Image Rights

Image Rights

Author: Samuel Stafford May 24, 2019 Duration: 46:36

Sam Stafford and his guests David Diggle, Tom Whitehead and Andrew Jalali discuss whether modern design is s***, whether the planning profession has an image problem, and the role of planning in tackling climate change.


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
NPPF 2023 Update - What Next? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:47
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…
🏆The #Planoraks Awards 2023🏆 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:01
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 announ…
Pre-Apps and PPAs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:09
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 i…
A B~~~~~'s Muddle [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:55
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 Directo…
Going Public [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:59
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…
A Plan for England [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:12
"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 ene…
A LURA LURA Laughs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:59
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…
Planning is Brilliant [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:24
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…