An Engaging Conversation

An Engaging Conversation

Author: Samuel Stafford June 17, 2023 Duration: 1:05:45

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


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: 164

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

Duration: 53:43
This episode sees the welcome return of the Hitting the High Notes series, the basic proposition of which is that Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permi…
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It has been another exciting few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing rock and roll world of town and country planning... “Thousands of new homes promised to communities will be delivered faster, thanks to major change…
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Duration: 1:34:43
For how long Grey Belt remains part of the policy landscape time will tell, but in the here and now it represents very welcome political recognition that the homes the country needs cannot be built without developing lan…
A Conversation with Michael Gove [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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This episode is a conversation between Sam Stafford and former Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Rt Hon. the Lord Gove. Famous in political circles. Infamous, some might say, in planning c…
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When in Manchester recently Sam Stafford took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast David Diggle, Paul Smith, Rebecca Coley and Claire Petricca-Riding and over the course of an hour or so they talked ab…
The BNG [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:01
Over a year on from it becoming mandatory, what is to be made of BNG? On the one hand, according to an open letter signed by a 40-strong coalition of housebuilders and environmental groups to mark the first anniversary,…
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Duration: 59:50
Sam Stafford was down in The Big Smoke recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Matthew Spry, Simon Ricketts, Hana Loftus, Vicky Payne and Mike Kiely. In a good ol’ fashioned Adam Buxton-…
Back in Black [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:40:58
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…
A Brief History of Planning 2010-2024 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:32
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 th…