The 50 Shades of Planning Podcast

The fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning has been especially fast-paced, ever-changing and rock and roll of late. How then to try to catch up? Sam Stafford thought that the best way of doing so was to reprise the ‘Labour of Love' episode that he published back in August of last year. Here then you will hear elements of nine conversations recorded online between friends of the podcast old and new about nine themes of the Government's crystalising reform agenda. Catriona Riddell, Andrew Taylor, Jane Meek and Alex Coley talk about strategic planning, devolution and local government reorganisation (06.54); Greg Dickson, John Sayer, Rebecca Clutton and Anthony Lee talk about CPO, land value capture and benchmark land value (17.42); Claire Petricca-Riding, Gilian MacInnes, Sarah McLaughlin and Robbie Owen talk about infrastructure planning (28.12); Andrew, Shelly Rouse, Mike Kiely and Adele Morris talk about planning committees (36.26); Claire, Hana Loftus, Nina Pindham and Neil Beamsley talk about development and nature recovery (46.11); Andrew, Annie Gingell, Hana and Sarah Young talk about Grey Belt (54.22); Andrew and Paul Smith talk about statutory consultees (01.02.42); Ben Castell, Katie Wray, Vicky Payne and Hana talk about design and placemaking (01.13.21); and Hashi Mohamed, Kathryn Ventham and Simon Mirams talk about the flood risk sequential test (01.24.45). The full conversations will appear on the 50 Shades YouTube channel in due course and Sam will share the respective links on the 50 Shades Bluesky, LinkedIn and TikTok channels when they are published. Some accompanying reading. JEKC David's Tribute St. John's Hospice Bowel Cancer UK Context 'Biggest building boom' in a generation through planning reforms The Planning and Infrastructure Bill The Planning & Infrastructure Bill: An Overview Devolution Devolving local growth: how do the emerging geographies shape up? CPO / LVC / BLV Compulsory purchase process: guidance (October 2024 update) Law Commission seeks views on compulsory purchase laws Compulsory Purchase Process and Compensation Reforms How far can land value capture be pushed? Infrastructure Growth drives major infrastructure and housing planning reform proposals Planning Committees Planning Reform Working Paper: Planning Committees On modernising planning committees Modernising Planning Committees National Survey 2025 Nature Restoration Planning Reform Working Paper: Development and Nature Recovery Land Use Consultation Grey Belt How grey is the Green Belt? The “Grey Belt” has arrived Colouring In The Grey Belt: The PPG Grey belt policy having only a marginal impact at best Grey Belt Impact Assessment Stat Cons Bureaucratic burden lifted to speed up building in growth agenda Reform of the Statutory Consultee System Cons & Pros On Stat Cons Flood Risk Sequential Test More Afloat – New NPPF and the Sequential Test Enhancing flood and coastal erosion risk digital services with the latest data and mapping Some accompanying listening. Back in Black - AC/DC 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. Any other business. Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Back in March 2024 friend of the podcast Catriona Riddell gave a lecture at UCL's Bartlett School of Planning that she called ‘Strategic Planning in England - Where did we go so wrong?'. Sam Stafford couldn't be there that night, but Catriona shared her slides on LinkedIn and they read to Sam almost like a ‘Brief History of Planning 2010-2024', which he thought a good subject for an episode. As well as Catriona, who was Director of Planning at the South East England Regional Assembly when the Coalition Government came to power in 2010, Sam approached another friend of podcast, Steve Quartermain, Chief Planner between 2008 and 2020, who was also keen to be involved. Sam felt though that a political perspective on things was also needed so he approached Greg Clark. Greg was appointed Director of Policy for the Conservative Party in 2001 before being elected as MP for Royal Tunbridge Wells in 2005. He has held a number of senior Government roles, including, and of most relevance to planners, Minister for Decentralisation and Cities within the Department for Communities and Local Government between May 2010 and September 2012 and Secretary of State for CLG between May 2015 and July 2016. Greg was also briefly Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities between July 2022 and September 2022. Greg, pleasingly, was also keen to be involved, and the four of them finally got together at Soho Radio Studios in early October 2024. There were many, many topics of possible conversation in Sam's notes for the recording. They did not actually get to the latter part of the 2010-2024 period, so they did not get to, for example, the Standard Method, the 2020 White Paper, and the Theresa Villiers / LURB amendments brouhaha, but that was because they ended up dwelling on arguably the big three topics of that 2010-2024 period, which are the revocation of the Regional Strategies, Localism and the NPPF. They did also touch, right at the end of the conversation, on permitted development rights. Standby for insights into what Eric Pickles had DCLG staff do on his first day at the Department, the amount of thought that was given to what would replace the RSSs (spoiler alert, not much…) and how the NPPF came into being… Some accompanying reading. Has the localism genie been put back in the bottle? https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/09/has-localism-genie-been-put-back-in.html Some accompanying viewing. Catriona's Bartlett School of Planning lecture - Strategic planning in England: where did we go so wrong? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D2xXMwVNrk Jerry's Final Thought https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7h0mIy6Jho Some accompanying listening. The Wheel – Bill Callahan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPjxq2-j6xY 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html Any other business. Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Saturday 12 October 2024 marks 100 days of the new Labour Government. In anticipation of this milestone Landmark Chambers and Town Legal hosted a seminar in London this week to provide an in-depth review of Labour's first 100 days in power and the impact on planning law and policy. The session was recorded so that Sam Stafford could share it by way of the 50 Shades podcast and planners will be glad that it was recorded because it contains analysis and insight of the highest order. This episode includes: Rupert Warren talking about the NPPF, local plans and housing;Meeta Kaur talking about new towns;Russell Harris talking about London;Simon Ricketts talking about infrastructure and commercial development; andIsabella Buono talking about Grey Belt and affordable housing. Some accompanying reading. https://www.landmarkchambers.co.uk/resources/100-days-of-labour-a-planning-law-and-policy-perspective-full-presentation Some accompanying listening. All My Friends – LCD Soundsystem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObvLGOE-_Qk 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html Any other business. Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Last week, on NPPF deadline day, Sam Stafford was in Manchester and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Katie Wray, David Diggle, Greg Dickson, Mark Parkinson and Claire Petricca-Riding at the studios of Reform Radio. Conscious that the podcast has covered the revised NPPF in episodes 128 and 131, they talked about some of the other current hot planning topics. They talked about brownfield passports and why existing tools in the box are not being used already; they talked about the Labour Party Conference, which led on to conversation about a Plan for England; and they talked about what the New Towns Taskforce would need to do to meaningfully advance that agenda. And then they talked a bit more towards to the end about brownfield passports again. They did try not to mention the NPPF, but, as you will hear, were unsuccessful in so doing... Some accompanying reading. Planning Reform Working Paper: Brownfield Passport https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-reform-working-paper-brownfield-passport The New Towns Taskforce https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/the-new-towns-taskforce Brownfield urban regeneration: how to deliver more growth, homes and jobs with the support of communities https://www.britishland.com/news/brownfield-urban-regeneration-how-to-deliver-more-growth-homes-and-jobs-with-the-support-of-communities/ Brownfield Passports: building on old foundations? https://www.irwinmitchell.com/news-and-insights/expert-comment/post/102jjwb/brownfield-passports-building-on-old-foundations Brownfield Passports…To What? When? How? https://simonicity.com/2024/09/28/brownfield-passportsto-what-when-how/ Design codes will help fill our cities with the missing middle https://www.pricedout.org.uk/design-codes-will-help-fill-our-cities-with-the-missing-middle/ Some accompanying listening. A Shared Sense Of Purpose - Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMhN3pWyBR0 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html Any other business. Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). He shares bits and pieces of planning-related interest on Instagram (@50shadesofplanning) and LinkedIn so please follow those accounts as well.

 "‘The moment has come': pro-building Labour YIMBYs are set to raise the roof" was the title of a piece in the Observer ahead of the Labour Party Conference (link below). For many of the most ambitious of the new cohort of Labour MPs, this is the fashionable campaign of the moment, not for economic growth but as a social justice movement – and one that many of the new millennials entering parliament hope to stake their careers on. Inside Labour it is not a left-right divide, but some of its champions are prepared for it to mean internal party conflict between those who are radicalised on the housing crisis, and more nervous colleagues in rural or suburban seats won for the first time by Labour who might be tempted to retreat into nimbyism on local issues as a way of trying to keep their seats. The point about first time Labour MPs retreating into NIMBYism is interesting in the context of the proposed changes to the standard method that is currently being consulted upon, but it was the point about YIMBYism not being a left-right divide inside Labour that Sam Stafford found most interesting because of a piece in the New Statesman back in April called ‘Not all YIMBYs are your friends - the pro-housing coalition is less united than it seems' (link also below). As it so happens, Sam approached the people quoted in the New Statesmen piece about recording a chat about the politics of housing and met four of them recently to do just that. The four are John Myers, co-founder of the YIMBY Alliance; Robert Colville, columnist and Director of the Centre for Policy Studies; Jonn Elledge, journalist, author and fan of local government reorganisation; and Aydin Dikerdem, Cabinet Member for housing on the London Borough of Wandsworth. They were going to talk about whether Kier Starmer's self-declaration as a YIMBY marks the movements arrival into the political mainstream; whether the ends, more housing, is more important than the means; and who should get a say over what goes where and why. Some of that they did, but the remainder of the conversation, as Listeners will hear, goes off in all kinds of directions. Some accompanying reading. ‘The moment has come': pro-building Labour YIMBYs are set to raise the roof https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/15/the-moment-has-come-pro-building-labour-yimbys-are-set-to-raise-the-roof Not all YIMBYs are your friends https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2024/04/no-not-every-yimby-your-mate-housing All hail the ‘MIMBYs': the open-minded voters who might just save Labour's housing plans https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/05/labour-housing-plans-keir-starmer-houses By Sam: YIMBYs and NIMBYs. Is planning becoming a new front in the culture war? https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/06/yimbys-versus-nimbys-is-planning-new.html By Aydin: The sky pool is a symbol of a greater housing scandal https://www.huckmag.com/article/the-sky-pool-is-a-symbol-of-a-greater-housing-scandal By Robert: The (not so) green belt — and why we should build on it (£) https://www.thetimes.com/article/c7049594-3836-4563-ae4e-caa27eb5409e?shareToken=631cd93bdff30c14ac98a86bd21b483b Some accompanying listening. The In Crowd – Dobie Gray https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOWO--z1S8A 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html Any other business. Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). He shares bits and pieces of planning-related interest on Instagram (@50shadesofplanning) and LinkedIn so please follow those accounts as well.

If you have listened to episodes 125 and 128 you will know Sam Stafford sought to cover, pre-publication, what could and should be in the new version of NPPF. With the consultation deadline now starting to loom large, this episode seeks to cover what is actually in it. Sam was in London earlier this week and caught up with friends of the podcast Andrew Taylor, Hashi Mohamed, Vicky Payne and Simon Ricketts at Soho Radio Studios. They will need no introduction to regular listeners, but for new listeners, Andrew is Group Planning Director at Vistry, Hashi is a Barrister at Landmark Chambers; Vicky is an Associate at Jas Bhalla Works and an Independent Consultant; and Simon is a Partner at Town Legal. As you will hear over the next 45 minutes or so they crammed in as much as possible. They talked about the proposed new stock-based standard method and transitional arrangements for local plans, they talked about Grey Belt, 50% affordable housing and benchmark land values; and they touched on beauty, design codes, vision-led transport planning, the flood risk sequential test, neighbourhood plans, safeguarded land, and application fees. Some accompanying reading. Lichfields' NPPF resource https://lichfields.uk/proposed-reforms-to-the-nppf-and-other-changes-to-the-planning-system?email Simon's blog https://simonicity.com/2024/08/02/50-shades-of-grey-belt/ Zack Simons' blog https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/planningreformday-2024-what-just-happened Vicky on Design https://www.theplanner.co.uk/2024/08/01/more-substance-style-new-nppfs-design-outlook Philip Barnes on BLV https://philipbarnesblog.wordpress.com/2024/08/28/green-belt-vs-grey-belt-vs-benchmark-land-values-vs-50-affordable-housing/ Create Streets - Stepping off the Road to Nowhere https://www.createstreets.com/projects/stepping-off-the-road-to-nowhere/ Some accompanying listening. The Masterplan - Oasis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPPi2D6GK7A Some accompanying viewing. Alam Partridge's big plate https://youtu.be/swJFOE49LRQ?si=bmR85Y7USmizHBef 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html Any other business. Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). He shares bits and pieces of planning-related interest on Instagram (@50shadesofplanning) and LinkedIn so please follow those accounts as well.

In Hitting the High Notes episodes Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permissions or projects that helped to shape them as professionals. And, so that Listeners can get to know people a little better personally, for every project or stage of their career Sam also asks his guests for a piece of music that reminds them of that period. Think of it as town planning's equivalent of Desert Island Discs. Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below. Sam's guest for this episode is Mike Best who many planners, especially in the West Midlands, will know from his twenty years at Turley. Their conversation was recorded at Birmingham Podcast Studios in July 2024 and takes in Mike's early career in Local Government at Rotherham and Coventry and his move into consultancy with Jones Lang Wootton as was. Taking in retail parks, racecourses and regeneration, the projects that Mike talks Sam through highlight the breadth of the planning profession. Some accompanying listening. Mike's Spotify playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3U6RUbhmrcUOzqBe7NvF6F?si=L-6LiPRWQ2m1zwgoIgiyCw&pi=e-3vODKymtRKed&nd=1&dlsi=df762b96aa044203 Ignoreland – REM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03gauuHIgME A Design for Life – Manic Street Preachers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfEoVxy7VDQ Limelight – Rush https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgj2br-teu4 The Whole of the Moon – Waterboys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBW8Vnp8BzU Twice If You're Lucky – Crowded House https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcKh-VeFxX0  Inner City Life – Goldie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-P98B2skts Some accompanying reading Mike's Blog https://mikesbestlaidplans.wordpress.com/ 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html Any other business. Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). He shares bits and pieces of planning-related interest on Instagram (@50shadesofplanning) and LinkedIn so please follow those accounts as well.

To rebuild or to retrofit? That is the question posed by former Secretary of State Michael Gove's intervention in planning applications for the redevelopment of M&S' Oxford Street store and the former Museum of London building. According to the Climate Change Committee, direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from buildings account for 23% of the UK total. How can we create energy-efficient, carbon neutral and climate resilient new buildings and what is needed to accelerate the decarbonisation of existing buildings? The greenest building, so it is said, is the building that already exists and a ‘retrofit fit first, not retrofit only' position appears to be emerging as the default, but this involves understanding which development options would have the lowest embodied carbon intensity and operational carbon emissions. Who is measuring what and how? Friend of the podcast Katie Wray kindly convened a group of experts in this field to tackle these questions in a conversation recorded online in April 2024. Katie, Director in Real Assets Advisory team at Deloitte, spoke to Iain Shaw, Mike Keaveney and Alex Edwards. Iain is a Director at Max Fordham, Mike is a Land & Development Director at Grainger; and Alex is ESG Director at Bruntwood SciTech. They talk about where the drivers for change in this area are coming from, how decisions around rebuild and retrofit are arrived at, and the concept of ‘value for carbon'. Some accompanying reading. Retrofit First: The City of London, Camden, now Westminster- who will be next? https://lichfields.uk/blog/2024/april/02/retrofit-first-the-city-camden-now-westminster-who-will-be-next/ UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard Home | UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (nzcbuildings.co.uk) Climate Change and Historic Building Adaptation Historic England Advice Note DRAFT Climate Change and Historic Building Adaptation - draft for consultation (historicengland.org.uk) City of London Corporation's heritage building retrofit toolkit https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/assets/Services-Environment/Heritage-Buildings-Retrofit-Toolkit.pdf Retrofit and Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/technical-advice/retrofit-and-energy-efficiency-in-historic-buildings/#:~:text=We%20use%20the%20term%20retrofit,and%20use%20of%20the%20building Manchester Climate Change Framework (see section on retrofit) MANCHESTER CLIMATE CHANGE FRAMEWORK(2020-25) | 2022 UPDATE (squarespace.com) Some accompanying listening. Build It Up, Tear It Down by Fatboy Slim https://youtu.be/bxHjytBY7Z8?si=k0dTMcz8CO8Im-bg 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here. You can also sign up for the 50 Shades Newsletter via the 50 Shades Blog. Any other business. Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). He shares bits and pieces of planning-related interest on Instagram (@50shadesofplanning) and LinkedIn so please follow those accounts as well.

Sam Stafford has mentioned previously that the podcast would consider the new Government's reform agenda and this is an attempt at doing so. The specifics of the NPPF consultation will be covered in more depth in due course, but what Listeners will hear in this jam-packed extravaganza of an episode is an exploration of that reform agenda in it's broader sense. In anticipation of the NPPF, Sam invited some of the Shades alumni to discuss some of the policy areas of most interest to them and how the new Government could and should approach them. The voices that Listeners will hear belong to Vicky Payne, Hana Loftus, Ben Castell, Andrew Taylor, Pooja Agrawal, Claire Petricca-Riding, David Diggle, Nicola Gooch, Shelly Rouse, Gilan Macinnes, Ian Wray, Paul Smith, Mike Kiely, Simon Ricketts and Annie Gingell. Listeners will hear: Vicky, Hana, Ben, Andrew and Pooja talk about design and placemaking (05:23);Claire, David and Nicola talk about planning for infrastructure and the environment (20:02);Shelly, Gilan and Pooja talk about LPA capacity (26:32);Ian, Paul, Mike and Nicola talk about Grey Belt (38:38);Ian, Paul and Vicky talk about New Towns (50:34);Paul, Shelly and Andrew talk about devolution and ‘greater than local' planning (01:02:03);Nicola, Andrew, Gilian and Simon talk about land value capture (01:15:32); andPaul, Annie, Shelly and Andrew talk housing targets (01:27:36). This episode only features parts of those eight conversations. Listen to the end to find out how and where to listen to all eight conversations in full in due course. Some accompanying reading. #PlanningReformDay 2024 - what just happened? https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/planningreformday-2024-what-just-happened Letter from Deputy Prime Minister and Defra Secretary of State to environmental NGOs on planning and infrastructure bill https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-deputy-prime-minister-and-defra-secretary-of-state-to-environmental-ngos-on-planning-and-infrastructure-bill Pathways to Planning https://www.local.gov.uk/pathways-to-planning The Green Belt. What it is and why; what it isn't; and what it should be http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-green-belt-what-it-is-why-it-is.html Policy statement on new towns https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/policy-statement-on-new-towns/policy-statement-on-new-towns Letter from the Deputy Prime Minister to local leaders: the next steps to devolution https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-the-deputy-prime-minister-to-local-leaders-the-next-steps-to-devolution/letter-from-the-deputy-prime-minister-to-local-leaders-the-next-steps-to-devolution Land value capture back in focus https://philipbarnesblog.wordpress.com/2024/07/12/land-value-capture-back-in-fashion/ Where next for the substandard method of assessing housing need? https://www.turley.co.uk/comment/housebuilding-assessment-targets-housing-stock-approach Some accompanying viewing. https://www.youtube.com/@FiftyShadesofPlanning Some accompanying listening. Labour of Love – Hue & Cry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CYZ6q7Wr9c 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here. You can also sign up for the 50 Shades Newsletter via the 50 Shades Blog. Any other business. Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). He shares bits and pieces of planning-related interest on Instagram (@50shadesofplanning) and LinkedIn so please follow those accounts as well.

Long-serving Listeners might recall that for Episode 6 of 50 Shades of Planning Sam Stafford published a chat with Euan Mills, then of the Connected Places Catapult, on the potential for digital innovation, urban data, and user-centred design to improve the planning system. Euan, now CEO and co-founder of Blocktype, got in touch with Sam Stafford earlier this year and asked if he could put together an episode on the progress that has been made over the past five years towards this aim. This was both a kind invitation and a coincidental one because at around the same time the Spring Budget Statement included reference to “piloting the use of AI solutions to support planning authorities to streamline their local plan development processes, producing plans in 30 months rather than the current average of seven years. This builds on work to date which has already reduced planning officer processing times by up to 30% per application.” This episode features four conversations that Euan recorded back in March with four people both very knowledgeable and very active in this space. They are Alistair Parvin, CEO of Open Systems Lab; Dr Sue Chadwick, Strategic & Digital Planning Advisor at Pinsent Masons; Matt Wood-Hill, Head of Digital Planning Software at MHCLG; and Paul Downey, Planning Data Service Owner at MHLCG. During the course of this episode Listeners will learn a lot about how digital innovation, urban data, and user-centred design are improving the UK planning system. Some accompanying reading. Blocktype blocktype.co.uk Plan X  planx.uk Planning Data Planning.data.gov.uk Open Digital Planning opendigitalplanning.org The Future of Planning - How we can rewire the planning system for the digital age https://medium.com/@alastairparvin/the-future-of-planning-8a1f93e17ae1 Some accompanying listening. Digital – Goldie (feat. KRS One) (Armand Van Helden Remix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1dgKcpgKxs 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here. You can also sign up for the 50 Shades Newsletter via the 50 Shades Blog. Any other business. Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). He shares bits and pieces of planning-related interest on Instagram (@50shadesofplanning) and LinkedIn so please follow those accounts as well.

One of the new Labour Government's manifesto pledges is the construction of 1.5 million new homes between now and the end of this new parliament. “We will ensure local communities continue to shape housebuilding in their area, but where necessary Labour will not be afraid to make full use of intervention powers to build the houses we need”, the manifesto states, which strikes a markedly different tone to the emphatically localist one adopted by the Conservatives upon entering office back in 2010. So different in fact that according to the Daily Express recently “campaigners have demanded an apology from Sir Keir Starmer for treating nature and communities with “disdain” through his approach to housing policies and energy infrastructure.” Now seemed like a good time then for Sam Stafford to publish a conversation between old friends of the podcast Andrew Taylor, Catriona Riddell and Paul Miner, and new friends of the podcast Jonathan Werran, Andy von Bradsky and Anna Clarke. This conversation, which is lead by Andrew and recorded online in April 2024 is about an essay collection compiled by Localis called ‘Building by consent – housing by popular demand'. Localis, of which Jonathan is Chief Executive, asked a wide range of policy experts, local government leaders and industry bodies, to sketch their plan for what a successful planning system that generates community support for development might look like. Andrew, Catriona, Paul, Andy and Anna all provided contributions.. Some accompanying reading. Labour's planning proposals http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/04/labours-planning-proposals.html A new dawn has broken, has it not? https://lichfields.uk/blog/2024/july/05/a-new-dawn-has-broken-has-it-not Sir Keir Starmer accused of 'making enemies' of voters as campaigners demand apology https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1912206/keir-starmer-housing-nature-communities Building Communities https://www.localis.org.uk/research/building-communities/ Building Consent https://localis.org.uk/research/building-consent/ Long-Term National Housing Strategy https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2024-02-29/debates/48BADB17-4BC5-4D4A-81A9-6E80B85533AF/Long-TermNationalHousingStrategy#contribution-F4869BBB-7ECD-49E2-9E36-7AEA3060249D Neighbourhood Planning Design Coding Guidance https://neighbourhoodplanning.org/toolkits-and-guidance/neighbourhood-planning-design-coding-guidance/ Independent review of build out: final report https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-build-out-final-report Start to Finish 3 https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/start-to-finish-3 Streamlining planning to build more homes https://housingforum.org.uk/reports/key-publications/streamlining-planning-to-build-more-homes/ Some accompanying listening. Wind of Change - Scorpions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4RjJKxsamQ 50 Shades T-Shirts & Newsletter If you have listened to Episode 45 of 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here and you can also sign up for the 50 Shades Newsletter via the 50 Shaded Blog.

With a General Election now imminent Sam Stafford thought that it might be interesting to try to compare what is being offered by the main political parties in relation to housing, planning and development with what the housing, planning and development sector would like to see being offered. In a conversation recorded at Outset Studios in Shoreditch Sam speaks to new friends of the podcast Richard Blyth, Tony Mulhall, Marie Chadwick and Ian Fletcher, and old friend of the podcast Paul Brocklehurst, about the policy proposals that their respective organisations are promulgating. Richard is Head of Policy & Practice at the RTPI; Tony is a Senior Specialist at RICS; Marie is Policy Leader at the NHF; Paul is Chair of the LPDF; and Ian is Director of Real Estate Policy at the BPF. Sam invites them all to outline their respective manifestos and then they focused on two key areas that everybody agreed need to be addressed: the need to get more resources into LPAs and the need to reintroduce strategic planning whilst at the same time getting local plans moving again. Towards the end of the episode Sam also asks Marie about the issue of RPs not bidding for S106 sites, which is a very live one at present. Some accompanying reading. Blue belt, grey belt, wild belt – the manifestos compared https://lichfields.uk/blog/2024/june/20/blue-belt-grey-belt-wild-belt-the-manifestos-compared RICS' Land & Rural Manifesto overview https://www.rics.org/news-insights/rics-uk-general-election-land-and-rural-manifesto-review The BPF General Election Manifesto https://bpf.org.uk/our-work/general-election-2024/ LPDF's 10 Point Plan for a Step Change in Delivery https://lpdf.co.uk/latest-lpdf-publications RTPI's Planifesto https://www.rtpi.org.uk/new/our-campaigns/rtpi-planifesto-2024/ Some accompanying viewing. NHF's campaign for a Plan for Housing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmM3WLCjcwQ Some accompanying listening. Manifesto by Roxy Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjkVYOArUQM 50 Shades - T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of 50 Shades of Planning you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

In February 2024 Planning published a special report by Joey Gardiner entitled ‘how cost-saving consultants disrupted council planning services'.  Cash-strapped councils have been following management consultants' advice to split up their planning teams. Staff have been put into central departments to handle additional non-planning tasks. But the upshot, say critics, has been declining performance and a staff exodus. Joey's piece highlighted the tumult at Tandridge, which in 2020 was formally threatened with designation over the quality of its decision-making. A subsequent PAS review of the council's development management service, which was published in 2021, laid the blame squarely on a team structure “developed during the corporate restructure” that it said was “not fit for purpose”.  That local government has borne the brunt of the age of austerity is well known. According to the IFS, during the 2010s, councils' overall core funding per person fell by an average of 26% in real terms, with higher council tax revenues only partially offsetting a 46% reduction in funding from central government.  Those in the sector know that planning and development has borne the brunt of that. Again according to the IFS, spending per person on planning and development fell by 58% between 2010/11 and 2019/20, which was second only to cuts to services for young people and Sure Start. Perhaps less well known, and what Joey's article has helped to shine a light on, is the impact on planning services of the kind of whole-authority service transformations that some authorities have undertaken to in order to deal with these financial pressures. To explore this issue further Sam Stafford invited four of the people quoted in Joey's article to expand upon their experiences with him. They are old friends of the podcast Mike Kiely, Gilian MacInnes and Paul Barnard, and new friend of the podcast Peter Ford. In a conversation recorded at Soho Radio Studios at the end of April 2024 they talked about the pressures that LPAs have been and are under; why the nature of planning services do not lend it to whole-authority service transformations; and the impact of such upheavals. They also talked about whether there are too planning teams and whether Chief Planning Officers could and should be at the top decision-making table. The episode starts though with a brief conversation that Sam recorded online with Joey Gardiner recently about his special report for Planning. Sam asked Joey how he went about putting the report together; what he found most striking in so doing; and what feedback he has had on it. Some accompanying reading. How cost-saving consultants disrupted council planning services (£) https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1860857/cost-saving-consultants-disrupted-council-planning-services Tandridge District Council - DM Review https://tandridge.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s4234/Appendix%20A%20-%20Development%20Management%20Review.pdf Guildford Borough Council - Development Management Establishment Review https://democracy.guildford.gov.uk/documents/s26379/Item%208%20-%20DM%20Budget%20Exec%20Report%20revised%20for%20Autumn%202022%20-%20FINAL-%20V4.pdf How have English councils' funding and spending changed? 2010 to 2024 https://ifs.org.uk/publications/how-have-english-councils-funding-and-spending-changed-2010-2024 Some accompanying listening. Episode 84 of Room 106 https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep84-how-cost-saving-management-consultants-are-impacting/id1596110607?i=1000649057189 A Shared Sense Of Purpose - Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan (Vince Clarke Remix) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpeRnH2FLA4

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 Simon's 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

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 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 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 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 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 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 samstafford@hotmail.com or via @samuel_stafford on Twitter. Some accompanying listening. Rules of Engagement by King Creosote https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcKPu6Yo8q4 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

Hitting The High Notes 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 samstafford@hotmail.com. Some accompanying reading. Public Practice https://www.publicpractice.org.uk/ The regeneration of Kings Cross https://www.kingscross.co.uk/about-the-development Great Ormond Street Hospital's Children's Cancer Centre https://www.goshccc.info/ The UK Dementia Research Centre's new research centre https://ukdri.ac.uk/news-and-events/a-leap-forwards-for-the-future-home-of-uk-dri-at-ucl Some accompanying listening. Let's Push Things Forward by The Streets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UGtlUMMkOU 50 Shades T-Shirts! If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that... 'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'. Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html

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