50 Shades of Planning

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

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

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

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

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 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

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

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

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

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

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; andSam 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

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

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

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

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

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

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; andHannah 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

"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

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

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

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

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

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; andEmma 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

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 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 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

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

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

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 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, 1985Saving the City, Tomar, 1989Ireland's Earthen Houses (jointly with Peigin Doyle), A&A Farmar, 1997The Ecological Footprint of Cities (editor), International Institute for the Urban Environment, 1998The Daily Globe: Environmental change, the public and the media (contributor), Earthscan, 2000The 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

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

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 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

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 [email protected] 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 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

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._).

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._).

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._).

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

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 [email protected]. 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

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: Women and Planning: Past, Present and FutureWomen and Planning (Part II)Children and town planning: creating places to growGender and Spatial Planning: Good Practice Note 7Gender Mainstreaming Toolkit 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

‘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

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

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

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

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

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 [email protected] 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 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=

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. 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 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

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

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

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 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 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

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

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; andSimon 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

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