The Masterplan

The Masterplan

Author: Samuel Stafford September 7, 2024 Duration: 55:56

If you have listened to episodes 125 and 128 you will know Sam Stafford sought to cover, pre-publication, what could and should be in the new version of NPPF. With the consultation deadline now starting to loom large, this episode seeks to cover what is actually in it.

Sam was in London earlier this week and caught up with friends of the podcast Andrew Taylor, Hashi Mohamed, Vicky Payne and Simon Ricketts at Soho Radio Studios.

They will need no introduction to regular listeners, but for new listeners, Andrew is Group Planning Director at Vistry, Hashi is a Barrister at Landmark Chambers; Vicky is an Associate at Jas Bhalla Works and an Independent Consultant; and Simon is a Partner at Town Legal.

As you will hear over the next 45 minutes or so they crammed in as much as possible. They talked about the proposed new stock-based standard method and transitional arrangements for local plans, they talked about Grey Belt, 50% affordable housing and benchmark land values; and they touched on beauty, design codes, vision-led transport planning, the flood risk sequential test, neighbourhood plans, safeguarded land, and application fees.

Some accompanying reading.

Lichfields’ NPPF resource

https://lichfields.uk/proposed-reforms-to-the-nppf-and-other-changes-to-the-planning-system?email

Simon’s blog

https://simonicity.com/2024/08/02/50-shades-of-grey-belt/

Zack Simons' blog

https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/planningreformday-2024-what-just-happened

Vicky on Design

https://www.theplanner.co.uk/2024/08/01/more-substance-style-new-nppfs-design-outlook

Philip Barnes on BLV

https://philipbarnesblog.wordpress.com/2024/08/28/green-belt-vs-grey-belt-vs-benchmark-land-values-vs-50-affordable-housing/

Create Streets - Stepping off the Road to Nowhere

https://www.createstreets.com/projects/stepping-off-the-road-to-nowhere/

Some accompanying listening.

The Masterplan - Oasis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPPi2D6GK7A

Some accompanying viewing.

Alam Partridge’s big plate

https://youtu.be/swJFOE49LRQ?si=bmR85Y7USmizHBef

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

Any other business.

Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). 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: 164

50 Shades of Planning
Podcast Episodes
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…
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…