Catch Up

Catch Up

Author: Samuel Stafford November 19, 2022 Duration: 53:35

This is an old skool, Adam Buxton-style ramble chat 50 Shades episode in which Sam Stafford fills his lunch hour with what he enjoys most: talking about planning with some of his planning friends.

Planning being the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world that it is there was a lot to take in. Sam's conversation with Simon Ricketts, Claire Petricca-Riding and Vicky Payne covers a busy week that included the Autumn Statement; amendments to the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill; what Michael Gove had to say in a keynote speech; COP27 and the Supreme Court's Hillside Parks decision.

Simon Ricketts (@sricketts1) is a Partner at Town Legal.

Claire Petricca-Riding (@petriccaRiding) is a Partner and National Head of Planning & Environmental Law at Irwin Mitchell.

Vicky Payne (@Victoria_Payne) is Strategy, Research & Engagement Lead at the Quality of Life Foundation.

Some accompanying reading.

Simon’s ‘All Systems Gove’ blog (which itself includes lots of interesting links)

https://simonicity.com/2022/11/19/all-systems-gove/ 

Sam’s 'State of Planning' Blog 

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-state-of-planning.html 

Banking on Brownfield - a Lichfields report

https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/banking-on-brownfield 

Michael Gove's speech to the CPS conference

https://capx.co/unlocking-the-change-this-country-needs/ 

Robert Jenrick and the 'perception of landbanking'

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/government-will-act-on-build-out-rates-jenrick-confirms/5112044.article 

The Quality of Life Foundation 

https://www.qolf.org/ 

Simon’s Hillside Parks Blog 

https://simonicity.com/2022/11/02/running-down-that-hillside/ 

Some accompanying listening

Hillside Song by My Morning Jacket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbxrWHfblKo 

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast you will have heard Clive Betts say that...

'In the Netherlands planning is seen as part of the solution. In the UK, too often, planning is seen as part of the problem'.

Sam said in reply that that would look good on a t-shirt and it does. Further details can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/07/50-shades-of-planning-t-shirts.html


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: 100

50 Shades of Planning
Podcast Episodes
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…
All Around the World - The Netherlands [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:40
This is the third of a series of episodes being led by the oldest friend of the podcast, Paul Smith. Paul put it to Sam Stafford that debates about the planning system in England tend, for the most part, to focus solely…
Appeal Ready [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:44
Sam Stafford was in Manchester last week and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Lisa Tye, Andrew Johnston and Louise Fountain to discuss some of the issues of the day. In a conversation recorded…