Some Things Just Take Time

Some Things Just Take Time

Author: Samuel Stafford April 4, 2026 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 conversation recorded at Soho Radio they chatted about a few of the hot topics in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning right now.

They talked about the recent NPPF consultation; taking some of the 'grit' out of the system; they talked about planning committees in relation to the impact of local elections, new notification processes, a national scheme of delegation and strategic committees; and towards the end there is a bit of local plan and neighbourhood plan chat.

Some accompanying reading.

Book review for, “In Search of Excellence”, written by Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr.

Fees for planning applications

Planning committee reform: statutory consultation on draft Regulations and guidance

What the CIA can teach us about the need to reform planning committees

What the 'pre-election period' means in practice

New local plan-making system roadmap

More Radical Change: the Basic Conditions for Neighbourhood Plans

Simonicity - "Ten Years Time"

Public Sector RTPI Survey

Private Sector RTPI Survey

Some accompanying listening.

Colorama - Some Things Just Take Time

Any other business.

If you enjoy the episode do please consider bolstering Sam's fragile self-esteem by leaving the podcast a nice rating and a nice review wherever you listened to it. Obviously though if you have not enjoyed it then please do not leave a review, but do please feel free to let Sam know why (via samstafford@hotmail.com). Feedback on 50 Shades episodes is always welcome.

If you have enjoyed to the extent that you feel compelled to share the podcast on one your social platforms then, if you tag Sam, you will be entitled to an exclusive and much-sought after 50 Shades of Planning mug.

If you are a new listener do please check out the back catalogue where you will find episodes on myriad planning topics, as well as the Hitting The High Notes and All Around the World series, and remember that by subscribing new episodes will magically appear in your phone as soon as Sam has published them.

50 Shades of Planning is the podcast by planners and for planners and so if you would like to use it as a platform for sharing anything you think that the sector needs to be talking about then you are also very welcome to get in touch with Sam.

Sam is grateful to RichboroughTown Legal and Tyler Grange for supporting the podcast; to Vistry for sponsoring the 50 Shades mugs; and to Stanley Bain and Adrian Meehan for recording and editing this episode.


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
Hitting the High Notes - Ben Castell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Fudge [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Hitting the High Notes - Victoria Hills [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:03
Hitting The High Notes is town planning’s equivalent of Desert Island Discs. In these episodes Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permissions or projects…
EA in the UK after the EU [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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As a 50 Shades of Planning Podcast listener you will be perceptive enough to have spotted that the United Kingdom has left the European Union. Town Planners will have noted in so doing that the regulatory regime for the…
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Eutrophication might not have been a word that planners came across too often before November 2018, but many now know if they didn’t before then that it is the process by which nutrient-laden water encourages algae growt…
The Unearned Increment [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:33
Consensus between economists is rare, but almost all agree that there is a moral argument for the taxation of land. Planning reform, death and taxes have long been three of life’s certainties. Land taxation and the conce…
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Duration: 56:29
'Can the British plan? Sometimes it seems unlikely. Across the world we see grand designs and visionary projects: new airport terminals, nuclear power stations, high-speed railways, and glittering buildings. It all seems…
Reflections on 2020 - Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:54
Is it right that old times be forgotten, asks Robert Burns in the opening line of Auld Lang Syne. Instinctively one might want to say yes to that insofar as 2020 is concerned. Much has been lost, but it’s also right to s…
Reflections on 2020 - Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:50
Little did Sam Stafford know when recording Episode 14 in Manchester at the end of February 2020 that every episode for the rest of the year, and who knows how far beyond, would need to be recorded remotely. This is the…