Last of the Summer Whine

Last of the Summer Whine

Author: Samuel Stafford September 2, 2023 Duration: 48:12

Sam Stafford was in London this week and managed to catch up with some of the 50 Shades crew for a conversation about another turbulent few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning. 

Sam met Andrew Taylor, Gilian Macinnes, Simon Ricketts and Nicola Gooch at Soho Radio Studios for a wide-ranging, whistle-stop catch-up that took in application fees in the context of wider local authority funding challenges; a new local plan consultation in the context of the ongoing crisis in local plan-making; and NSIPs in the context of Labour’s possible proposals for a new wave of new towns. The gang also touch on Green Belt, PD rights and BNG. Michael Gove’s "Long-term plan for housing" also gets a cursory mention.

Some accompanying reading.

Long-term plan for housing: Secretary of State's speech

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/long-term-plan-for-housing-secretary-of-states-speech

Plan-making reforms: consultation on implementation

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/plan-making-reforms-consultation-on-implementation

Permitted development rights

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/permitted-development-rights

Operational reforms to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) consenting process

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/operational-reforms-to-the-nationally-significant-infrastructure-project-consenting-process

Six in ten people in England would keep the Green Belt as it is

https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/six-in-ten-people-in-england-would-keep-green-belt-as-it-is

Statement: Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funds

https://www.woking.gov.uk/news/statement-community-infrastructure-levy-cil-funds

Technical consultation: Stronger performance of local planning authorities supported through an increase in planning fees: government response

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/increasing-planning-fees-and-performance-technical-consultation/outcome/technical-consultation-stronger-performance-of-local-planning-authorities-supported-through-an-increase-in-planning-fees-government-response

New towns are building blocks of Labour’s plan for UK growth

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/url-labour-party-new-towns-uk-house-building-plan-2023-d8gp3zkj2

The Golf Belt

https://golfbelt.russellcurtis.co.uk/

Sussex Section 106 agreement marks key moment for developers in Biodiversity Net Gain provision

https://www.c-l-m.co.uk/clm-news/sussex-section-106-agreement-marks-key-moment-for-developers-in-biodiversity-net-gain-provision/

The Government’s Big Move On Nutrient Neutrality – Now We Have Seen The Government’s LURB Amendment

https://simonicity.com/2023/08/29/the-governments-big-move-on-nutrient-neutrality-now-we-have-seen-the-governments-lurb-amendment/

LURB Watch 2: The nutrient amendments have landed

https://imbusiness.passle.net/post/102imu5/lurb-watch-2-the-nutrient-amendments-have-landed

Summer madness: what have you missed?

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/summer-madness-what-have-you-missed

Some accompanying viewing.

Three Blokes in a Bath

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80sSbLzSuak

Some accompanying listening.

Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder

https://youtu.be/I1_uU9eIZRo?si=W8d-tYxQUKcq8Zh_

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: 100

50 Shades of Planning
Podcast Episodes
What Do We Want? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:29
With a General Election now imminent Sam Stafford thought that it might be interesting to try to compare what is being offered by the main political parties in relation to housing, planning and development with what the…
Efficiency Savings [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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In February 2024 Planning published a special report by Joey Gardiner entitled ‘how cost-saving consultants disrupted council planning services’. Cash-strapped councils have been following management consultants’ advice…
Neutral Impact III (and a bit of Green Belt) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:06
When Sam Stafford first covered nutrient neutrality, in February 2021, he described the process of eutrophication as a bit like the podcast itself: a little niche, but very important. When Sam published a second episode…
Love Thy Neighbourhood Plan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:32
What are we to make of neighbourhood planning? Friend of the podcast Ben Castell considers it a “grassroots planning revolution”. Perhaps less favourably it conjures for others images of corduroy and tweed-clad councillo…
Grey Belt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:21
Sam Stafford was in London recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Catriona Riddell, Shelly Rouse and Nicola Gooch at Soho Radio Studios. One topic, the hot topic of the past few weeks,…
A Hillside To Die On [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:16
Sam Stafford was in Manchester recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Greg Dickson and Claire Petricca-Riding. During a conversation recorded at Reform Radio they talked about another e…
Hitting the High Notes - Nick Kilby [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:14
In Hitting the High Notes episodes Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permissions or projects that helped to shape them as professionals. And, so that Lis…
Banishing Boxland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:50
The Prime Minister recently announced plans to "turbocharge" development within England's largest towns and cities to mark a Government consultation on strengthening planning policy for brownfield development. Sam Staffo…
Capturing the Zeitgeist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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…
Critical Infrastructure [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:10
Building GP surgeries, schools and roads is not just difficult it is so difficult, according to no less of an expert on such matters than the Prime Minister, as to be a reason to not even contemplate growing existing tow…