Explore every episode of the podcast 50 Shades of Planning
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hitting the High Notes - Mike Best | 31 Aug 2024 | 01:04:55 | |
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 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? | 17 Aug 2024 | 00:50:41 | |
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? 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 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. | |||
| A Hillside To Die On | 20 Apr 2024 | 00:46:16 | |
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 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 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 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 | |||
| The High Street is dead, long live the High Street. | 30 Sep 2020 | 01:10:09 | |
‘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’. 'Life after Coronavirus: A new high street is waiting — if we’re brave enough to reimagine access to property' by Rebecca. '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. | |||
| The Numbers Game | 17 Sep 2020 | 01:09:13 | |
“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. '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. 'The new standard method for assessing housing need' by Christopher Young QC. | |||
| Places and Spaces | 08 Sep 2020 | 00:51:21 | |
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. '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. | |||
| A Conversation with Chris Findley | 25 Aug 2020 | 01:02:39 | |
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 | 14 Aug 2020 | 01:00:12 | |
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 | |||
| Jet Zero | 07 Aug 2020 | 00:55:10 | |
‘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 The TCPA responds to the Prime Minister’s ‘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 | |||
| DCOs, NPSs and NSIPs. | 28 Jul 2020 | 00:51:39 | |
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: '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: 'Following Orders: five actions necessary for DCOs and the NSIP regime to be used for large-scale housing' by Lichfields: '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: | |||
| Crosstown Traffic | 16 Jul 2020 | 01:01:23 | |
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. 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. The International Transport Forum’s Decarbonising Transport initiative. https://www.itf-oecd.org/decarbonising-transport Some accompanying listening. Crosstown Traffic by Jimi Hendrix | |||
| Rules of Engagement | 01 Jul 2020 | 01:01:46 | |
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): Publicity requirements for other local development documents (a Written Ministerial Statement by Lord Greenhalgh): Some accompanying listening. Rules Of Engagement by King Creosote: | |||
| Everybody Needs Good Neighbours | 19 Jun 2020 | 00:58:40 | |
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: | |||
| Hitting the High Notes - Nick Kilby | 13 Apr 2024 | 01:06:14 | |
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 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 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 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 | |||
| APC, easy as 1,2,3. | 09 Jun 2020 | 00:53:58 | |
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 | 27 May 2020 | 00:57:35 | |
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. Past pandemics changed the design of cities. Six ways COVID-19 could do the same. 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? If you would like to help support the East Lancs Railway: | |||
| The CaMKOx Arc. Behind the curve? | 14 May 2020 | 00:43:57 | |
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 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 | |||
| The London Plan. Capital Punishment? | 01 May 2020 | 00:50:29 | |
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: | |||
| Green Belt. Sacred Cow? | 22 Apr 2020 | 00:55:54 | |
'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 'The Green Noose: An analysis of Green Belts and proposals for reform' by the Adam Smith Institute ‘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 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. | |||
| Planning and Coronavirus | 28 Mar 2020 | 01:16:28 | |
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: 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: | |||
| The Fast-Paced, Ever-Changing, Rock and Roll World of Town and Country Planning | 28 Feb 2020 | 00:52:20 | |
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 | |||
| How and Where Can and Should More Homes be Built? | 11 Feb 2020 | 01:05:40 | |
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.londonyimby.org/research Some listening associated with this episode: | |||
| A Conversation with David Rudlin | 24 Jan 2020 | 00:47:49 | |
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 | |||
| Reasons to be Cheerful | 08 Jan 2020 | 01:01:06 | |
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/ | |||
| Banishing Boxland | 23 Mar 2024 | 00:48:50 | |
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 Better Brownfield https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/better-brownfield/ Five retail and leisure trends to look out for in the post-pandemic era 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 | |||
| 🎅🏻The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz🎄 | 13 Dec 2019 | 00:48:18 | |
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. 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. July Record temperatures across Europe. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49108847 August The Towns Fund. September Robert Jenrick likes tree-lined streets. October The CPRE likes Green Belt. November Government confirms fracking moratorium and drops proposed permitted development rights. December How does your garden grow? | |||
| How To Plan Strategically Without Strategic Planning | 08 Nov 2019 | 00:55:19 | |
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 | 23 Oct 2019 | 00:41:36 | |
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 | 26 Sep 2019 | 00:42:20 | |
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 | 09 Sep 2019 | 00:47:59 | |
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. | 16 Aug 2019 | 00:48:14 | |
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 | 05 Aug 2019 | 00:44:34 | |
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 | 26 Jun 2019 | 00:51:56 | |
Sam Stafford and his guests Vicky Payne and Paul Smith discuss the forthcoming 'Accelerated Planning' Green Paper and swap holiday stories. | |||
| Image Rights | 24 May 2019 | 00:46:36 | |
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? | 15 Apr 2019 | 00:43:37 | |
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?’ | |||
| Capturing the Zeitgeist | 09 Mar 2024 | 00:51:47 | |
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? 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 | 24 Feb 2024 | 00:53:10 | |
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 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 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 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 Some accompanying listening. School by Nirvana | |||
| Hitting the High Notes - Simon Ricketts | 03 Feb 2024 | 00:54:57 | |
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? | 20 Jan 2024 | 00:57:47 | |
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:
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 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🏆 | 30 Dec 2023 | 01:02:01 | |
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 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🤶🏻 | 23 Dec 2023 | 01:04:29 | |
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 Question 2 – February Question 3 – March Question 4 – April Question 5 – May Question 6 – June Question 7 – July Question 8 – August Question 9 – September Question 10 – October Question 11 – November Question 12 – December 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🎄 | 16 Dec 2023 | 00:51:08 | |
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 February March April May June July August September https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1838053/goves-new-super-squad-expert-planners-likely-work October November December 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 | |||
| Labour of Love | 03 Aug 2024 | 01:44:41 | |
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:
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 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 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. | |||
| Pre-Apps and PPAs | 09 Dec 2023 | 00:55:09 | |
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 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 | 02 Dec 2023 | 01:00:55 | |
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 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 Pre-application advice and Planning Performance Agreements 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 | 25 Nov 2023 | 01:11:59 | |
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
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 | 11 Nov 2023 | 01:00:12 | |
"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) 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 | 28 Oct 2023 | 01:04:59 | |
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 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 | 21 Oct 2023 | 00:47:24 | |
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 Freedom of information and Environmental Information Regulations 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 | 07 Oct 2023 | 00:50:30 | |
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
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 | |||