What's Going On?

What's Going On?

Author: Samuel Stafford August 30, 2025 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 Radio Studios they enjoyed a good ol’ fashioned 50 Shades-style ramblechat about a few of the hot topics exercising the planning profession at the moment.

They talked water neutrality and about statutory consultees, specifically the need to engage utility providers with the Spatial Development Strategy process. They talked about the merits of locally-set application fees. They talked about grant funding for affordable housing; the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill, which led on to Assets of Community Value; the use of hotels for the accommodation of asylum seekers; Level 7 Apprenticeships; and they talked about data centres.

Some accompanying reading.

Crest Nicholson Operations Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government & Anor [2025] EWHC 2194 (Admin) (22 August 2025)

Chief Planner’s Newsletter

Devolution or revolution? – a brief guide to the changes proposed by the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill

English devolution: Area factsheets

Planning Law Is Being Used For Politicking About Asylum Seekers

RTPI warns Housing Minister of major threat to planning profession from apprenticeship restrictions

Data centres to be expanded across UK as concerns mount

Data centres as vital as NHS and power grid, government says

Grid delays now rival planning as chief threat to project delivery

Decoding Data Centers: Opportunities, risks and investment strategies

Life on the Front III

Some accompanying viewing.

Fawlty Towers S1/E2 - 'The Builders'

Some accompanying listening.

What’s Going On? – Marvin Gaye

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: 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…