands of objections to your local plan consultation? Do you know people that have left the profession altogether? You might be considering that too? What would make you reconsider?

If you have any thoughts that you would like to share, either anonymously or publicly, please email Sam, if you can before the end of December, at samstafford@hotmail.com. All responses will be posted on the 50 Shades blog.

How widespread is the local authority staffing crisis and what can be done about it?

Some accompanying reading.

Planning Magazine's Town Hall Resources Survey

Catriona's Planning Magazine piece on LPA morale

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1734244/three-reasons-low-morale-planning-authorities-catriona-riddell

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

The Only Constant is Change

Sat, 04 Dec 2021 10:00:14 +0000

Sam Stafford gets back to 50 Shades basics and enjoys in this episode a gently meandering conversation with some of his friends about planning.

Sam could not though resist a typically verbose introduction...

""It is commonly observed”, said Samuel Johnson, “that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather; they are in haste to tell each other, what each must already know, that it is hot or cold, bright or cloudy, windy or calm."

One could make a case that when two English planners meet, their first talk is of planning reform.

In the former case, it is perhaps that, whilst the weather is changeable, the English temperament is not, and passing the time with such platitudinous pleasantries avoids, heaven forbid, the need to have a conversation about anything important.

In the latter case, constant talk of reform seems almost like a similar communal comfort blanket. It relegates responsibility for meaningful change to a higher power to enact at some point in the future, absolving the individual, be that an individual political or an individual planner, of responsibility for change in the here and now.

And what would Dr Johnson make of the language of reform? ‘Fixing’ or ‘solving’ something are absolutist terms being applied to something that is not only manifestly subjective, but also, in the case, of housing and the built environment, a function of an entire culture rather than a single regulatory regime. One supposes though that there is not many votes in ‘improving’ the planning system or ‘alleviating’ the housing crisis…

We need to talk about reform, but not for what it might mean in the future. For the impact that incessant talk of it is having in the present…"

Shelly Rouse, Principal Consultant at PAS (@Rouse_Shelly); Vicky Payne, planner and urban designer at URBED (@Victoria_Payne); and Paul Smith, Managing Director at Strategic Land Group (@Paul_SLG) try to make sense of that.

Some accompanying reading.

Vicky's report of the first Common Good event

https://journal.theaou.org/news-and-reviews/review-common-good-design-and-sustainability-in-the-north/

The RTPI's recent consultation responses

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/new-from-the-rtpi/?contentType=Consultations

'Beware of ‘Policy Intern Brain’ – the source of so many bad ideas' by Anya Martin

https://capx.co/beware-of-policy-intern-brain-the-source-of-so-many-bad-ideas/

Some accompanying listening.

Round and Round by King Creosote and Michael Johnston

https://soundcloud.com/m-j-789958593/02-round-and-round

Some accompanying viewing.

How policy is formulated in Westminster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_AM1W5rHGA

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

The Coastal Path

Sat, 06 Nov 2021 10:00:00 +0000

The Chief Medical Officer, in their annual report, presents to Government information or ‘surveillance’ about the health of England’s population, offering recommendations to both government and individual organisations as to how to improve the public health system.

In his 2021 report, published in July, Chris Whitty chose to report on health in coastal communities. It concluded that:

There are many reasons for poor health outcomes in coastal communities. The pleasant environment attracts older, retired citizens to settle, who inevitably have more and increasing health problems. An oversupply of guest housing has led to Houses of Multiple Occupation which lead to concentrations of deprivation and ill health. The sea is a benefit but also a barrier: attracting NHS and social care staff to peripheral areas is harder, catchment areas for health services are artificially foreshortened and transport is often limited, in turn limiting job opportunities. Many coastal communities were created around a single industry such as previous versions of tourism, or fishing, or port work that have since moved on, meaning work can often be scarce or seasonal.

Physical and natural environment? Demography? Housing? Transport? Employment? This, Sam Stafford thought, sounded like a good subject for exploration on a town planning-based podcast. What are the particular issues associated with planning for coastal communities? What distinguishes a successful coastal town from a less successful one? And what role does the planning system have in determining these outcomes?

Sam puts these questions to Louise Wood (@LWood_Cornwall), Service Director for Planning at Cornwall Council; Christopher Balch (@balchplyuni), Emeritus Professor at the University of Plymouth and Non-Executive Director at the Torbay & South Devon NHS Foundation Trust; and Warren Lever (@ShapeThePlace), Senior Conservation & Design Officer at New Forest District Council.

Some accompanying reading.

Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2021: health in coastal communities

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chief-medical-officers-annual-report-2021-health-in-coastal-communities

'Imagination is key to the revival of Britain’s seaside towns'

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/13/imagination-key-revival-of-britains-seaside-towns-banksy-norfolk

Levelling up: The seaside town debating what change is needed

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58248594

Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities - The future of seaside towns

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201719/ldselect/ldseaside/320/32004.htm#_idTextAnchor008

Higher education enables graduates to move to places with better career prospects – but this leads to brain drain from the North and coastal areas

https://ifs.org.uk/publications/15621

Trusting the People: the case for community-powered conservatism

https://www.newlocal.org.uk/publications/trusting-people-community/

Blue Deal For Coastal Communities

https://neweconomics.org/campaigns/blue-new-deal

Some accompanying viewing.

Councillors Ray Cox and Roy Evans discuss efforts to regenerate Marine Way in Aldington-on-Sea

https://youtu.be/aeARXMHW4Is

Some accompanying listening.

The Coral - Take me back to the summertime

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IREwDVoh558

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Doing Someone's Bidding

Sat, 16 Oct 2021 09:00:00 +0000

"We appreciate that these funds bring challenges to local councils and we want to ensure there are fewer competitions in the future and more consolidated opportunities to access government funding."

So said former Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick to the Local Government Conference in July 2021.

As 'No Place Left Behind' report from the Create Streets Foundation has noted, “despite the extreme pressures of the pandemic, the government has increasingly made funding available to kick start levelling up, with a strong focus on community and place.”

There are:

The Levelling Up Fund (worth £4.8bn);
The Towns Fund (£3.6bn);
A Shared Prosperity Fund worth £1.5bn per annum;
The Future High Streets Fund (£830m);
A Community Renewal Fund (worth £220m);
A Community Ownership Fund (£150m);
High Street Heritage Action Zones (£95m); and
A Welcome Back Fund (£56m).

The funding itself is clearly welcome, but Mr Jenrick was perhaps responding to criticism that all look set to be allocated competitively at Whitehall’s discretion and the National Audit Office did have something to say in 2020 about the discretion being exercised in the distribution of the Towns Fund.

What is the difference between success and failure when bidding for these funds? How hard is it in practice to realise a vision for a place, no matter how compelling and coherent, when implementation relies on a disparate and seemingly ever-evolving funding regime? Surely there is a better way, but what?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Ros Flowers, Economic Growth Senior Manager at Brent Council; Andy Rumfitt, Senior Director at Turley (@AndyRumfitt); and Jaimie Ferguson, Director at Open (@jaimieferg).

Some accompanying reading.

'No Place Left Behind', the report of the Commission into Prosperity and Community Placemaking established by the Create Streets Foundation

https://www.createstreetsfoundation.org.uk/no-place-left-behind/

'Inquiry raises concerns over how £3.6bn towns fund was distributed' - The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/11/inquiry-raises-concerns-over-how-36bn-towns-fund-was-distributed

'Want to ‘level up’ the UK? Just give places the power and money they need' - The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/19/level-up-uk-regions-local-authority-funding

'Fundamental shift in funding to local level needed to help level up English towns' - The National Infrastructure Commission

https://nic.org.uk/news/fundamental-shift-in-funding-to-local-level-needed-to-help-level-up-english-towns-recommends-commission/

'How Labour can rebuild the Red Wall across the North' - Labour for the North

https://labourlist.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Labours-Northern-Soul-%E2%80%94-How-Labour-Can-Rebuild-the-Red-Wall-Across-the-North.pdf

'Unlocking the potential of places' - Future Place

https://www.architecture.com/-/media/GatherContent/Test-resources-page/Additional-Documents/2019-Future-Place-report-Unlocking-the-Potential-of-Placespdf.pdf

Some accompanying listening.

You never give me your money - The Beatles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpndGZ71yww

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

A Fairway to Solve the Housing Crisis

Sat, 02 Oct 2021 09:00:00 +0000

This episode explores two crises, one of which is a very public one and the other a more private one. There is a housing crisis. Millions of people live in unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable homes; young people are living at home with their parents for longer; and the average age of first time buyers gets older.

At the same time there is something of a crisis in golf. There was a spike in 2020 as it became one of the few things that people could do outdoors during lockdown, but the longer term trends in both club membership and participation are very much downwards.

These crises intersect. Why, commentators have asked, given an over-provision of golf course supply and an under-provision of housing supply, don’t more golf courses come forward for development? If London’s golf courses, for example, were a borough in their own right it would bigger than Brent and only slightly smaller than Sutton. Given too that 43 of London’s golf courses are within public ownership, mostly the London boroughs themselves, why are they being used to the benefit of the few rather than the benefit of the many?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Russell Curtis, Director at RCKa (@russellcurtis); Tim Lloyd-Skinner, MD at Melior Golf and Regional Director at Golf Management Group (@GMG_Tim); and Kathryn Ventham, Director, at Barton Willmore (@kateventham).

Some accompanying reading.

Russell's 'Golf Belt' Blog

https://golfbelt.russellcurtis.co.uk/

'London golf courses could provide homes for 300,000 people, study says' - The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/aug/26/london-golf-courses-could-provide-homes-for-300000-people-study-says

'Golf’s stranglehold on land in London should be broken' - The New Statesman

https://www.newstatesman.com/2021/09/golf-s-stranglehold-land-london-should-be-broken

Some accompanying listening.

'Straight Down The Middle' by Bing Crosby

https://youtu.be/XDkV_41qEVM

Some accompanying viewing.

'The shot of a champion'. Sam's approach to the 18th at Belton Woods in 2017, the second of his now three wins in the prestigious Disco Steve Invitational Journey (commentary by Sam's friend Nigel).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgG0yevolZY

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Hitting the High Notes - Paul Barnard

Sat, 18 Sep 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening to this episode, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting The High Notes is Paul Barnard MBE (@Paul_Planning). Paul is Service Director for Strategic Planning & Infrastructure, his fifteenth job title at Plymouth City Council. Their conversation takes in hostels for the homeless; the Single Regeneration Budget; the importance of both a vision and a political consensus; and distributing CIL via the Crowdfunder platform.

Paul's song selections.

Rubicon by Killing Joke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtqBeBuBoKw

Shadowplay by Joy Division

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPt3-lB5Lsc

Home by Depeche Mode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZHs-SRJbzU

This is the Day by The The

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZYgKCbFbWY

Gnossiennes by Erik Satie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7kvGqiJC4g

A Night Like This by The Cure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE1nu67-U2I

This must be the place by Talking Heads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9gK2fOq4MY

Paul’s Spotify playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0IQk1lzFHsKdjDYmAjMX9R?si=AdqGUnMqRTWn8thenEyEWA&dl_branch=1

Some accompanying reading.

A Vision For Plymouth

https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/planningandbuildingcontrol/visionplymouth

Plymouth’s Plan for Homes

https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/housing/planhomes

Plymouth’s City Change Fund

https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/planningandbuildingcontrol/neighbourhoodplanning/citychangefund

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Our Friends in the North - Part 2

Sat, 04 Sep 2021 09:00:00 +0000

This is the second of two 50 Shades episodes that Stephen Gleave has put together. Stephen is an urban designer and town planner and has been based in the North West of England for nearly 30 years. Stephen was invited to guest edit the Summer 2021 edition of the Urban Design Group’s quarterly journal and Sam Stafford has lent the 50 Shades of Planning podcast as a platform for Stephen to share some of the material that he curated.

If you have listened to Part 1 you will know that Stephen set out to explore urban design in the north, the 'Northern Powerhouse' and what 'levelling up' might mean for placemaking. What are the current active urban designers “up to” across the north? What influence are they having, what are they achieving and what challenges are they facing?

Stephen sought input from a range of academics, consultants and practitioners in both public and private sectors and some of the contributors have kindly taken the time to read their essays for these two 50 Shades episodes.

Part 2 features Leah Stuart at Civic Engineers (@LeahStu) on movement in towns and across the region; Graeme Moore at Oldham Council (@geordiegraeme81) with a view from the front line; Graham Marshall at Prosocial Place (@prosocialplace) on how people are the northern powerhouse; and Matt Doran at Manchester City Council (@iammattdoran) on the future of our town and city centres.

Information on how to join the Urban Design Group and how to get hold of a copy of the Summer 2021 edition of the journal can be found here.

https://www.udg.org.uk/publications/journal/urban-design-159-summer-2021

Some of this contributors to this episode have come together to form Common Good, a non-profit group of practitioners acting in their own time to encourage discussions around sustainable places and good design in the North. Follow @CommonGood_ on Twitter.

Some accompanying watching.

Christopher Eccleston, writer Peter Flannery and executive producer Charlie Pattinson take part in a BFI Q&A to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Our Friends in the North

https://youtu.be/EM6sa_iQAl0

Some accompanying listening.

Northern Skies by I Am Kloot

https://youtu.be/wlmMumA0CMU

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Our Friends in the North - Part 1

Sat, 28 Aug 2021 09:00:00 +0000

For both this episode and the next one Sam Stafford hands over the 50 Shades reins to Stephen Gleave. Stephen is an urban designer and town planner and has been based in the North West of England for nearly 30 years. Stephen was invited to guest edit the Summer 2021 edition of the Urban Design Group’s quarterly journal and Sam has lent the 50 Shades of Planning podcast as a platform for Stephen to share some of the material that he curated.

Stephen set out to explore urban design in the north, the 'Northern Powerhouse' and what 'levelling up' might mean for placemaking. What are the current active urban designers “up to” across the north? What influence are they having, what are they achieving and what challenges are they facing?

Part 1 features David Roberts at Igloo (@david_igloo) talking about Riverside Sunderland; Vicky Payne at URBED (@Victoria_Payne) talking about an equitable approach to housing design quality; and Jaimie Ferguson at OPEN (@jaimieferg) talking about designing for prosperity (again...).

Information on how to join the Urban Design Group and how to get hold of a copy of the Summer 2021 edition of the journal can be found here.

https://www.udg.org.uk/publications/journal/urban-design-159-summer-2021

Some accompanying watching.

Our Friends in the North on Britbox

https://www.britbox.co.uk/programme/Our_Friends_in_the_North_46176

Some accompanying listening.

Hit The North by Frank Sidebottom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0elCZT8yN0

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Where Are We Now?

Sat, 07 Aug 2021 09:00:00 +0000

'Where are we now?' asks Sam Stafford in this episode not in the manner of an exasperated child in the back of a hot car staring out at a traffic jam on the M5, but in the manner of an exasperated planning professional contemplating why, as we hurtle towards the end of the second year of this parliamentary term, the Government’s vision for the planning system, nay the country, remains, let’s say charitably, in embryonic form.

A good indication as to where we are now comes from the raft of reports and speeches published and delivered by politicians and think tanks recently, seemingly with the aim of getting things off their desk before the end of term.

July 2021 brought:

A Robert Jenrick speech to the Local Government Association’s annual conference;
A Boris Johnson speech on his vision to level up the United Kingdom;
A Written Ministerial Statement from Robert Jenrick on building beautiful places alongside the revised NPPF and National Model Design Code;
Place Alliance’s Design Deficit report;
The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee’s report on Post-Pandemic Economic Growth and Levelling Up;
The Department for Transport’s Plan for Decarbonising transport: a better, greener Britain; and
Transparency International UK’s report: ‘House of Cards – Exploring access and influence in UK housing policy’.

Joining Sam to chew over that little lot and to get a feel, as everybody heads either up or down the motorway network for their summer hols, are four friends of, and regular contributors to, the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast.

Simon Ricketts (@sricketts1) is a Partner at Town Legal;
Shelly Rouse (@rouse_shelly) is a Principal Consultant at the Planning Advisory Service;
Vicky Payne (@Victoria_Payne) is a Senior Consultant at URBED; and
Paul Smith (@Paul_SLG) is Managing Director at the Strategic Land Group.

The 50 Shades of Planning Summer Holiday Reading List.

Robert Jenrick’s speech to the Local Government Association’s annual conference

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/local-government-association-annual-conference-2021-secretary-of-states-speech

Boris Johnson’s speech on his vision to level up the United Kingdom

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-prime-ministers-levelling-up-speech-15-july-2021

A Written Ministerial Statement from Robert Jenrick on building beautiful places (published alongside the revised NPPF and National Model Design Code)

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-07-20/hcws21

Place Alliance’s 'Design Deficit' report

http://placealliance.org.uk/research/design-deficit/

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee’s report on Post-Pandemic Economic Growth and Levelling Up

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/365/business-energy-and-industrial-strategy-committee/news/156781/governments-levelling-up-agenda-risks-becoming-an-everything-and-nothing-policy-say-business-committee/

‘Decarbonising transport: a better, greener Britain’ by the Department for Transport

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transport-decarbonisation-plan

‘House of Cards – Exploring access and influence in UK housing policy’ by Transparency International UK

https://www.transparency.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf/publications/House%20of%20Cards%20-%20Transparency%20International%20UK%20%28web%29.pdf

The Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2021 seeking a national strategy to improve the health of coastal communities

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chief-medical-officer-annual-report-2021

Some accompanying listening.

Holiday by Happy Mondays

https://youtu.be/kYRF7qcBMDg

50 Shades T-Shirts!

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Aging Well In Place

Sat, 17 Jul 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Hidden in the conclusions of the December 2020 Household Resilience Study (a Covid-specific follow-up to the English Housing Survey) was the striking statistic that 39% of households are under-occupied in that they have two or more spare bedrooms.

It is easy to leap to the assumption, as indeed Sam Stafford admits to in this episode, that these households are elderly people, perhaps single elderly people, rattling around in family homes that they cannot bear to leave. From there it is also easy to assume that by encouraging people to downsize better use can be made of the existing housing stock.

Why wouldn’t somebody want to move to a more manageable property or to a more sociable retirement community? It’s easy to paint a mental picture of ‘housing for older people’ without thinking too much more about it. Indeed, as Sam also admits, ‘housing for older people’ was the working title for this episode.

This episode is about challenging those, and other, assumptions and preconceptions. Is the UK actually unique amongst our Western friends in not having a culture of downsizing? If we should is that for the state or the market to foster? Why is the development community not responding to an aging population with more bespoke accommodation and, if more could be encouraged, what should it look like and where should it be?

Sam puts these questions to Silvia Gullino, Associate Professor in City Making at Birmingham City University; Graham Marshall, Director at ProSocial Place and Honorary Senior Fellow at Liverpool University; Rhiannon Corcoran, Professor of Psychology and Public Mental Health at Liverpool University; and Shannon Conway, Residential Director at Glenbrook Property.

Twitter handles:

@SilviaGullino
@BCU_Planning
@prosocialplace
@rhiannoncor
@PlaceWellbeing
@ShannonConway99
Glenbrookprop

Some accompanying reading.

Housing for older people - a report from the CLG Committee

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmcomloc/370/370.pdf

Homes for healthy ageing: Understanding the challenges - A Catapult Future of Housing blog

https://cp.catapult.org.uk/news/housing-the-elderly-understanding-the-challenges/

Last Time Buyers - a report from L&G

https://www.legalandgeneralgroup.com/assets/portal/files/pdf_175.pdf

Rightsizing: Reframing the housing offer for older people - a report based on research undertaken by PHASE at Manchester School of Architecture

https://www.msa.ac.uk/media/msaacuk/documents/research/Rightsizing_MSA.pdf

Guild Living wins planning appeal after ‘ageism’ row - Housing Today

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/guild-living-wins-planning-appeal-after-ageism-row/5112492.article

The ten key design criteria that make up the HAPPI principles from the Housing Learning and Improvement Network

https://www.housinglin.org.uk/Topics/browse/Design-building/HAPPI/

Some accompanying viewing

The Sopranos - ‘Green Grove is a retirement community...’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1KfNAtgGM4

Some accompanying listening

Older by Band of Horses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAdIYUI21s8

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

The Bin Lorry Effect

Sat, 03 Jul 2021 09:00:00 +0000

‘Well-intentioned highways department rules and guidance have had a devastating effect on new housing developments over the past 80 years. Many have led to roads not streets, units not homes, and ‘could-be-anywhere’ housing developments, not real places with centres and edges. A range of rules have the effect of stopping you getting out and about, preventing you meeting your neighbours, stopping you from creating communities and locking you into car dependence.’

That is a quote from the introduction to ‘The Bin Lorry Effect’, a briefing paper from Create Streets (see link below) about how 'new homes and places are ruined by highways regulations and how we can fight back'.

Can we, as planners, look at the schemes that we are involved with and confidently say that we would want to live on that road?

Are we creating places that are accessible for people aged 8 to 80?

Are we submitting and approving applications that follow desire lines for pedestrians and cyclists?

Are we supporting a 21st Century user hierarchy that places pedestrians and cyclists at the top, private motor vehicles at the bottom, and public transport in the middle?

If not, why not?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to David Milner, Deputy Director at Create Streets; Anna Parsons, Associate Design Director at Catesby Estates; and Alexis Edwards, Transport Development Team Leader at BCP Council.

David and Alexis are on Twitter at @djjmiler and @MrAlexisEdwards. Anna is not on Twitter.

Some accompanying reading.

'The Bin Lorry Effect' by Create Streets

https://www.createstreets.com/projects/the-bin-lorry-effect-11th-january/

Traffic in Towns – The Buchanan Report

https://www.udg.org.uk/publications/udlibrary/traffic-towns-buchanan-report

‘What’s wrong with modelling the ‘worst case’?’ by Rachel Aldred.

http://rachelaldred.org/writing/consultations/whats-wrong-with-modelling-the-worst-case/

‘What is the status of Manual for Streets?’ by Andrew Lainton

https://andrewlainton.wordpress.com/2021/01/31/what-is-the-status-of-manual-for-streets/

Road Investment Strategy 2 (RIS2): 2020 to 2025

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-investment-strategy-2-ris2-2020-to-2025

Traffic signs manual

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-signs-manual

'Transport appraisal: a pathway to poor decision making?' by Andy Cope of Sustrans

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/our-blog/opinion/2018/october/transport-appraisal-a-pathway-to-poor-decision-making

Some accompanying listening.

Less Than Useful by Ned's Atomic Dustbin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYqfB44lEF0

Some accompanying viewing.

'How bins should be collected', by H.J Simpson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwzV9SlNOTM

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

A Conversation with Clive Betts

Sat, 19 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Death, taxes and reform are the three certainties that accompany planners along life’s endless cycleway. Insofar as the latter is concerned, this is one of the more turbulent periods.

White Papers come and White Papers go, but last year’s was particularly notable for it’s almost wholesale reimagining of the planning system.

“Radical reform unlike anything we have seen since the Second World War”, wrote the Prime Minister in his foreword to ‘Planning for the future’. “Not more fiddling around the edges, not simply painting over the damp patches, but levelling the foundations and building, from the ground up, a whole new planning system for England.”

And since? Well there has not been a dicky bird from the Government, which is perhaps still wading through the 44,000 submissions to the consultation, and the debate, such that one can have a debate about a Planning Bill that has not been written yet, seems to have been captured by those who do not like whatever might be in it.

What then to make of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Select Committee’s report on the future of the planning system, which concluded with concerns about "the lack of detail, which has made it very difficult to assess the possible practical implications. The Government should consult on the details of proposed reforms to prevent unintended consequences and harms resulting from them”.

Does the Select Committee’s report provide proponents of the White Paper with the homework required to make the proposals more palatable? Or does the report provide opponents of the White Paper with enough ammunition to hole it below the water line? And what is a Select Committee anyway?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Clive Betts MP, the Chair of the HCLG Committee who you will hear say that 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. This quote now features on a 50 Shades of Planning Podcast t-shirt, which is available to buy in black or white and in S, M and L sizes. If you would like one please email samstafford@hotmail.com.

Some reading to accompany this episode.

Planning for the future

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/planning-for-the-future

The future of the planning system in England, a report by the HCLG Committee

https://committees.parliament.uk/work/634/the-future-of-the-planning-system-in-england/publications/

Notes on planning reform: “the algorithm warmed us all up”, by Zack Simons

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/notes-on-planning-reform-the-algorithm-warmed-us-all-up

Taking Stock - The geography of housing need, permissions and completions, by Lichfields

https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/taking-stock-the-geography-of-housing-need-permissions-and-completions

Some accompanying listening.

White Paper by Finley Quaye

https://youtu.be/GK8osGlsVgE

Some Are More Equal Than Others

Sat, 05 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +0000

What is town planning for? The Royal Town Planning Institute champions the ‘power of planning in creating prosperous places and vibrant communities’. The Town & Country Planning Association ‘works to challenge, inspire and support people to create healthy, sustainable and resilient places that are fair for everyone’. As Raymond Unwin wrote in the foreword to the Housing, Town Planning, Etc, Act of 1909: "Town Planning has a prosaic sound, but the words stand for a movement which has perhaps a more direct bearing on the life and happiness of great masses of the people than any other single movement of our time”.

Who is town planning for? How are we to reconcile these lofty ambitions with the fact that black and other minorities are at least twice as likely to be deprived of green space compared to a white person in the UK; with the fact the average amount of money accrued by owning property over the last decade is £150,000 for the average white family and £0 for the average black family; and with the fact that whilst 3% of White households live in overcrowded accommodation, that figure rises to 22% for Black households, 23% for Indian households and 35% for Pakistani and Bangladeshi households.

Does planning remain a progressive force for social justice or has it become a regressive tool for the preservation of the status quo?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Danny Dorling (@dannydorling), Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography and Fellow of St Peter's College at Oxford University; Vicky Payne (@Victoria_Payne), planner and urbanist at URBED; and Ben Southwood (@bswud), Head of Housing, Transport & Urban Space at Policy Exchange.

Some accompanying reading.

Covid spread as overcrowding doubles among private renters in England.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/apr/24/covid-spread-as-overcrowding-doubles-among-private-renters-in-england

'Capital cities: How the planning system creates housing shortages and drives wealth inequality'.

https://www.centreforcities.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-06-13-Capital-cities-how-the-planning-system-creates-housing-shortages-and-drives-wealth-inequality.pdf

How London's property boom left Black Britons with nothing.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-05-18/uk-property-wealth-data-2021-show-big-gap-between-black-and-white-homeowners

One in three adults in Britain 'do not have a safe or secure home'.

https://www.bigissue.com/latest/one-in-three-adults-in-britain-do-not-have-a-safe-or-secure-home/#:~:text=One%20in%20three%20adults%20in%20Britain%20do%20not%20have%20a,housing%20crisis%20than%20white%20people.

Resourcing Public Planning

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/policy/2019/november/resourcing-public-planning/

A housing design audit for England.

http://placealliance.org.uk/research/national-housing-audit/

The cost of the cuts: The impact on local government and poorer communities.

https://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/default/files/jrf/migrated/files/Summary-Final.pdf

All that is solid: How the great housing disaster defines our times and what we can do about it.

http://www.dannydorling.org/books/allthatissolid/

Deciphering the fall and rise in the net capital share.

https://www.brookings.edu/bpea-articles/deciphering-the-fall-and-rise-in-the-net-capital-share/

Some accompanying listening.

Fixer Upper by Yard Act

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdJj3soqn-4

Hitting the High Notes - Ben Castell

Sat, 15 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening to this episode, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting The High Notes is Aecom Director Ben Castell (@ben_castell). Their conversation takes in the New Deal For Communities; CABE; good practice design guides; the Housing Market Renewal Initiative and neighbourhood planning.

Ben's song selections.

Brickbat by Billy Bragg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgKKZSF04Ks

Clandestino by Manu Chao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSEUH4KRfN8

Police & Thieves by Junior Murvin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlP3J3J3Upw

Honest Life by Courtney Marie Andrews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cv0ATLNDJQ

Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town by Kenny Rogers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1e9p6J89rQ

NW5 by Madness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1J2-_u9DOM

Ben's Spotify playlist.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6IXe20tZ0BPbd4kwTa6iN3?si=uDSo6r43TjuwQ-rEZkwcEA&dl_branch=1

Fudge

Sat, 01 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000

"Thanks to our planning system, we have nowhere near enough homes in the right places. People cannot afford to move to where their talents can be matched with opportunity. Businesses cannot afford to grow and create jobs. The whole thing is beginning to crumble and the time has come to do what too many have for too long lacked the courage to do – tear it down and start again."

So said the Prime Minister in the Foreword to 2020’s ‘Planning for the future’ White Paper.

“Instead of new homes being built where demand to live is greatest, they will now be built where a group of Conservative backbenchers in the south east think people should live.”

So said Paul Brocklehurst, Chair of the Land Promoters & Developers Federation, in response to the Government’s decision not to proceed with the changes to the standard method for calculating local housing need that were consulted upon in parallel to the White Paper.

Whilst the second iteration of the standard method represents business as usual for the majority of LPAs, for the 33 London authorities and 19 other largest cities the new standard method represents, at face value at least, something of a headache. That is, of course, unless the new standard method is exposed in short order as the sticking plaster that many take it for. If not the ‘mutant algorithm’ though, and not this second iteration, then how should a standard method be calculated? And if a Government with a healthy majority cannot tackle what could have been a relatively straightforward change to the standard method how likely now are the genuinely reformist elements of the White Paper?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Christopher Young QC of No. 5 Chambers (@No5Planning); Shelly Rouse (@rouse_shelly), Principal Consultant at the Planning Advisory Service (@pas_team); and Colin Robinson, Director at Lichfields (@LichfieldsUK).

Some accompanying reading.

Government response to the local housing need proposals in "Changes to the current planning system.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-the-current-planning-system

Chris' Topic Paper - 'It's the housing numbers, Stupid.'

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/christopher-young-qc-3097b822_article-on-the-governments-new-standard-activity-6709337597438672897-FdwJ

Lichfields' blog - 'Your Official Top 20: The new Standard Method and the cities/urban centres uplift'.

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2021/january/11/your-official-top-20-the-new-standard-method-and-the-citiesurban-centres-uplift/

Lichfields' blog - 'Mangling the mutant: change to the standard method for local housing need'.

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2020/december/16/mangling-the-mutant-change-to-the-standard-method-for-local-housing-need/

Inside Housing - 'Councils hit out at government’s ‘unrealistic’ new planning formula'.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/councils-hit-out-at-governments-unrealistic-new-planning-formula-69616

Some accompanying viewing.

Dumb & Dumber - Official Trailer

https://youtu.be/l13yPhimE3o

Cracking the Code

Sat, 10 Apr 2021 09:16:25 +0000

“We should aspire to pass on our heritage to our successors, not depleted but enhanced. In order to do that, we need to bring about a profound and lasting change in the buildings that we build, which is one of the reasons we are placing a greater emphasis on locally popular design, quality and access to nature, through our national planning policies and introducing the National Model Design Codes.”

So said Robert Jenrick when announcing at the end of January 2021 the Government’s response to the report of the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission. As well as the creation of an ‘Office for Place’, which is to support local communities in determining the standard for all new buildings in their area, the NPPF is to be revised to place greater emphasis on beauty, place-making and, of course, tree-lined streets.

In addition, a new paragraph 127 of the NPPF will state that all LPAs should prepare design guides or codes consistent with the principles set out in the National Design Guide and the new National Model Design Code (NMDC).

The NMDC itself though, as one of it’s authors, David Rudlin of URBED has admitted, is not a code at all but a guide to writing codes.

An increased emphasis on the design quality of new development, and a national framework for design standards for LPAs to set policy and determine individual decisions by, can only be a good thing. There seems to be a huge leap though from where we are now to all LPAs having a design code or guide in place within three years, which the Chief Planner has written to them requesting. And what, for example, is the Code’s relationship with the White Paper? Are Codes for every street or just ‘Growth’ and ‘Renewal’ areas? And whilst agreement on what constitutes a good design code should be easy to achieve, agreement on what constitutes good design, let alone beautiful design, is perhaps harder achieve. Are expectations for what a NMDC can achieve being set unrealistically high?

Joining Sam Stafford to discuss these issues in this episode are Paul Smith, Vicky Payne, Louise Wood and Ben Woolnough. Paul (@paul_slg) is Managing Director at the Strategic Land Group; Vicky (@Victoria_Payne) is a planner and urban designer at URBED; Louise (@LWood_Cornwall) is Service Director for Planning at Cornwall Council; and Ben (@benhoward_w) is Major Sites & Infrastructure Manager at East Suffolk Council.

Some accompanying reading.

National Model Design Code

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957205/National_Model_Design_Code.pdf

Guidance Notes for Design Codes

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957207/Guidance_notes_for_Design_Codes.pdf

Design Skills in English Local Authorities

https://www.udg.org.uk/publications/otherpub/design-skills-english-local-authorities

‘Unlocking The Code’ by David Rudlin

https://www.bdonline.co.uk/opinion/unlocking-the-code-with-one-of-its-authors/5110463.article

Some accompanying listening.

Code of the Streets by Gang Starr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1kwZUeog30

Hitting the High Notes - Victoria Hills

Sat, 27 Mar 2021 08:59:15 +0000

Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening to this episode, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting The High Notes is Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the RTPI. Their conversation takes in Victoria's early work at Wycombe District Council, her move, via Steer Davies Gleave, to the Greater London Authority and from there her role at the Old Oak & Park Royal Development Corporation.

Victoria's song selections.

Born Slippy (Nuxx) by Underworld

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiMrrleH_hI

Empire State Of Mind Part (II) Broken Down by Alicia Keys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHagigQRKqU

One Day Like This by Elbow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NFV8dHrZYM

We Built This City by Starship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1b8AhIsSYQ&list=PL6wOMbu1YOMf3upseLQzqThCAnl4iMjxf&index=162

Another Brick In The Wall (Part II) by Pink Floyd

https://youtu.be/YR5ApYxkU-U

You Get What You Give by New Radicals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL7-CKirWZE

Victoria's Spotify playlist.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5IxkETjpfPe4rAMsUnr87y?si=LEgI_Y_RQnW0yYM9JTlK6Q

EA in the UK after the EU

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 19:32:11 +0000

As a 50 Shades of Planning Podcast listener you will be perceptive enough to have spotted that the United Kingdom has left the European Union. Town Planners will have noted in so doing that the regulatory regime for the assessment of environmental impact within the UK’s planning processes has been at least heavily influenced by, and at most grown to mirror, the rules, regulations and judgements emanating from and handed down in Brussells and Strasbourg.

Environmental Assessment is on the Government’s ‘to do list’, though perhaps not very near the top. Environment Minister George Eustice said in July 2020 that a new consultation on changing our approach to environmental assessment and mitigation in the planning system would be launched that Autumn. It wasn’t, but when it does appear what will it herald for EA in the UK after the EU? Is Brexit a welcome opportunity to reset EA on to a more proportionate footing? Is Brexit an unwelcome threat to a well-established regulatory regime that could be exploited through gaps in an ever-evolving planning process? Might Brexit actually be both?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Janice Morphet (Visiting Professor at UCL), Simon Ricketts (Partner at Town Legal LLP) and Lucy Wood (Director in the National Infrastructure & Environmental Planning Team at Barton Willmore).

Simon is on Twitter at @sricketts1 and Janice is @janicemorphet. Lucy wisely steers clear.

Some accompanying reading.

George Eustace’s speech on environmental recovery (July 2020).

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/george-eustice-speech-on-environmental-recovery-20-july-2020

‘Environmental Impact Assessment fit for the 21st Century’ by William Nicolle and Benedict McAleenan.

https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Planning-Anew.pdf

‘Brexit & Planning’ by Simon.

https://simonicity.com/2020/12/27/brexit-planning-an-update/

Achieving government’s long-term environmental goals by the Public Accounts Committee.

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/news/138912/time-is-running-out-government-must-move-on-from-aspirational-words-and-start-taking-the-hard-decisions/

‘Since I Left EU – The Future of Environmental Assessment’, a Town Legal Webinar.

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/fBb38De_I4Yj_k3pdgTb-tU_ND_s0bmvcec2hWwWykytvXxfms3GzplB-ie0MyjUXIRcvgLdnUPizMlV.WMevhO6_9R0nDfLx?continueMode=true&_x_zm_rtaid=1ccFNtFCRsiD014UPCtfGQ.1611249256049.2050083b081ea8cc0a1284d86864b609&_x_zm_rhtaid=371

Some accompanying listening.

'Frogs, Toads and Newts' by Frits Wentink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJHCRDvlEos

Neutral Impact

Sat, 27 Feb 2021 15:38:56 +0000

Eutrophication might not have been a word that planners came across too often before November 2018, but many now know if they didn’t before then that it is the process by which nutrient-laden water encourages algae growth to the extent that it starves water and sediments of oxygen, forms a barrier to birds feeding, smothers seagrass beds and saltmarshes.

Until November 2018 it was largely the case that an Appropriate Assessment undertaken to accompany development proposals affecting nutrient-sensitive Special Protection Areas (SPAs) would conclude that any impacts could be mitigated against. That month, however, the European Court of Justice ruled in two joined cases relating to the EU Habitats Directive, which together are know as the ‘Dutch case’. Depending on your point of view, this judgement either significantly raised the assessment bar or provided welcome clarification on how the Directive should have been being interpreted anyway. Either way, subsequent advice from Natural England, at first in relation to the Solent SPA, recommended that LPAs in and around sensitive areas should withhold planning permission unless negative impacts of development can be ruled out completely.

Eighteen months later the ramifications of the requirement for nitrogen and phosphorous neutrality are still being felt. What has the impact of this issue been? How far away is a satisfactory resolution in those parts of the country that have been affected? And, with change afoot for both the post-Brexit environmental assessment regime and the planning system more broadly, what lessons can be drawn for planning at the scale of a river catchment?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to James Cording (Turley), Max Tant (Kent County Council), Graham Horton (Natural England) and Marian Cameron (Marian Cameron Consultants Ltd).

Some accompanying reading.

Version 5 of Natural England’s ‘Advice on Achieving Nutrient Neutrality for New Development in the Solent Region’.

https://www.push.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Natural-England%E2%80%99s-latest-guidance-on-achieving-nutrient-neutrality-for-new-housing-development-June-2020.pdf

‘Solent nitrogen neutrality: 18 months on, where are we now?’ by Turley.

https://www.turley.co.uk/comment/solent-nitrogen-neutrality-18-months-where-are-we-now

The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust’s Nitrate Reduction Programme

https://www.hiwwt.org.uk/reducing-nitrates-solent

The Unearned Increment

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 23:24:42 +0000

Consensus between economists is rare, but almost all agree that there is a moral argument for the taxation of land.

Planning reform, death and taxes have long been three of life’s certainties. Land taxation and the concept of betterment dates back at least to the time of Henry VI who is thought to have captured the value of land improved by royal investment in flood defences.

Winston Churchill spoke in 1919 of the “unearned increment” accrued by landowners following public investment in infrastructure and called for the state to capture more of this uplift for the public benefit.

The MHCLG Select Committee concluded in it’s 2018 Land Value Capture report that ‘there is scope for central and local government to claim a greater proportion of land value increases through reforms to existing taxes and charges, improvements to compulsory purchase powers, or through new mechanisms of land value capture.’

History has shown though that attempts to capture land value increases have had mixed success. Is it actually possible to capture a fair share for the community without discouraging owners from bringing land to market? Liz Peace, referring to her work as Chair of the 2017 CIL Review Group, said that ‘it is probably the most intellectually difficult thing I have ever grappled with’.

Councillor Martin Tett of the Local Government Association told the MHCLG Select Committee that “if it was easy everyone would have done it years ago”.

How much value is it right to capture, how should it be captured and who should spend it on what?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Richard Harwood OBE QC, Toby Lloyd and Gilian Macinnes.

Richard (@richardharwood2) is Joint Head of Chambers at 39 Essex Chambers and a case editor of the Journal of Planning and Environment Law

Toby (@tobylloyd) is a consultant at BuiltPlace, former Head of Policy at Shelter and a former special advisor inside No. 10.

Gilian (@GilianGMAC) is a Director at Gilian Macinnes Associates, Interim Head of Planning & Development at Ashford Borough Council and a member of the CIL Review Group.

Some accompanying reading.

'Land Value Capture: Attitudes from the housebuilding industry' by RICS.

https://www.rics.org/uk/news-insight/research/research-reports/land-value-capture-attitudes-from-the-house-building-industry-on-alternative-mechanisms/

The Compulsory Purchase Association's submission to the MHCLG Committee.

https://www.compulsorypurchaseassociation.org/files/Submission-to-the-Housing,-Communities-and-Local-Government-Committee.pdf

The MHCLG Committee's Land Value Capture report.

https://www.compulsorypurchaseassociation.org/files/House-of-Commons---LVC---Committee-Report---Sept-2018.pdf

'Land Value Capture' by Richard Harwood.

http://www.compulsorypurchaseassociation.org/files/Land-Value-Capture-paper-final.pdf

'A New Approach To Developer Contributions' by the CIL Review Team.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/589637/CIL_REPORT_2016.pdf

'Grounds for Change - The case for land reform in modern England' by Shelter.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1779418/Grounds_For_Change.pdf

Planning for the Future; Challenges of introducing a new Infrastructure Levy need to be addressed' by Christine Whitehead, Tony Crook and John Henneberry.

https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lselondon/planning-for-the-future-challenges-of-introducing-a-new-infrastructure-levy-need-to-be-addressed/

Some accompanying listening.

Taxman by The Beatles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DGn7eUU4kA

This Land Is Your Land by My Morning Jacket (Woody Guthrie cover).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AvTezD4XIU

Can the British plan?

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 23:10:44 +0000

'Can the British plan? Sometimes it seems unlikely. Across the world we see grand designs and visionary projects: new airport terminals, nuclear power stations, high-speed railways, and glittering buildings. It all seems an unattainable goal on Britain's small and crowded island; and yet perhaps this is too pessimistic. For the British have always planned, and much of what we have today is the result of past plans, successfully implemented...'

This is the synopsis of 'Great British Plans' by Ian Wray that Sam Stafford cannily pilfers for the introduction to this episode in which Sam discusses the book with both Ian and his daughter, and past 50 Shades contributor, Katie Wray (@kluw).

The book takes in London's squares, Milton Keynes, 'HS1', the motorways and the secret first electronic computers. Sam, Ian and Katie's conversation takes in the glorious revolution, black swans, lawyers, lobbyists and mavericks.

'Great British Plans' can be heartily recommended to students of history and as well as students of town planning. The relationship between planning and politics is a path well-trodden, but perhaps less well appreciated is the relationship between planning and the culture, the institutions and, indeed, the institutional culture of this scepted isle. It is easy to see how electoral priorities drive short-term political decision-making, but the book explores the factors at play, or more often in fact not at play, in longer-term political decision making, which will be of interest to anybody interested in why change happens, or more often in fact, why change does not happen.

Great British Plans.

https://www.routledge.com/Great-British-Plans-Who-made-them-and-how-they-worked/Wray/p/book/9780415711425

Some accompanying listening.

Ian's band’s lockdown version of Blue Skies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP-KkkoE4mM&ab_channel=OutoftheBlueJazzOrchestra

Reflections on 2020 - Part 2

Sun, 27 Dec 2020 10:28:01 +0000

Is it right that old times be forgotten, asks Robert Burns in the opening line of Auld Lang Syne. Instinctively one might want to say yes to that insofar as 2020 is concerned. Much has been lost, but it’s also right to say that much has been gained too. We are at home more, a trend that might have happened at a much slower pace if at all in some places, and we are perhaps working more patiently and emphatically with each other, which is a trend that probably would not have happened at all. It has made us appreciate more the old times before 2020. The simple joy of just being with people, which we have learnt not to take for granted again. We can also take heart from the simple fact that, having faced down the challenges that this year has presented, we can be a little less fearful of whatever else is around the corner.

You will have spotted, all being well, the ‘Part 2’ in the title of this episode and so have already listened to Part 1, but if not, and it is by no means mandatory to have done so, this is the second of two episodes that feature reflections on an extraordinary year from past contributors to the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast. Sam Stafford's only editorial stipulation was that recordings were about five minutes in length. Whatever people wanted to talk about was completely up to them.

You will hear in this episode erudite and insightful observations from:

Lisa McFarlane;
David Rudlin;
Greg Dickson;
Andrew Taylor;
Stanzie Bell;
Claire Petricca-Riding;
Vanessa Eggleston; and
Mark Parkinson.

Lisa (@lmcfarlane01) is a Director and RIBA Specialist Conservation Architect at Seven Architecture and featured on Episode 31.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-mcfarlane-ba-hons-barch-msc-che-riba-sca-ihbc-3ab5412

David (@Davidurbedcoop1) is a Director at URBED and featured on Episode 12.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/djrudlin

Greg (@GregDickson1) is a Director at Barton Willmore and a regular contributor to the podcast.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-dickson-4762263a

Andrew (@AndrewJTaylor3) is Group Planning Director at Countryside and featured on Episode 17.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-taylor-frtpi-42555131

Stanzie is a Barrister at Kings Chambers (@KCPlanningTeam) and featured on Episode 32.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/constanze-stanzie-bell

Claire (@PetriccaRiding) is a Partner and National Head of Planning and Environmental Law at Irwin Mitchell and featured on Episode 25.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairepetriccariding

Vanessa is a Partner at i-Transport and featured on Episode 23.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-eggleston-6132131b0

Mark (@MarkA_Parkinson) is Chief Executive Officer at Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and featured on Episode 9.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-parkinson-972816b3

Some accompanying reading.

The blog Sam wrote whilst on furlough leave in April.

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2020/04/memories-of-200809-career-advice-for-my.html

Reflections on 2020 - Part 1

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 18:37:00 +0000

Little did Sam Stafford know when recording Episode 14 in Manchester at the end of February 2020 that every episode for the rest of the year, and who knows how far beyond, would need to be recorded remotely.

This is the first of two episodes that feature reflections on 2020 from past contributors to the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast. It is hoped that it serves two purposes. More immediately, it is hoped that in taking the time to listen you get chance to reflect on what you might have been through this year. It might help you realise what you have actually achieved and, on the other side of the coin, that you might not have been the only one to have struggled at times. Looking ahead, it is hoped that these episodes serve as a kind of time capsule. Something to listen back on in the future, however it pans out, and remember just what an extraordinary year it has been.

Sam's only editorial stipulation was that recordings were about five minutes in length. Whatever people wanted to talk about was completely up to them, but as you will here, the themes that emerge are quite similar.

So in this episode you will hear erudite and insightful observations from…

Sue Manley;
Alistair Lomax;
Vicky Payne;
Hannah Hickman;
Catriona Riddell;
Mike Best; and
Katie Wray.

Sue is a Director at Placemarque (@placemarque) and featured on Episode 28.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sue-manley-72542627

Alistair (@alistair_lomax) is a Director at the Arc Universities Group and featured on Episode 18.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alistair-lomax-13b00413

Vicky (@Victoria_Payne) is a planner and urbanist at URBED and is a regularly contributor to the podcast.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-payne-6b05b939

Hannah is a Director at Hannah Hickman Consulting and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of the West of England. She featured on Episode 24.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahhickman1

Catriona (@CatrionaRiddel1) is a Director at Catriona Riddell Associate and featured on Episode 21.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/catriona-riddell-b418a322

Mike (@bestlaidplan) is a Senior Director at Turley and featured on Episode 9.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-best-083306b

Katie (@kluw) is an Assistant Director at Deloitte and featured on Episode 28.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-wray-mrtpi-a91a5827

Some accompanying reading.

A blog Sam wrote whilst on furlough leave in April.

https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2020/04/memories-of-200809-career-advice-for-my.html

A plug for Sam's brother-in-law's audio visual business (in lieu of having to pay for some kit).

https://www.sight-n-sound.co.uk/index.html

Tall Stories

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 14:09:37 +0000

The nights have drawn in. It’s impossible as in previous years to nip out for a pint in order to escape Strictly or Celeb (at least it is in Tier 3). A long, inhospitable winter will have to be endured before there is any possibility of a springtime shot in the arm and a return to something approaching normal. Sprinkled on top of this bleakness for planners is that the handling of the White Paper arguably makes planning’s systemic challenges harder to tackle than should have been hoped for.

Yes it’s fair to say that good cheer is in short supply, but, fear not, the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast is here to spread some. Sam Stafford is joined in this episode by David Diggle (@Diggs16), Vicky Payne (@Victoria_Payne) and Shelly Rouse (@rouse_shelly) to share some of their funny career stories. There are contributions too from Jonathan Easton (@jonnye47) and Sam Smith (@SmithSam_).

As anybody familiar with the case of the Headington shark will know, any system of control must make some small place for the dynamic, the unexpected, the downright quirky. As anybody working within the planning system will attest, it certainly does make place for the dynamic, the unexpected, the downright quirky...

Legal Eagles

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 14:58:47 +0000

Planning law is a serious business. If the lawyers need calling in then typically something going very well needs safeguarding or something going very badly needs salvaging. If lawyers do get called in then matters also get very formal. A protocol for this and a correct way of doing that. Lawyers and the law are to be revered...

Planning law seems more important, more influential and more high-profile than ever. Planning lawyers themselves though seem more accessible, more engaging and more approachable. Are the protocols, processes and procedures for liaising with our learned friends becoming less stuffy? What though will still have a barrister looking down their nose at if you if you get it wrong? And what can barristers do that solicitors can’t?

Sam Stafford is joined in this episode by Simon Ricketts, Constanze Bell (Stanzie to her friends), and Jerry Cahill QC to discuss these questions; the role of the lawyer in the planning system; and to answer the questions that Sam has always been too scared to ask.

Ubiquitous planning lawyer Simon (@sricketts1) is a partner at Town Legal LLP (@town_legal).

Stanzie is a barrister at Kings Chambers (@KCPlanningTeam) and one of the highest rated juniors according to Planning Resource.

Jerry retired in 2018 after over 40 years at the bar (35 with No.5 Chambers), but is keeping his eye in from south west Ireland with Lone Star Land.

Some accompanying reading.

Simon's Blog (which is definitely pronounced Simon-icity)

https://simonicity.com/

Some accompanying viewing.

North Square

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/north-square

Crown Court

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140733/

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Freeholder

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 09:00:00 +0000

‘We want to ensure that we have a system in place that enables the creation of beautiful places that will stand the test of time’ states the 'Planning for the future' White Paper. Not just well-designed places. Beautiful places.

The Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, set up to advise government on how to promote and increase the use of high-quality design for new build homes and neighbourhoods, proposed that beautiful placemaking be a legally enshrined aim of the planning system.

There is a school of thought promulgating the idea that beauty will help make the public more accepting of new development. As then Secretary of State James Brokenshire wrote in a forward to Policy Exchange’s ‘Building Beautiful Places’ report: ‘to unlock the building of homes at the scale and rate where they are required, we need to overcome public opposition to new development. The promise of beautiful homes and places that add value and character to the area they are built, rather than take away from it, is an essential part of that.’

The public though, when asked about possible advantages that might increase support for more homes being built in their local area, rank higher quality design behind medical facilities, transport links, employment opportunities, affordable housing, green spaces, schools, leisure facilities and shops.

Is beauty in the built environment different to good design? Are beautiful, well-designed places and buildings being created because of, or in spite of, the planning system? Can the planning system better enable the creation of beautiful, well-designed places and, if so, how? And would that really overcome perceived public objections to the principle of development?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Jaimie Ferguson, Director at Open (Optimised Environments Ltd); Lisa Mcfarlane, Director and RIBA Specialist Conservation Architect at Seven Architecture; and Paul Smith, Managing Director at The Strategic Land Group.

Thanks to Jaimie for the title of this episode.

Twitter handles:

Sam - @samuel_stafford

Jaimie - @jaimieferg

Lisa - @lmcfarlane01

Paul - @Paul_SLG

Some accompanying reading.

Public attitudes to house building: findings from the British Social Attitudes survey 2018.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-attitudes-to-house-building-findings-from-the-british-social-attitudes-survey-2018

Architects hope to tear down garden fences of England's future homes.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/aug/23/architects-hope-tear-down-garden-fences-england-future-homes

Strategic Land Group's Research Paper: Perceptions of the design quality of new build homes in England.

https://strategiclandgroup.co.uk/2020/07/17/design-quality-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/

Place Alliance's Housing Design Audit for England.

http://placealliance.org.uk/research/national-housing-audit/

Some accompanying viewing.

Homer is asked to design a car for the company run by his long-lost brother.

https://youtu.be/WFZUB1eJb34

The High Street is dead, long live the High Street.

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 12:55:59 +0000

‘Vital and Viable’, the good practice guidance that accompanied the old PPG6 included a large survey of planning authorities. A fifth of town centres in 1995, it was reported, were then thought to be ‘declining’, while only a few metropolitan cities and historic towns thought of themselves as ‘vibrant’.

What would the results of such a survey be now?

Oasis, Warehouse, Debenhams and Cath Kidston have filed for administration and between M&S, John Lewis, Boots and WH Smith 14,000 jobs could be at risk.

According to the ONS, online sales in March were up 13% year-on-year, including a substantial 52% growth in sales of household goods. ONS data up to 26 July showed that footfall in UK High Streets, retail parks and shopping centres was 60% of what it was a year previously.

On the one hand, with just one in six workers back in the office and two-thirds of chief executives predicting a move to low density office usage, the prospects for city centre sandwich shops and bars that rely on lunchtime and after work trade look bleak. On the other hand the prospects for independent businesses in the towns and villages where former commuters might be spending their money look rosier.

Can the High Street be saved? Should the High Street be saved? What, indeed, do we even mean by the High Street? What role does the planning system have in answering these questions?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Iain Jenkinson, Rebecca Trevalyan and Bill Grimsey.

Iain (@iain_jenkinson) is a Senior Director at CBRE and has spent twenty years advising private and public sector clients on city and town centre regeneration projects.

Rebecca (@RTrevalyan) is a co-founder of social enterprise Library of Things and an advocate for community-powered neighbourhoods. Rebecca co-authored the Grimsey Review Covid-19 Supplement Report: ‘Build Back Better’.

Bill (@BillGrimsey) is known for his leadership at Wickes, Iceland and Focus, and is arguably the most high-profile advocate for our High Streets, publishing reports in 2013 and 2018, as well as the recent Covid-19 update mentioned above.

Some accompanying reading.

The Grimsey Review Covid-19 Supplement Report: ‘Build Back Better’.

http://www.vanishinghighstreet.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Grimsey-Covid-19-Supplement-June-2020.pdf

'Life after Coronavirus: A new high street is waiting — if we’re brave enough to reimagine access to property' by Rebecca.

https://medium.com/@rebecca.trevalyan/life-after-coronavirus-a-new-high-street-is-waiting-if-were-brave-enough-to-reimagine-access-9b123875d6f

'The future of high streets and how we can all play a part' by Chris Sands.

https://totallylocally.org/stuff/blog/the-future-of-high-streets-how-we-can-all-play-a-part/

'A different way to save the high street' by Josh Lowe.

https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/high-street-shops-community-marks-and-spencer

Rebecca's Twitter Mega-Thread on alternative uses.

https://twitter.com/rtrevalyan/status/1270662358600425472?s=21

Participatory City.

http://www.participatorycity.org/about

Some accompanying listening.

'Shopping' by the Pet Shop Boys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoIe_JatFfI

The Numbers Game

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 20:00:20 +0000

“At the moment, some local authorities can duck potentially difficult decisions, because they are free to come up with their own methodology for calculating ‘objectively assessed need’. So, we are going to consult on a new standard methodology for calculating ‘objectively assessed need’, and encourage councils to plan on this basis.”

So said the ‘Fixing our broken housing market’ White Paper in February 2017.

It might have been hoped that the introduction of the standard method in 2018 would breathe new life into the non-housing chapters of local plans that were struggling to breathe on account of the numbers debate sucking all of the oxygen out of the examination process. Whilst the concept was simpler than the 2012 NPPF’s requirement to assess OAN, it could be argued that as merely and ‘starting point’, and with “exceptional circumstances” still to be taken into account, as well as the household projections being fed into the formula seemingly changing as often as the seasons, the standard method has made little, if any, difference to local plan timescales.

Here we are now digesting the implications of the proposed 2020 version of the standard method, as well as the further reform included in the housing-focussed ‘Planning for the future’ White Paper. Has the standard method improved plan making? Do the 2020 standard method and the White Paper’s proposals represent a step forwards, a step backwards or step sideways? Or infact does the numbers game simply involve going around and around in circles?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Christopher Young, Queens Counsel at No. 5 Chambers; Shelly Rouse, Principal Planner at Canterbury City Council on secondment at the Planning Advisory Service; and Colin Robinson, Director at Lichfields.

Some accompanying reading.

The Local Plan Expert's Group report.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508345/Local-plans-report-to-governement.pdf

'The impacts of the standard methodology for assessing the objectively assessed need for housing in local authorities' by the University of Liverpool.

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/geography-and-planning/research/sarc/research-projects/

'Setting a higher standard – a new method for assessing housing needs' by Bethan Haynes at Lichfields.

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2020/august/7/setting-a-higher-standard-a-new-method-for-assessing-housing-needs/

'The new standard method for assessing housing need' by Christopher Young QC.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/christopher-young-qc-3097b822_article-on-the-governments-new-standard-activity-6709337597438672897-FdwJ

Places and Spaces

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 09:50:17 +0000

A place, in the urban context at least, is its buildings, the spaces around them and the hustle and bustle of people making their way betwixt and between them.

The only place that many people have known for a while though is home. On the one hand we have got to know our local environs more, but, on the other, and as we creep tentatively back into towns and cities, how will we find urban places now? The buildings are less densely populated and might soon need to be used for different things. The spaces have more demands upon them from restaurateurs, cyclists, pedestrians and urban dwellers coming out for air. There is less hustle and less bustle.

How permanent might these changes be and how might the certainty and confidence with which new places have been created be affected as a result. How will the pandemic change the nature of place?

Sam Stafford discusses these themes in this episode with Ruairidh Jackson (Founding Director at Start Advisory), Sue Manley (Director at Placemarque) and Katie Wray (Assistant Director at Deloitte).

Katie and Placemarque are on Twitter at @kluw and @placemarque, and Start Advisory is on Instagram at @start_advisory.

Some accompanying reading.

'Coronavirus: we’re in a real-time laboratory of a more sustainable urban future' by Paul Chatterton.

https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-were-in-a-real-time-laboratory-of-a-more-sustainable-urban-future-135712

'The city and the virus' by Max Nathan.

https://medium.com/@maxnathan/the-city-and-the-virus-db8f4a68e404

‘We can’t go back to normal’: how will coronavirus change the world?' by Peter C Baker.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/31/how-will-the-world-emerge-from-the-coronavirus-crisis

Some accompanying listening.

Places And Spaces by Donald Byrd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unbgblfgsQI

A Conversation with Chris Findley

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 19:29:43 +0000

In a piece written during a recent period of furlough leave Sam Stafford posited that a career is like climbing a mountain in that the real reward is at the top when you can sit back, with the greatest possible perspective, and take it all in.

Sam gets the chance to test that theory in this episode by chatting to Chris Findley who, as many North West-based 50 Shades listeners will know, recently retired after a 42 year career that included 26 years at Salford City Council.

The conversation takes in Chris' early experiences in Beverley and Leicester, the seemingly endless rounds of planning reform and the transformation of Salford Quays.

Some associated reading.

Place North West's coverage of Chris' retirement

https://www.placenorthwest.co.uk/news/profile-findley-looks-back-on-26-years-at-salford/

Sam's blog on his career to date

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2020/04/memories-of-200809-career-advice-for-my.html

Planning Reform Day

Fri, 14 Aug 2020 18:40:20 +0000

The decorations have been taken down, the uneaten party food has been frozen for next time and all of the summary emails from planning consultants have been diligently saved in the ‘Government Policy’ folder. Another Planning Reform Day has been and gone, but this was a bigger one than usual. The sector had been whipped into a frenzy ever since Policy Exchange, from whence Downing Street’s housing and planning advisor came, published it’s ‘Rethinking the Planning System for the 21st Century’ report in January. ‘It’s this week!’. ‘No I’ve heard it’s next week’. It’s a White Paper’. ‘No, it’s a Policy Paper…’ And so it went on until, all of a sudden, everybody agreed that it was midnight and then, like a general election result, planners had to decide whether to stay up really late or get up really early (or both).

And now, a few days later and as the excitement subsides, we are left to ask ourselves what the ‘Planning For The Future’ White Paper really means. Is it ‘radical reform unlike anything we have seen since the Second World War’, as Her Majesty’s Government would have us believe or is it ‘a developer's charter that will see communities side lined in decisions’ as Her Majesty’s Opposition would have us believe?

The Government put together a task force to draft the White Paper and for this episode Sam Stafford puts a 50 Shades task force together to interpret it. Matthew Spry (@mspry_) is a Senior Director at Lichfields; Ruth Stockley (@RuthStockley3) is a barrister at Kings Chambers; and Anna Rose (@EPlanna) is Head of the Planning Advisory Service at the Local Government Association.

Some associated reading.

Planning for the future

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/planning-for-the-future

Changes to the current planning system

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-the-current-planning-system

Lichfields' analysis'

https://lichfields.uk/grow-renew-protect-planning-for-the-future/the-white-paper/

Rachel Coxcoon's Twitter thread about zero carbon homes

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1293202597990596609.html

Simon Ricketts' blog about the White Paper

https://simonicity.com/2020/08/07/for-the-future/

Some associated watching.

HIGPNFY with Chris Katkowski QC

https://youtu.be/fE6KD4K8ugk

Jet Zero

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 18:05:34 +0000

‘This moment gives us a much greater chance to be radical and to do things differently’, said the Prime Minister with typical understatement in his Dudley speech at the end of June. ‘To build back better, build back greener, build back faster.’

Who could possibly disagree with that? Nobody, which is probably why the phrase was drafted like that. It means all things to all people, but the creative ambiguity, nee intellectual incoherence, is illustrated by the catchy ‘Jet Zero’ reference in that Dudley speech and lofty ambitions for the world’s first zero emission long haul passenger plane. The short-term priority is to try to save jobs and livelihoods, but that means restoring high-carbon sectors such as aviation.

The reduction of net emissions of greenhouse gases to zero by 2050 became law in the UK in June 2019. As the Committee on Climate Change recently noted though, whilst “initial steps towards a net-zero policy package have been taken this was not the year of policy progress that the Committee called for.”

The pandemic is a chance to reset the economy and to bring together the seemingly dichotomous nature of greener versus faster, but what would ‘building back better’, if it isn’t just vacuous sloganeering, mean for planning.

Sam Stafford puts this question to Hugh Ellis, Director of Policy at the TCPA; Jon Lovell, co-founder of Hillbreak (@Lovell_Jon); and Claire Petricca-Riding, Partner & National Head of Planning and Environmental Law at Irwin Mitchell (@PetriccaRiding).

Some accompanying reading:

'The sustainable, responsible and impact investment landscape', by Caroline McGill at Hillbreak

https://www.hillbreak.com/impact-finance-part-i/

The Future Homes Standard: changes to Part L and Part F of the Building Regulations for new dwellings

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-future-homes-standard-changes-to-part-l-and-part-f-of-the-building-regulations-for-new-dwellings

The TCPA responds to the Prime Minister’s ‘Build, build, build’ announcements

https://www.tcpa.org.uk/news/press-release-the-tcpa-responds-to-prime-ministers-build-build-build-announcements

Reducing UK emissions: 2020 Progress Report to Parliament

https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/reducing-uk-emissions-2020-progress-report-to-parliament/

Some accompanying listening.

Big Jet Plane by Primal Scream

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMpY-vjLjTM

DCOs, NPSs and NSIPs.

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 17:57:03 +0000

Will the Government's much vaunted radical reforms to the planning system allow Development Consent Orders (DCOs) to apply to large-scale, residential-led development proposals? It is an idea that has been around since DCOs, as wells as NPSs and NSIPs, were introduced by the Planning Act 2008, but perhaps now it’s time has come.

As well as considering the efficacy of the DCO regime as it relates to infrastructure projects, an expanded DCO regime is considered in a report by Barton Willmore, Copper, Womble Bond Dickinson and Hannah Hickman.

Sam Stafford discusses the report (link below) in this episode with co-authors Tom Carpen (Barton Willmore), Kevin Gibbs (Womble Bond Dickinson) and Hannah Hickman (Hannah Hickman Consulting).

LinkedIn profiles:

Tom - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-carpen-7102578b/

Kevin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-gibbs-24a39734/

Hannah - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahhickman1/

Some accompanying reading.

‘Can development consent orders help meet the challenges of our time?' by Barton Willmore, Copper, Womble Bond Dickinson and Hannah Hickman:

http://www.bartonwillmore.co.uk/Knowledge/Intelligence/2020/Can-Development-Consent-Orders-help-meet-the-chall

'Housing - Nationally Significant Infrastructure?' commissioned by Bond Dickinson and Quod:

https://www.quod.com/news/housing-crisis-demands-central-government-intervention/

'Unlocking Britain' by the Social Market Foundation:

https://www.smf.co.uk/publications/unlocking-britain/#:~:text=In%20a%20guest%20publication%20for%20the%20Social%20Market,recover%20and%20prosper%20in%20the%20wake%20of%20COVID-19.

'Following Orders: five actions necessary for DCOs and the NSIP regime to be used for large-scale housing' by Lichfields:

https://lichfields.uk/blog/2020/july/7/following-orders-the-five-actions-necessary-for-dcos-and-the-nsip-regime-to-be-used-for-large-scale-housing/

'The New Towns Question (Again)' by Simon Ricketts:

https://simonicity.com/2020/07/11/the-new-towns-question-again/

Some accompanying viewing.

The best of Jerry Springer's Final Thoughts:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3iobgi

Crosstown Traffic

Thu, 16 Jul 2020 16:16:33 +0000

The need for people to travel and the way in which they can travel has changed dramatically in a short period of time and, early on during the Coronavirus crisis especially, there was a sense that this change had the potential to be more permanent than temporary and contribute to the ‘Building Back Better’ agenda. As lockdown starts to ease though and traffic starts to flow again, or rather to not flow again, what is the sense of that change now? Is the window for a fundamental modal shift from car to two wheels and two legs closing? Has the planning system, or at least the regulatory regime, helped or hindered that? What might the lasting impact of the pandemic be on travel patterns and how will the planning system have to respond to that?

Sam Stafford puts these questions to Brian Deegan (Design Engineer at Urban Movement), Vanessa Eggleston (Partner at i-Transport) and Paul Smith (MD of Strategic Land Group and a person who rides a bike).

Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford, @bricycle and @paul_slg. Vanessa is on LinkedIn.

Some accompanying reading.

The latest on the cycle lane at the end of Paul’s street.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/support-a56-cycle-lanes-grows-18596708

Manchester’s Cyclops Junction.

https://news.tfgm.com/news/manchester-opens-uks-first-cyclops-junction

The Urban Design Group’s survey on street design practice.

http://www.udg.org.uk/content/street-design-uk-pilot-survey-2018

‘The end of the rush hour?’ Vanessa’s blog.

https://strategiclandgroup.co.uk/2020/06/09/the-end-of-the-rush-hour-guest-post-by-i-transport/

Robin Lovelace’s Rapid Cycleway Prioritisation Tool.

https://theconversation.com/cities-must-act-to-secure-the-future-of-urban-cycling-our-research-shows-how-138156

The International Transport Forum’s Decarbonising Transport initiative.

https://www.itf-oecd.org/decarbonising-transport

Some accompanying listening.

Crosstown Traffic by Jimi Hendrix

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-xyGFI_Nq8

Rules of Engagement

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 09:00:00 +0000

The grinding gears of the planning system need to be kept moving. On that most people can agree. Applying a little bit of lubricant within the bits of the system that largely pass the public by, extending consents and flexibility on things like CIL payments, for example, are relatively simple and relatively uncontroversial. What about though those bits of the system that are exposed to the outside world? The bits that rub up against public expectations. How, for as long as social distancing lasts, and indeed beyond, can the public continue to be engaged with the planning system in a way that allows applications and local plans to not only progress, but to progress in ways that are sensible, fair, and perhaps most importantly, lawful.

Sam Stafford discusses these issues with Greg Dickson, Director at Barton Willmore; Sarah James, Policy & Membership Development Manager at Civic Voice; and Kevin Whitmore, Head of North & Midlands at BECG.

Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford; @GregDickson1; @jamesslf and @kevin_whitmore.

Some accompanying reading.

Temporary changes to the publicity requirements for certain planning applications:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/consultation-and-pre-decision-matters#covid19

Sarah's blog 'Going from the physical to the digital':

https://civicvoiceblog.wordpress.com/2020/06/02/going-from-the-physical-to-the-digital/

Kevin's blog 'Reflections from a virtual world':

https://becg.com/blog/reflections-from-a-virtual-world/

Publicity requirements for the London Plan (in the Business & Planning Bill):

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-current-spatial-development-strategies-available-digitally-draft-guidance

Publicity requirements for other local development documents (a Written Ministerial Statement by Lord Greenhalgh):

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2020-06-25/HLWS311/

Some accompanying listening.

Rules Of Engagement by King Creosote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcKPu6Yo8q4

Everybody Needs Good Neighbours

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Where does the recent run of local plan failures at St Albans, Sevenoaks, Wealden and Chiltern & South Bucks leave the Duty to Cooperate (DtC)? As well as being bad law it seemed obvious to most practitioners at the time that the DtC was bad planning and a regression from the Regional Spatial Strategies that it sought to replace. What hope is there that forthcoming devolution and planning White Papers will tackle the underlying technical and political issues that undermine the DtC? If they do not, what hope is there for the Government’s aim, as set out in a March 2020 policy paper, for local plan coverage across England by 2023?

In this episode Sam Stafford discusses the DtC with Catriona Riddell (Catriona Riddell & Associates), Zack Simons (Barrister at Landmark Chambers), and Peter French (Senior Policy Officer at the County Councils Network (CCN)).

Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford; @CatrionaRiddel1, @zacksimons and @peterpfrench.

Some associated reading:

Zack's Planoraks Blog:

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/teamwork-failing-the-duty-to-cooperate

'County Councils & Strategic Planning: A review of current & emerging practice', by Catriona Riddell Associates and the CCN:

https://thinkhouse.org.uk/site/assets/files/1605/ccn.pdf

'Unleashing counties’ role in levelling up England' by Grant Thornton and the CCN:

https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/insights/unleashing-counties-role-in-levelling-up-england/

Some recommended viewing:

Good Neighbours:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzaPcIXEoUo

APC, easy as 1,2,3.

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford, wary halfway through his career of becoming a world-weary, cynical member of the town planning establishment, seeks to recapture some of his zest by chatting in this episode to three newly and soon-to-be qualified planners about the first few years of their careers.

Charles Jones works for Pegasus in Bath, Cathy O’Toole works for Pegasus in Birmingham and Tillie Baker works for Arup in Manchester. Sam's conversation with them takes in their experiences at university and the transition from there into the world of work.

Cathy and Tillie were commended by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) for their Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) submissions in 2019 and this episode may be of particular interest to anybody currently pursuing the Associate and Licentiate routes to RTPI membership (https://www.rtpi.org.uk/membership/assessment-of-professional-competence/).

Stay Alert > Keep Planning > Improve Lives

Wed, 27 May 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford gets some of the 50 Shades gang back together for the type of Friday afternoon, Adam Buxton-style ramblechat that would have taken place in the pub a few months ago. Will the post-pandemic world really not be the same? Old habits do die hard after all. Perhaps a ‘90% world’ in which life will be close to ‘normal’ but subtly different?

Sam's conversation with Paul Smith, Vicky Payne and Tom Whitehead takes in density, green space, civic space, active travel and city governance.

Paul Smith is the Managing Director of Strategic Land Group and is on Twitter at @Paul_SLG.

Vicky Payne is a planner and urbanist at Urbed and is on Twitter at @Victoria_Payne.

Tom Whitehead is Group Town Planning Manager at Brookhouse Group and is on Twitter, but does not want you to know that.

Some reading to accompany this episode:

The pandemic will reduce inequality—or make it worse.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-04-29/how-will-the-coronavirus-pandemic-affect-inequality?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=url_link&utm_content=economics&cmpid%253D=socialflow-twitter-economics&sref=dcitGkK3

Past pandemics changed the design of cities. Six ways COVID-19 could do the same.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-04-22/coronavirus-pandemics-architecture-urban-design

The city and the virus.

https://medium.com/@maxnathan/the-city-and-the-virus-db8f4a68e404

A backlash against cities would be dangerous.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/urban-density-not-problem/611752/

Coronavirus is not fuel or urbanist fantasies.

https://www.curbed.com/2020/5/20/21263319/coronavirus-future-city-urban-covid-19

‘We’ve seen nothing like this since the 1930s’ - how will Greater Manchester’s economy bounce back from coronavirus?

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/weve-seen-nothing-like-1930s-18170878

If you would like to help support the East Lancs Railway:

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/displayCharityCampaignPage.action?charityCampaignUrl=ELRsupportfund

The CaMKOx Arc. Behind the curve?

Thu, 14 May 2020 09:00:00 +0000

In a 2016 interim report on the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford corridor, or the Arc, the National Infrastructure Commission identified the area as having “the potential to be “the UK’s Silicon Valley – a world-renowned centre for science, technology and innovation”.

The Arc seems to have been 'the next big thing' since then, but is that potential any closer to being tapped? Is there any evidence that it really is a “national priority” and “one of the world’s greatest economic opportunities” as Robert Jenrick described it as Treasury Minister, or, as Chuck D suggested, is it best not to believe the hype.

Sam Stafford discusses the Arc proposition with Tim Burden, Director at Turley; Bridget Rosewell, economist and National Infrastructure Commissioner; and Alistair Lomax, Director at the Arc Universities Group.

Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford, @timburden03, @brosewell and @alistair_lomax.

Some accompanying reading.

The National Infrastructure Commission's report

https://www.nic.org.uk/publications/partnering-prosperity-new-deal-cambridge-milton-keynes-oxford-arc/

Tim's think piece

https://www.turley.co.uk/comment/oxford-cambridge-arc-lets-just-get-it

Some recommended viewing.

The Arctic Monkeys at Reading in 2006

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMxJhZc2sBI

The London Plan. Capital Punishment?

Fri, 01 May 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Is there any substance to Robert Jenrick’s criticism of Sadiq Khan’s London Plan or is it just the victim of some Punch and Judy-style, blue on red oneupmanship?

Sam Stafford discusses this question, and, if devolution and planning white papers are to encourage more mayoral Spatial Development Strategies, the lessons from London for elsewhere, with Alice Lester (Operational Director - Regeneration, Growth & Employment, Brent Council), Rob Krzyszowski (Head of Planning Policy, Transport & Infrastructure, Haringey Council) and Andrew Taylor (Head of Planning, Countryside Properties).

Twitter Handles: @samuel_stafford, @AliceatBrent, @robzowski and @AndrewJTaylor3.

Some accompanying reading.

The Secretary of State and the Mayor's recent correspondence:

https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning/london-plan/new-london-plan/secretary-states-response

Some recommended listening.

Alice's appearance on a proper podcast:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000fgp5

Some recommended viewing.

A classic episode of Bottom:

https://youtu.be/wUlgdjZuSZ4

Green Belt. Sacred Cow?

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 09:00:00 +0000

'I began to see what a sacred cow the Green Belt has become' said Minister for Housing & Local Government Richard Crossman in 1964.

The Green Belt is a political behemoth that has long loomed over the planning system. In this episode Sam Stafford asks Paul Miner, Strategic Planning & Devolution at CPRE, and Kathryn Ventham, Planning Partner at Barton Willmore, whether housing need is becoming a sufficiently irresistible force to shift hitherto immovable Green Belt boundaries?

Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford. @PaulMiner3 and @kateventham.

Some accompanying reading and viewing:

John Grindrod’s ‘Outskirts’

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/14/outskirts-by-john-grindrod-review

Ipsos Mori polling for the CPRE on public attitudes towards the Green Belt

https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/attitudes-towards-green-belt-land

Ipsos Mori polling for Housing The Powerhouse on attitudes towards housing development in Greater Manchester

http://www.housingthepowerhouse.com/downloads/Housing%20the%20Powerhouse%20-%20Ipsos%20MORI%20Opinion%20Poll%20Press%20Release.pdf

'The Green Noose: An analysis of Green Belts and proposals for reform' by the Adam Smith Institute

https://www.adamsmith.org/news/press-release-free-up-3-7-percent-of-londons-green-belt-to-build-one-million-new-homes-says-new-report

‘Planned up and be counted ‘ local plan making under NPPF 2012’ by Lichfields

https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/planned-up-and-be-counted

‘This Blessed Plot – This Other Eden’ - A film for the Council for the Preservation of Rural England

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/rural-england-aka-this-blessed-plot-this-other

‘The myth of the countryside idyll’ by Steve Middlehurst

https://stevemiddlehurstidentityandplace.wordpress.com/2016/10/10/a5-research-the-myth-of-the-countryside-idyll/

Keith Joseph’s 1964 South East Study

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/19/newsid_2570000/2570681.stm

A Policy Briefing Paper by the Landscape Institute

https://www.landscapeinstitute.org/policy/green-belt-policy/

The London Society’s Position Paper

https://www.londonsociety.org.uk/post/londons-green-belt

‘The Proud City’ – A film outlining plans for the post war reconstruction of London, featuring Patrick Abercrombie and JH Forshaw.

https://archive.org/details/ProudCity

Planning and Coronavirus

Sat, 28 Mar 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Robert Jenrick set out on 12 March 2020 proposals “to bring Britain’s planning system into the 21st century as part of plans to get the country building”. Within a week it was announced that schools were closing and local authority staff, including planning officers, have been dealing with a public health emergency.

Sam Stafford is joined in this episode by Jonathan Easton, Barrister at Kings Chambers; Anna Rose, Head of the Planning Advisory Service at the Local Government Association; and Stefan Webb, Place Director at FutureGov to discuss the impact of Coronavirus on the planning system.

Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford, @jonnye47, @EPlanna and @Stef_W.

Some links:

Planning Inspectorate Guidance:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-planning-inspectorate-guidance

ADSO and LLG letter to MHCLG on decision-making and democracy:

https://www.adso.co.uk/letter-to-sos-covid-19-implications-for-local-authority-governance/

Greater Flexibility For Planning Permissions:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/5997/1729942.pdf

The Landmark Chambers paper:

https://cached.offlinehbpl.hbpl.co.uk/NewsAttachments/RLP/LandmarkSOSletter.pdf

Simon Ricketts’ Blog:

https://simonicity.com/2020/03/21/what-to-do/

The Planning Advisory Service’s resource:

https://local.gov.uk/pas/pas-topics/coronavirus

The RTPI survey to inform discussions with Governments across the UK and Ireland:

https://r1.dotmailer-surveys.com/b43esd27-db4kml95

The Fast-Paced, Ever-Changing, Rock and Roll World of Town and Country Planning

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

2020 looks set to be another significant year for planning policy. Already it has seen the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission’s final report, ‘Living with beauty’, a report from Policy Exchange called ‘Rethinking the planning system for the 21st century’, and the Government’s First Homes consultation. Sam Stafford and his guests Tom Whitehead, Vicky Payne and David Diggle discuss their significance to the forthcoming Budget and White Paper, and this Government’s agenda more broadly.

More information on the topics discussed in this episode can be found here:

Living with beauty

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/building-better-building-beautiful-commission

Rethinking the planning system for the 21st century’

https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/rethinking-the-planning-system-for-the-21st-century/

First Homes

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/first-homes

How and Where Can and Should More Homes be Built?

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford chats with John Myers (YIMBY Alliance), Barbara Weiss (Barbara Weiss Architects) and Matt Thomson (CPRE) about how to build more and better homes and more and better places.

Adding storeys, mansion blocks and other forms of gentle densification are agreeable in principle, but how can they be encouraged in practice? Do we build up in the meantime? Not everybody likes tall buildings. Do we build out in the meantime? Lots of people like the Green Belt...

John Myers (@YimbyAlliance) worked as a lawyer, an analyst and in technology before cofounding London Yimby in 2016.

https://yimbyalliance.org/about-us/

Matt Thomson (@MattThomson42) is Head of Planning at CPRE. Matt is a professional town planner with over 15 years’ experience in local government and was formerly head of policy and practice at the RTPI.

https://www.cpre.org.uk/about-us/who-we-are/meet-our-spokespeople/

Barbara Weiss founded Barbara Weiss Architects in 1987. Barbara has been involved in the Skyline Campaign that 'aims to stop the devastation of London by badly designed tall buildings in the wrong location'.

http://www.barbaraweissarchitects.com/the-practice/people/barbara-weiss

Some reading associated with this episode:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/building-better-building-beautiful-commission

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/jan/new-housing-design-england-overwhelmingly-mediocre-or-poor

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/comment/dont-forget-a-lot-of-housing-design-is-getting-better/5103978.article

https://www.londonyimby.org/research

Some listening associated with this episode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICG0MuzEYzw

A Conversation with David Rudlin

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford chats with David Rudlin, Principal and Director of URBED, about his book Climax City, co-authored with Shruti Humani, which is a critical exploration of the growth of cities and masterplanning. The conversation takes in David's first role at Manchester City Council where he worked on the early stages of Hulme's redevelopment, as well as the 2014 Wolfson Economics Prize, which David and URBED won for their work on delivering a garden city.

David's contact details: http://urbed.coop/team/david-rudlin

Climax City: https://www.architecture.com/riba-books/books/urban-design-planning-housing-and-infrastructure/planning/product/climax-city-masterplanning-and-the-complexity-of-urban-growth.html

Reasons to be Cheerful

Wed, 08 Jan 2020 10:00:00 +0000

Is planning in England, as asserted by the Raynsford Review, really less effective than at any time in the post-war era? Chris Shepley, a former Chief Planning Inspector and member of the Raynsford Review panel, said that the report was produced at a time when planning is probably at its lowest ebb since 1947. Really? Does the breadth and influence of the profession now not make it more impactful than ever? As a consequence of that is it not more important than ever that planners have influence at every tier of public policy-making?

These questions are the basis of a conversation that Sam Stafford has in this episode with Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and latterly Chief Executive of the Old Oak & Park Royal Development Corporation; Peter Rees CBE, Professor of Places & City Planning at UCL and former Chief City Planner at the City of London; and Nicki Linihan of NJL Solutions and latterly interim Director of Planning at the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation and former Head of Planning and Transport at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

The Raynsford Review can be read here:

https://www.tcpa.org.uk/raynsford-review

The RTPI’s research into the role of Chief Planning Officers can be read here:

https://www.rtpi.org.uk/knowledge/research/projects/chief-planning-officers/

🎅🏻The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz🎄

Fri, 13 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

Full of festive cheer (and sherry), Sam Stafford quizzes Greg Dickson, Paul Smith, David Diggle, Andrew Jalali, Vicky Payne and Tom Whitehead on some of the stories that have caught the eye in 2019. Expect an attempt at humour at the start, an appearance from a very special guest at the end and some bad cracker jokes in between...

For those interested in the topics that are discussed there is some reading here:

January

Mr Brokenshire’s big intervention stick.

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2018/08/mr-brokenshires-big-intervention-stick.html

February

Portsmouth council plans to reclaim land from sea for homes.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-47142979

March

The latest act in the GMSF play.

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-latest-installment-in-long-running.html

MHCLG’s resourcing and skills survey.

https://local.gov.uk/pas/pas-topics/monitoring/survey-planning-departments-2019

April

In memory of the Englishman who kept a shark on his roof.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/in-memory-of-the-englishman-who-kept-a-shark-on-his-roof/amp

May

The National Audit Office’s investigation into the government’s land disposal strategy and programmes.

https://www.nao.org.uk/report/investigation-into-the-governments-land-disposal-strategy/

June

Juries for plan-making.

https://landforthemany.uk/

July

Record temperatures across Europe.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49108847

August

The Towns Fund.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/conservatives-general-election-marginals-public-funding-money-a9201141.html

September

Robert Jenrick likes tree-lined streets.

https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/housing-secretary-launches-national-design-guide-to-end-ugly-development/10044606.article

October

The CPRE likes Green Belt.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/comment/paradise-lost-cpre-and-the-state-of-the-green-belt/5102352.article

November

Government confirms fracking moratorium and drops proposed permitted development rights.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/843801/Government_Response_to_the_shale_PDR_Consultation.pdf

December

How does your garden grow?

https://lichfields.uk/media/5638/how-does-your-garden-grow_a-stock-take-on-planning-for-the-governments-garden-communities-programme.pdf

How To Plan Strategically Without Strategic Planning

Fri, 08 Nov 2019 10:00:00 +0000

10 January 2020, as planners working in the West Midlands will know, is the date by which the 37,900 home shortfall identified in the Birmingham Development Plan needs to have been accommodated by the other local planning authorities in the Greater Birmingham Housing Market Area. In this episode Sam Stafford chats with Mike Best (Senior Director at Turley (@bestlaidplan)), Mark Parkinson (Economic Development & Planning Policy Manager at Staffordshire County Council (@MarkA_Parkinson)), and Craig Jordan (Head of Economic Growth & Development at Lichfield District Council) about the progress that has been made towards meeting this deadline. The shortfall issue, as Sam and his guests explore during the discussion, brings into sharp focus the difficulties that policy planners have planning for greater-than-local issues without a statutory basis to do so.

Sam and Mike's previous blogs on the shortfall can be found here:

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2018/08/devolution-birmingham-shortfall-4.html

https://mikesbestlaidplans.wordpress.com/2017/04/21/nobody-said-it-was-easy/

A Conversation with Bob Kerslake

Wed, 23 Oct 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford chats with The Right Honourable The Lord Kerslake, who, as former Chief Executive of Sheffield and Hounslow councils; Chief Executive of the HCA; and Permanent Secretary of DCLG, has had a unique insight into workings of the English planning system. Sam and Bob discuss balancing the books at Sheffield City Council and the need to accelerate devolution and develop a spatial plan for England in order to rebalance regional inequalities, which are two of the recommendations of Bob's work with the UK2070 Commission (http://uk2070.org.uk).

Planning Committees - Cauldrons of Human Emotion

Thu, 26 Sep 2019 09:00:00 +0000

If you’re involved they’re terrible, but if you’re just observing they’re terrific. In this episode Sam Stafford and his guests Katie Dean and Mike O’Brien discuss the cauldrons of human emotion that are planning committees.

Some accompanying reading.

A House of Commons Library Briefing

https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN01030

A Lichfields research paper

https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/refused-for-good-reason

PAS guidance on probity in planning for councillors and officers

https://www.local.gov.uk/Pas-probity-planning

Some accompanying listening.

An objector singing at Reading’s planning committee (13 mins)

https://channel.royalcast.com/readingboroughcouncil/#!/readingboroughcouncil/20160907_1

The Data Day

Mon, 09 Sep 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford chats with Euan Mills of the Connected Places Catapult (https://futurecities.catapult.org.uk/) about how digital innovation, urban data, and user-centred design can improve the UK planning system.

Trust Me, I'm A Planner.

Fri, 16 Aug 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford and his guests Vicky Payne and Paul Smith explore a possible link between the cinematic portrayal of property developers as wrong 'uns and this survey from Grosvenor that looks at levels of public distrust in placemaking and large-scale development. Thanks to Vicky for the title of this episode.

A Conversation with Sean Anstee

Mon, 05 Aug 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford chats with Sean Anstee CBE about the interaction of politics and planning from the point of view of a ward councillor, Council Leader and member of a Combined Authority. Talk also turned to Sean's campaign to be mayor of Greater Manchester during the 2017 election and the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework...

The Need for Speed

Wed, 26 Jun 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford and his guests Vicky Payne and Paul Smith discuss the forthcoming 'Accelerated Planning' Green Paper and swap holiday stories.

Image Rights

Fri, 24 May 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford and his guests David Diggle, Tom Whitehead and Andrew Jalali discuss whether modern design is s***, whether the planning profession has an image problem, and the role of planning in tackling climate change.

Planning. Huh, Good God. What Is It Good For?

Mon, 15 Apr 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Sam Stafford and his guests Paul Smith, Greg Dickson and Vicky Payne consider recent reviews on the efficacy of the sector, as well as news stories that have been given national prominence, and ask ‘is planning working?’