50 Shades of Planning

By: Samuel Stafford
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  • Summary

  • 50 Shades of Planning was Sam Stafford’s attempt between April 2019 and October 2024 to explore the foibles of the English planning system and it's aim was to cover the breadth of the sector both in terms of topics of conversation and in terms of guests with different experiences and perspectives.

    50 Shades episodes include 'Hitting The High Notes', which are a series of conversations with leading planning and property figures. The conversations take in the six milestone planning permissions or projects within a contributor’s career and for every project guests are invited to choose a piece of music that they were listening to at that time. Think Desert Island Discs, but for planners.

    Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford), and his blogs can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com (from where you can also sign up for his newsletter).

    The 50 Shades platforms were expressions of Sam's personal opinions, which may or may not represent the opinions of his past, present or future employers.

    The 50 Shades of Planning Podcast and YouTube channels were produced in partnership with Cratus Group.

    Why Fifty Shades? Well, planning is not a black and white endeavour. There are at least fifty shades in between....
    2019 The 50 Shades of Planning Podcast
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Art Economics Political Science Science Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • A Brief History of Planning 2010-2024

    A Brief History of Planning 2010-2024
    Oct 19 2024

    Back in March 2024 friend of the podcast Catriona Riddell gave a lecture at UCL’s Bartlett School of Planning that she called ‘Strategic Planning in England - Where did we go so wrong?’.

    Sam Stafford couldn’t be there that night, but Catriona shared her slides on LinkedIn and they read to Sam almost like a ‘Brief History of Planning 2010-2024’, which he thought a good subject for an episode.

    As well as Catriona, who was Director of Planning at the South East England Regional Assembly when the Coalition Government came to power in 2010, Sam approached another friend of podcast, Steve Quartermain, Chief Planner between 2008 and 2020, who was also keen to be involved. Sam felt though that a political perspective on things was also needed so he approached Greg Clark.

    Greg was appointed Director of Policy for the Conservative Party in 2001 before being elected as MP for Royal Tunbridge Wells in 2005. He has held a number of senior Government roles, including, and of most relevance to planners, Minister for Decentralisation and Cities within the Department for Communities and Local Government between May 2010 and September 2012 and Secretary of State for CLG between May 2015 and July 2016. Greg was also briefly Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities between July 2022 and September 2022.

    Greg, pleasingly, was also keen to be involved, and the four of them finally got together at Soho Radio Studios in early October 2024.

    There were many, many topics of possible conversation in Sam's notes for the recording. They did not actually get to the latter part of the 2010-2024 period, so they did not get to, for example, the Standard Method, the 2020 White Paper, and the Theresa Villiers / LURB amendments brouhaha, but that was because they ended up dwelling on arguably the big three topics of that 2010-2024 period, which are the revocation of the Regional Strategies, Localism and the NPPF. They did also touch, right at the end of the conversation, on permitted development rights.

    Standby for insights into what Eric Pickles had DCLG staff do on his first day at the Department, the amount of thought that was given to what would replace the RSSs (spoiler alert, not much…) and how the NPPF came into being…

    Some accompanying reading.

    Has the localism genie been put back in the bottle?

    https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/09/has-localism-genie-been-put-back-in.html

    Some accompanying viewing.

    Catriona’s Bartlett School of Planning lecture - Strategic planning in England: where did we go so wrong?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D2xXMwVNrk

    Jerry’s Final Thought

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7h0mIy6Jho

    Some accompanying listening.

    The Wheel – Bill Callahan

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPjxq2-j6xY

    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.
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • 100 Days of Labour

    100 Days of Labour
    Oct 12 2024

    Saturday 12 October 2024 marks 100 days of the new Labour Government.

    In anticipation of this milestone Landmark Chambers and Town Legal hosted a seminar in London this week to provide an in-depth review of Labour's first 100 days in power and the impact on planning law and policy.

    The session was recorded so that Sam Stafford could share it by way of the 50 Shades podcast and planners will be glad that it was recorded because it contains analysis and insight of the highest order. This episode includes:

    • Rupert Warren talking about the NPPF, local plans and housing;
    • Meeta Kaur talking about new towns;
    • Russell Harris talking about London;
    • Simon Ricketts talking about infrastructure and commercial development; and
    • Isabella Buono talking about Grey Belt and affordable housing.

    Some accompanying reading.

    https://www.landmarkchambers.co.uk/resources/100-days-of-labour-a-planning-law-and-policy-perspective-full-presentation

    Some accompanying listening.

    All My Friends – LCD Soundsystem

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObvLGOE-_Qk

    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.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Not the NPPF

    Not the NPPF
    Oct 5 2024
    Last week, on NPPF deadline day, Sam Stafford was in Manchester and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Katie Wray, David Diggle, Greg Dickson, Mark Parkinson and Claire Petricca-Riding at the studios of Reform Radio. Conscious that the podcast has covered the revised NPPF in episodes 128 and 131, they talked about some of the other current hot planning topics. They talked about brownfield passports and why existing tools in the box are not being used already; they talked about the Labour Party Conference, which led on to conversation about a Plan for England; and they talked about what the New Towns Taskforce would need to do to meaningfully advance that agenda. And then they talked a bit more towards to the end about brownfield passports again. They did try not to mention the NPPF, but, as you will hear, were unsuccessful in so doing... Some accompanying reading. Planning Reform Working Paper: Brownfield Passport https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-reform-working-paper-brownfield-passport The New Towns Taskforce https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/the-new-towns-taskforce Brownfield urban regeneration: how to deliver more growth, homes and jobs with the support of communities https://www.britishland.com/news/brownfield-urban-regeneration-how-to-deliver-more-growth-homes-and-jobs-with-the-support-of-communities/ Brownfield Passports: building on old foundations? https://www.irwinmitchell.com/news-and-insights/expert-comment/post/102jjwb/brownfield-passports-building-on-old-foundations Brownfield Passports…To What? When? How? https://simonicity.com/2024/09/28/brownfield-passportsto-what-when-how/ Design codes will help fill our cities with the missing middle https://www.pricedout.org.uk/design-codes-will-help-fill-our-cities-with-the-missing-middle/ Some accompanying listening. A Shared Sense Of Purpose - Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMhN3pWyBR0 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.
    Show More Show Less
    53 mins

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