☃️The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz - Manchester🎄

☃️The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz - Manchester🎄

Author: Samuel Stafford December 16, 2023 Duration: 51:08

So it is Christmas and, as Sam Stafford was asked in his appraisal, what have you done?

Another year over and a new one just begun.

If you cannot actually remember what you have done this year and if, as you look back, it has just been a blur of government consultation after government consultation, then the 50 Shades of Planning podcast is here to jog your memory and hopefully spread a little festive cheer. Or, Sam hopes, at least fill an hour or so during the wait, as is becoming another festive tradition, for a revised National Planning Policy Framework.

The 50 Shades of Planning Festive Christmas Quiz is back to take a look at another madcap year in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning.

This is the Manchester edition of the Festive Quiz, which was recorded at Reform Radio with friends of the podcast Rebecca Coley, Katie Wray, Mark Parkinson and Shelly Rouse.

Sam is grateful to Richard Garlick and the team at Planning who kindly provided him with a selection of the most interesting stories of the year, from which, as you will hear, Sam constructed for Rebecca, Katie, Mark and Shelly twelve multiple choice questions. As it turned out he should have prepared a tie-breaker question and they should have kicked off a bit earlier because Katie had to leave before a very special guest arrived...

Some accompanying reading.

Oscar Easton is fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support

https://www.justgiving.com/page/oscar-easton-1702480570488

Pathways to Planning: information for councils

https://www.local.gov.uk/pathways-planning-council-info

The Quiz Questions (£)

January

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1810103/pins-union-members-strike-next-month-pay-action-expected-follow

February

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1814241/city-authority-spent-520000-single-barristers-advice-its-plan

March

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1814948/council-isolates-planning-team-tackle-application-backlog

April

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1818578/natural-england-launches-nutrient-credit-scheme-unlock-housebuilding-logjam

May

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1822940/inspector-allows-100-homes-surrey-green-belt-finding-councils-housing-land-supply-just-15-years

June

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1826493/inspector-backs-clarksons-plans-open-farm-cafe-expand-car-park-blocks-restaurant-use

July

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1831379/new-style-local-plans-involve-three-checks-inspectors-during-draft-stage-government-proposes

August

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1833696/19-things-need-know-governments-latest-proposals-changing-permitted-development-rights

September

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1838053/goves-new-super-squad-expert-planners-likely-work

October

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1840198/starmer-pledges-bulldoze-restrictive-planning-system-building-new-towns-releasing-low-quality-green-belt-development

November

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1847770/council-agrees-pay-appellants-100k-costs-following-bad-committee-decision-made-against-officer-advice

December

https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/1850491/council-fears-bankruptcy-loss-4400-homes-result-scrapping-hs2-northern-leg

Some accompanying listening.

Sam’s Christmas Crackers - The Ultimate Festive Soundtrack

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Dn44yamtsjrzsYH4rzbld?si=2iPYSpPgSYmeKCl1Sq8Vog&pi=e-8RGf4hGyTmqe

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
🎅🏻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,…
Discretion Advised [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:19
Sam Stafford was in Manchester recently and took the opportunity to catch up with old friend of the podcast Charlotte Leach and new friends of the podcast Andrew Johnston and Lisa Tye. Over the course of an hour so they…
The Snagging List II [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:20
Empirical evidence is starting to emerge, as speculated upon earlier in the year, that there will indeed be a significant increase in the number of planning applications being submitted this year, certainly for residenti…
All Around the World - Australia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:12
This is the second 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…
Planorama [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:21
In between movin' and shakin' in The Big Smoke recently Sam Stafford took the opportunity to meet a few friends of the podcast at Soho Radio Studios to pick out the highlights from another exciting few weeks in the fast-…
The Amazing Technicolour Green Belt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:28:54
Charles Goode hosted an event in Birmingham in September 2025 to mark the launch of his book, “The Green Belt, Housing Crises and Planning Systems” (link below). Charles invited Catriona Riddell, Mike Best and James Corb…
Who's In Control? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:01
Wrexham Council will defend its opposition to plans for 600 homes on land south of Holt Road against the advice of planning officers. The application is due to go to appeal on September 29 but at a meeting of Wrexham Cou…
Hitting the High Notes - Alice Lester [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:46
This is the fourteenth episode in Sam Stafford's Hitting the High Notes series. If you have not listened to one of these before the basic proposition is that Sam chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property s…
What's Going On? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:02
Sam Stafford was in London recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Nicola Gooch, Catriona Riddell, Andrew Taylor, Annie Gingell and Iain Thomson. Over the course of an hour or so at Soho…
All Around the World - USA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:37
This is the first of a new series of episodes being led by Paul Smith, who regular 50 Shades listeners will know is the Managing Director at the Strategic Land Group and a Housing Today columnist. Paul put it to Sam Staf…