Labour of Love

Labour of Love

Author: Samuel Stafford August 3, 2024 Duration: 1:44:41

Sam Stafford has mentioned previously that the podcast would consider the new Government’s reform agenda and this is an attempt at doing so. The specifics of the NPPF consultation will be covered in more depth in due course, but what Listeners will hear in this jam-packed extravaganza of an episode is an exploration of that reform agenda in it’s broader sense.

In anticipation of the NPPF, Sam invited some of the Shades alumni to discuss some of the policy areas of most interest to them and how the new Government could and should approach them.

The voices that Listeners will hear belong to Vicky Payne, Hana Loftus, Ben Castell, Andrew Taylor, Pooja Agrawal, Claire Petricca-Riding, David Diggle, Nicola Gooch, Shelly Rouse, Gilan Macinnes, Ian Wray, Paul Smith, Mike Kiely, Simon Ricketts and Annie Gingell.

Listeners will hear:

  • Vicky, Hana, Ben, Andrew and Pooja talk about design and placemaking (05:23);
  • Claire, David and Nicola talk about planning for infrastructure and the environment (20:02);
  • Shelly, Gilan and Pooja talk about LPA capacity (26:32);
  • Ian, Paul, Mike and Nicola talk about Grey Belt (38:38);
  • Ian, Paul and Vicky talk about New Towns (50:34);
  • Paul, Shelly and Andrew talk about devolution and ‘greater than local’ planning (01:02:03);
  • Nicola, Andrew, Gilian and Simon talk about land value capture (01:15:32); and
  • Paul, Annie, Shelly and Andrew talk housing targets (01:27:36).

This episode only features parts of those eight conversations. Listen to the end to find out how and where to listen to all eight conversations in full in due course.

Some accompanying reading.

#PlanningReformDay 2024 - what just happened?

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/planningreformday-2024-what-just-happened

Letter from Deputy Prime Minister and Defra Secretary of State to environmental NGOs on planning and infrastructure bill

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-deputy-prime-minister-and-defra-secretary-of-state-to-environmental-ngos-on-planning-and-infrastructure-bill

Pathways to Planning

https://www.local.gov.uk/pathways-to-planning

The Green Belt. What it is and why; what it isn't; and what it should be

http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-green-belt-what-it-is-why-it-is.html

Policy statement on new towns

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/policy-statement-on-new-towns/policy-statement-on-new-towns

Letter from the Deputy Prime Minister to local leaders: the next steps to devolution

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-the-deputy-prime-minister-to-local-leaders-the-next-steps-to-devolution/letter-from-the-deputy-prime-minister-to-local-leaders-the-next-steps-to-devolution

Land value capture back in focus

https://philipbarnesblog.wordpress.com/2024/07/12/land-value-capture-back-in-fashion/

Where next for the substandard method of assessing housing need?

https://www.turley.co.uk/comment/housebuilding-assessment-targets-housing-stock-approach

Some accompanying viewing.

https://www.youtube.com/@FiftyShadesofPlanning

Some accompanying listening.

Labour of Love – Hue & Cry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CYZ6q7Wr9c

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of 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. You can also sign up for the 50 Shades Newsletter via the 50 Shades Blog.

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.


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
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…
Hitting the High Notes - Catriona Riddell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:25
Strategic planning, as Sam Stafford said in the introduction to episode number 157, is back. That episode looked at what shape it is in right now. What have authorities been able to do whilst awaiting the consolidation o…
We❤️Planning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:31
Sam Stafford was in Birmingham recently and took the opportunity to record the first ‘catch up’-style episode with some of his friends working in the West Midlands. In a conversation recorded at PodHaus studios, Kathryn…
How Does Bad Policy Get Made? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:34
In October 2025 Sam Stafford came across a blog by Jack Airey, who is now a Director at Public First but was the Head of Planning at Policy Exchange and subsequently spent a few years inside Number 10 as a Special Adviso…
The Return of Strategic Planning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:29
Strategic planning is back. What do we know? We know that Policy PM1 of the revised draft NPPF anticipates the move towards national coverage of Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs), as promised by the end of the parlia…
🏆The #Planoraks Awards 2025🏆 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:58
This is the second of Sam Stafford's seasonal offerings which serve as a review of another exciting year in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning. Once again Zack Simons kindly b…
🎅🏻The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz🎄 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:33:17
This episode sees the return of the 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz. Sam Stafford got together with friends of podcast Mike Kiely, Catriona Riddell, Annie Gingell, Andrew Taylor, Nicola Gooch, Shelly Rouse,…