🏆The #Planoraks Awards 2025🏆

🏆The #Planoraks Awards 2025🏆

Author: Samuel Stafford December 27, 2025 Duration: 1:22:58

This is the second of Sam Stafford's seasonal offerings which serve as a review of another exciting year in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning.

Once again Zack Simons kindly bestowed upon Sam the honour of announcing Zack's 2025 #Planoraks Awards on the podcast.

Sam met Zack at Soho Radio Studios where and he handed him six golden envelopes, which you will hear opened during their conversation.

They contain the winners of the following awards:

  • Policy of the Year;
  • Missed opportunity of the year;
  • Catastrophe of the Year;
  • Delay of the Year;
  • Stat of the Year; and
  • Consent of the Year.

Some accompanying reading.

The #Planoraks 2025 - the new NPPF

The Proposed London Housing Emergency Measures Package Is Underwhelming

Grey Belt – A Game Changer for Planning and Housing

Some accompanying viewing.

Exploring the new NPPF draft

Some accompanying listening.

The Black Keys – Year in Review

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.

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 very welcome to get in touch with Sam via samstafford@hotmail.com.

Sam is grateful to Richborough, Town Legal and Tyler Grange for supporting the podcast; to Vistry for sponsoring the 50 Shades mugs; to Adrian Meehan and Soho Radio Studies for recording this episode: and to Rachael Cooper at ViralTribe for editing it.

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: 50

50 Shades of Planning
Podcast Episodes
A Framework-Led Conversation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:26
Whilst in London recently Sam Stafford took the opportunity to catch up with old friends of the podcast Simon Ricketts, Andrew Taylor and Mike Kiely. Simon is a Partner at Town Legal, Andrew is Group Planning and Sustain…
Meet a MP and an AM - Reform UK [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:00
As regular listeners know there is often talk on the 50 Shades of Planning podcast about the role of local councillors in the planning system, in the context of, for example, overturning officer recommendations or a deci…
We Can't Stop Planning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:06
Sam Stafford was in Manchester recently and took the opportunity to catch up with old friends of the podcast Lisa Tye, Shaun Knights and Jaimie Ferguson. Lisa is a Partner at Town Legal, Shaun is a Senior Planning Office…
Viable Options [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:20
The basis of this episode was a series of posts Sam Stafford spotted that Nick Cuff at Urban Sketch had shared on his Prop Views blog about the Parkhurst Road judgement and the implications thereof. Sam asked Nick if he…
Why do places look the way they do? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:42
Sam Stafford was at a symposium organised by Create Streets at Hatfield House in June last year called ‘Building for generations’. All of the presentations on the day and the conversations there upon led Sam back to the…
Vibes and Stuff [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:42
Sam Stafford was in Birmingham recently and took the opportunity whilst there to catch up with old friend of the podcast Myles Wild Smith and new friends of the podcast Mike Knott, Bart Shirm and Beth Pywell. Myles is a…
Hitting the High Notes - Richard Schofield [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:10
This is another episode in the Hitting the High Notes series, which, if you have not listened to one before, is town planning's equivalent, nee rip off, of Desert Island Discs. During these episodes Sam Stafford chats to…
Emerging Planners [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:46
A couple of months ago Sam Stafford saw that Shaun Knights at Preston City Council and national vice chair of the Young Planning Officers Society (POS) had posted on LinkedIn encouraging nominations for POS’ ‘Emerging Pl…
Meet the MPs - Lib Dems [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:43
The role of local councillors in the planning system has been a familiar topic of conversation on the podcast in the context of, for example, overturning officer recommendations and the case for a national scheme of dele…
Red Hot Planning Chat [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:25
Sam Stafford was in London recently and whilst there caught up with friends of the podcast Hana Loftus, Mike Kiely, Nicola Gooch, Simon Ricketts and Andrew Taylor. Hana is a Director at HAT Projects; Mike is a former Chi…