New Politics, New Towns and New Books

New Politics, New Towns and New Books

Author: Samuel Stafford August 2, 2025 Duration: 1:03:04

Sam Stafford was in Manchester recently and took the opportunity to catch up with old friends of the podcast Ian Wray, Claire Petricca-Riding and David Diggle, and new friends of the podcast Charlotte Leach and Louise Fountain.

Over the course of an hour or so they enjoyed a good ol’ fashioned 50 Shades ramblechat. They talked about the increasingly rancorous nature of planning and whether a sense of fractiousness and febrility is driving the rise of Reform as a political force. They also talked about New Towns and Ian’s 'Northern Arc' proposition, and, towards the end, they swapped holiday reading recommendations.

Some accompanying reading.

The Rise of Reform

How Britain's high street decline is fuelling Reform UK's rise: 'There's a sense that politics has failed'

We won’t let residents block big new towns, says planning minister (£)

On New Towns

‘We have to move’: historic village of Tempsford reels from plan to swell its 600 residents to 350,000

A ‘once in a generation’ opportunity for the UK’s next wave of new towns

The reality of the Northern Arc

The Planning Alliance

Life on the Front Line III

The 50 Shades Book Club

When The Circus Leaves Town - Dave Proudlove

Nairn’s Towns - Ian Nairn

Prisoners of Geography - Tim Marshall

A waiter in Paris – Edward Chisholm

The Danish Way of Parenting - Jessica Joelle Alexander and Iben Dissing Sandahl 

Why We Get The Wrong Politicians - Isabel Hardmen

Great British Plans – Ian Wray

Some accompanying viewing.

Nairn across Britain

Nairn's Journeys - Football Towns (Huddersfield and Halifax)

Some accompanying listening.

Episode 36. Can the British plan?

A Fresh Dawn For North Cheshire - Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan

Any other business.

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.

Sam is on Bluesky and Instagram. 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: 100

50 Shades of Planning
Podcast Episodes
Efficiency Savings [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:10
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…
Hitting the High Notes - Simon Ricketts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:57
This episode is another in the Hitting The High Notes series. If you have not listened to one before the basic proposition is that Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the s…