Place, Politics and the Piece Hall

Place, Politics and the Piece Hall

Author: Samuel Stafford June 11, 2022 Duration: 1:36:41

When Sam Stafford saw that Create Streets and Onward were bringing their 'Restitch' conference to Halifax's Piece Hall, his favourite building, he could not have been more excited. He was though even more excited when the organisers agreed to let him set up a 'pop-up' recording studio at the back of one of the breakout rooms so as to record conversations with some of the conference's contributors during the day.

This bumper episode then is the accumulation of those recorded conversations and in it you will hear from (broken down into time slots if you are dipping in and out):

2m:35s

Ben Page, Chief Executive Officer, Ipsos (@benatipsos)

16m:05s

Andrew Taylor, Group Planning Director, Countryside (@AndrewJTaylor3) & Pete Gladwell, Group Social Impact & Investment Director, L&G (@petegladwell)

28m:48s

Amy Burbidge, Senior Master Development and Design Manager, Homes England (@AmyBurbidge2); Mike Axon, Managing Director, Vectos: and David Milner, Deputy Director, Create Streets (@djjmilner)

49m:00s

Neil O’Brien, Harborough MP & Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at DLUHC (@NeilDotObrien)

54m:45s

Nicky Chance-Thompson, Chief Executive, The Piece Hall Trust (@NickyChanThomDL)

 01h:07m:00s

Tim Swift, Leader of Calderdale Council (@TimSwift)

01h:23m:10s

Nicholas Boys Smith, Director, Create Streets (@boys_nicholas)

Some accompanying reading

The 'Piece Hall Effect' is bringing millions into Calderdale's economy, new report reveals

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/piece-hall-effect-bringing-millions-calderdales-economy-new-report-reveals-1746319

Some accompanying viewing/listening

Gravity by Embrace, live at The Piece Hall (Sam was there)

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2421918771409236

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
New Politics, New Towns and New Books [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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 Fo…
Hitting the High Notes - Tim Waring [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:43
This episode sees the welcome return of the Hitting the High Notes series, the basic proposition of which is that Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permi…
The Snagging List [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:03
By common consensus there will a considerable increase in the submission of planning applications this year, certainly applications for residential development and certainly driven by applications on the Grey Belt. Data…
All Builders Big and Small [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:36
It has been another exciting few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing rock and roll world of town and country planning... “Thousands of new homes promised to communities will be delivered faster, thanks to major change…
Grey Belt: Policy Guidance and Appeals [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:43
For how long Grey Belt remains part of the policy landscape time will tell, but in the here and now it represents very welcome political recognition that the homes the country needs cannot be built without developing lan…
A Conversation with Michael Gove [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:19
This episode is a conversation between Sam Stafford and former Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Rt Hon. the Lord Gove. Famous in political circles. Infamous, some might say, in planning c…
Pre-Apps, Puddles and NDMPs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:28
When in Manchester recently Sam Stafford took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast David Diggle, Paul Smith, Rebecca Coley and Claire Petricca-Riding and over the course of an hour or so they talked ab…
The BNG [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:01
Over a year on from it becoming mandatory, what is to be made of BNG? On the one hand, according to an open letter signed by a 40-strong coalition of housebuilders and environmental groups to mark the first anniversary,…
If I Ruled the World [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:50
Sam Stafford was down in The Big Smoke recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Matthew Spry, Simon Ricketts, Hana Loftus, Vicky Payne and Mike Kiely. In a good ol’ fashioned Adam Buxton-…
Back in Black [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:40:58
The fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning has been especially fast-paced, ever-changing and rock and roll of late. How then to try to catch up? Sam Stafford thought that the best way…