Capturing the Zeitgeist

Capturing the Zeitgeist

Author: Samuel Stafford March 9, 2024 Duration: 51:47

This episode is a ramblechat that Sam Stafford recorded in London with friends of the podcast Hashi Mohamed, Simon Ricketts, Nicola Gooch and Andrew Taylor during which they reflected on another exciting few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning.

The conversation takes in the back-dating of Section 106 indexation and what that says about local authority finances; the need to consider PPAs, statutory consultees and performance targets in the round; BNG and Sam's debut appearance on Countryfile; the Brownfield Reform Day consultations on a presumption in favour of brownfield development, permitted development rights and the Mayor of London’s call-in powers; and the Competition & Markets Authority's report on the housebuilding industry. All in approximately 45 minutes or so.

Some accompanying reading.

Housebuilding market study final report

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housebuilding-market-study-final-report

Brownfield Reform Day

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/02/brownfield-reform-day.html

Biodiversity Unit Finder Map

https://www.futurehomes.org.uk/biodiversityunitfindermap

Short Term Thinking 

https://simonicity.com/2023/04/14/short-term-thinking/

Can Local Plan Policies Require Developers To Go Beyond National Standards?

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


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 - Ben Castell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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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…
Fudge [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Cracking the Code [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:25
“We should aspire to pass on our heritage to our successors, not depleted but enhanced. In order to do that, we need to bring about a profound and lasting change in the buildings that we build, which is one of the reason…
Hitting the High Notes - Victoria Hills [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:03
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…
EA in the UK after the EU [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:18
As a 50 Shades of Planning Podcast listener you will be perceptive enough to have spotted that the United Kingdom has left the European Union. Town Planners will have noted in so doing that the regulatory regime for the…
Neutral Impact [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:47
Eutrophication might not have been a word that planners came across too often before November 2018, but many now know if they didn’t before then that it is the process by which nutrient-laden water encourages algae growt…
The Unearned Increment [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:33
Consensus between economists is rare, but almost all agree that there is a moral argument for the taxation of land. Planning reform, death and taxes have long been three of life’s certainties. Land taxation and the conce…
Can the British plan? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:29
'Can the British plan? Sometimes it seems unlikely. Across the world we see grand designs and visionary projects: new airport terminals, nuclear power stations, high-speed railways, and glittering buildings. It all seems…
Reflections on 2020 - Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:54
Is it right that old times be forgotten, asks Robert Burns in the opening line of Auld Lang Syne. Instinctively one might want to say yes to that insofar as 2020 is concerned. Much has been lost, but it’s also right to s…
Reflections on 2020 - Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:50
Little did Sam Stafford know when recording Episode 14 in Manchester at the end of February 2020 that every episode for the rest of the year, and who knows how far beyond, would need to be recorded remotely. This is the…