A Framework-Led Conversation

A Framework-Led Conversation

Author: Samuel Stafford September 26, 2026 Duration: 1:05:26

Whilst in London recently Sam Stafford took the opportunity to catch up with old friends of the podcast Simon Ricketts, Andrew Taylor and Mike Kiely.

Simon is a Partner at Town Legal, Andrew is Group Planning and Sustainability Director at Vistry and Mike is a former Chief Planner, now independent planning consultant working mainly in the public sector as well as chairing the board of the Planning Officer's Society.

In a conversation recorded at Brazen Studios in Southwark they kicked around a few of the issues exercising the planning profession at the minute. Their ramblechat took in evidenced unmet need; the pause to local government reorganisation; housing targets; Reform’s planning teal paper; the importance of next month’s Budget; and reports from the RTPI of an increasing use of its professional conduct complaints process as a way of people seeking to challenge LPA decisions.

Some accompanying reading.

50 Shades of Planning T-Shirts!

England's Greatest Place

Evidenced Unmet Need

A Problem With The Draft London Plan?

Stacey Robbins’ LinkedIn post about settlement boundaries

What does the 2026 NPPF say about construction traffic?

Podcast episode 182: Meet a MP and an AM - Reform UK

Evaluation of the Help to Buy scheme

Land Matters: Removing Barriers to Housebuilding

Professional standards and accuracy

Some accompanying viewing.

Nature Restoration Fund – Business Readiness Forum, September 2026

Some accompanying listening.

The Summer Has Flown – Katherine Priddy

Any other business.

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

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

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


Samuel Stafford hosts 50 Shades of Planning, a podcast that digs into the often perplexing world of the English planning system. Rather than offering dry policy lectures, these conversations embrace the sector's inherent complexities and occasional absurdities. The aim is to provide a wide-ranging view, bringing in diverse voices from across the fields of planning, property, design, and development. You'll hear from practitioners, thinkers, and critics, each sharing their unique experiences and perspectives on how places are shaped. A recurring series within the podcast, titled 'Hitting The High Notes', features in-depth discussions with leading figures, examining pivotal career moments and influential projects. These talks are structured around six key planning milestones, offering a concrete framework for understanding professional journeys and systemic challenges. By weaving together themes from government, business, arts, and social sciences, this podcast reveals how planning sits at a crowded intersection of politics, economics, and community life. Tune in for thoughtful, sometimes surprising, explorations of the forces that decide what gets built, where, and why.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

50 Shades of Planning
Podcast Episodes
Hitting the High Notes - Peter Soulsby [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:46
Sam Stafford was invited to a ProCon Leicestershire event in Leicester in October 2025 and also on the panel that evening was his old friend Grant Butterworth. Grant, Head of Planning at Leicester City Council, kindly in…
The Shard Inquiry [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:54
This episode features the recording of an event hosted by Lorenzo Pandolfi and Simone Pagani in February 2026. Lorenzo and Simone invited Chris Katkowski and Russell Harris to tell the story of the Shard inquiry. Chris a…
The Tip of the AIceberg [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:00
"The second (epochal change) is the technology revolution led by developments in artificial intelligence, which will change everything. I mean everything. There is no point in debating whether this technological revoluti…
Meet the MPs - Labour [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:12
The role of local councillors in the planning system has been a familiar topic of conversation on the podcast in the context of, for example, overturning officer recommendations and the case for a national scheme of dele…
Reform, reform and more Reform [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:16
Sam Stafford was in Manchester recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Charlotte Leach, Katie Wray, Claire Petricca-Riding and Paul Smith. Their conversation, recorded at Reform Radio, w…
LGR [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:36
The 2026 local elections will likely turn out to be significant for a number of reasons. Westminster psychodrama aside though, one area of immediate interest, for example, is what the increased number of councils under n…
The West Midlands Problem (plus Grey Belt and some other stuff) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:32
Sam Stafford was in Birmingham recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Mike Best, Kathryn Ventham and Michelle Simpson-Gallego at PodHaus studios in Digbeth. They talked about why the re…
What is really wrong with the Habitats Regulations? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:08
DEFRA recently launched a consultation on significant changes to it’s guidance on how Habitat Regulations Assessments should be carried out, which comes at an interesting time. It is, firstly, not long since DEFRA announ…
Some Things Just Take Time [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:24
Sam Stafford was in London recently and took the opportunity to catch up with old friends of the podcast Mike Kiely, Annie Gingell, Andrew Taylor and Iain Thomson, and new friend of the podcast Claire Tester. In a conver…
New Towns: Practicalities & Placemaking [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:18
New Towns are back in the news because the Government has announced the first formal step in creating the next generation of them with the launch of a public consultation on the draft New Towns Programme and its environm…