The Amazing Technicolour Green Belt

The Amazing Technicolour Green Belt

Author: Samuel Stafford October 11, 2025 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 Corbet Burcher to join him at that event and Sam Stafford invited the four of them to record a conversation about the Green Belt beforehand.

In a conversation recorded at Birmingham Podcast Studios during the afternoon before Charles’ book launch, the four of them dived as deep into the Green Belt as it might be possible to do.

They talked about the role of Green Belt in the national psyche; how it’s role and perceptions of it’s role have changed even when policy has not; and they asked why some places have a Green Belt and why some places do not. They also talked about the future of the Green Belt and the case for a Royal Commission to determine what that might be.

Some accompanying reading.

The Green Belt, Housing Crises and Planning Systems

A Practical Guide to Securing Planning Permission on Grey Belt Land in the Green Belt

Outskirts by John Grindrod review – life in the green belt

Nimby Watch: Meet the Nimbys turning villages into towns

The Green Belt. What it is and why; what it isn't; and what it should be

Some accompanying viewing.

Andrew Black - The Green Belt Perambulator

Some accompanying listening.

Coalescence - The Lucid Dream

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
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50 Shades listeners are a perceptive bunch and will have a spotted that the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill (LURB) was introduced to Parliament on 11 May. Whilst the word planning does not appear on the front of the bil…
Hitting the High Notes - Anna Rose [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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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…
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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 th…
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Duration: 1:11:24
‘Is there a local authority staffing crisis', Sam Stafford asked Catriona Riddell, Peter Geraghty and Paul Brocklehurst in Episode 60. That episode, regular listeners might recall, was informed by a 'Call for Evidence' a…
Hitting the High Notes - Pete Swift [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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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…

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