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50 Shades of Planning

By: Samuel Stafford
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  • Summary

  • Sam Stafford started posting on the 50 Shades of Planning blog in 2012 and in 2019 turned it into a podcast. 50 Shades of Planning is about the foibles of the English planning system and it's aim is 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 is 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. If you would like to feature on 'Hitting The High Notes', or know somebody that would make a great guest, please email samstafford@hotmail.com.

    If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast 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

    Sam is on Bluesky (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford), and his blogs can be found here: http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com.

    As with the 50 Shades Blog, the 50 Shades Podcast is a platform for Sam's personal opinions, which may or may not represent the opinions of his past, present or future employers.

    50 Shades of Planning is 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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Episodes
  • Grey Belt

    Grey Belt
    May 4 2024

    Sam Stafford was in London recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Catriona Riddell, Shelly Rouse and Nicola Gooch at Soho Radio Studios. One topic, the hot topic of the past few weeks, dominated the conversation.

    “Labour pledges housebuilding drive on Grey Belt with ‘golden rules’ to boost public services, affordable homes and improve green spaces”, so announced a press release dated 19 April.

    Keir Starmer has today set out five ‘golden rules’ for Grey Belt housebuilding, pledging to deliver affordable homes, boost infrastructure and public services like schools and GPs, and improve genuine green spaces.

    While reiterating that Labour will always take a 'brownfield first' approach to housing development, Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner are also pledging to release some land currently classed as Green Belt to build the homes Britain needs.”

    On a visit to a housing development today, the pair will outline Labour’s plans to create a new class of 'Grey Belt' land to ensure grey and poor-quality parts of the Green Belt are prioritised, and that any development benefits local communities.

    Plenty in there then for the gang to get their teeth in to. They discussed the practical issues associated with creating a new class of designation and how that might rub up against, for example, mandatory BNG. They also talked about how Grey Belt might interact with a mechanism for cross- boundary strategic planning, which Matthew Pennycook has said that Labour will introduce to overcome housing delivery challenges around towns and cities with tightly drawn administrative boundaries. All of that, as you will hear, led them on to local plan reform and what the next version of the NPPF looks like, as well as a remarkable statistic from Shelly on how much a local plan costs to prepare.

    Some accompanying reading.

    Labour’s planning proposals

    http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/04/labours-planning-proposals.html

    The 80-year planning war over a Surrey airfield (£)

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-80-year-planning-war-over-a-surrey-airfield-lvjb3svr7

    Some accompanying viewing.

    What is Grey Belt land and why does Keir Starmer want to build on it?

    https://youtu.be/4OvsXqdpy4s?si=S6mfS_uL-R15v-3b

    Some accompanying listening.

    Darkness on the edge of town – Bruce Springsteen

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8HXvt-v5v0

    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
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    47 mins
  • A Hillside to die on

    A Hillside to die on
    Apr 20 2024
    Sam Stafford was in Manchester recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Greg Dickson and Claire Petricca-Riding. During a conversation recorded at Reform Radio they talked about another exciting few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning. They talked about RPs not bidding for Section 106 sites, they talked about the 'Accelerated Planning System' consultation, so the proposals for the new Section 73B, the ten week determination period for major commercial applications, and restrictions on the use of extension of time agreements. They talked about the Flood Risk Sequential Test and touched on the Government response to a consultation on operational reforms to the NSIP process. Some accompanying reading. An accelerated planning system https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/an-accelerated-planning-system-consultation/an-accelerated-planning-system Simon Ricketts’ S73B Blog https://simonicity.com/2024/04/01/section-73-or-section-73b/ Zack Simons' Flood Risk Sequential Test Blog https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/buildin-in-the-rain-flood-risk-in-the-courts Pre-application advice and Planning Performance Agreements https://www.local.gov.uk/pas/development-mgmt/pre-application-advice-and-planning-performance-agreements-ppas Power & Partnership: Labour’s plan to power up Britain https://labour.org.uk/updates/stories/labours-plan-to-power-up-britain/ A Westminster Hall Debate on 13 March 2024 https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2024-03-13/debates/65995D50-E335-444C-8065-405F91548338/PlanningReform Labour’s planning proposals http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/10/labours-planning-proposals.html Some accompanying viewing. The fine kind of rain that soaks you through - Peter Kay https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk8xHtbkhR8 Can you imagine a world without lawyers? - The Simpsons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG3uea-Hvy4 Some accompanying listening Hillside Song - My Morning Jacket https://youtu.be/XmLiKGpSC4g?si=4TkfP6YMFgfUYfJ1 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
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    46 mins
  • Hitting the High Notes - Nick Kilby

    Hitting the High Notes - Nick Kilby
    Apr 13 2024
    In Hitting the High Notes episodes Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permissions or projects that helped to shape them as professionals. And, so that Listeners can get to know people a little better personally, for every project or stage of their career Sam also asks his guests for a piece of music that reminds them of that period. Think of it as town planning’s equivalent of Desert Island Discs. Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below. Sam's guest for this episode is Nick Kilby, founder and now Chief Executive Officer of Cratus Group, who kindly took the time to meet Sam at Soho Radio Studios in early April 2024. Nick trained as a Stage Manager and Lighting Designer at Mountview Theatre School and worked in the early 1980s as a stage manager at the Edinburgh Festival and the National Theatre. Having produced his own shows Nick then got into cinema management, including the first Imax at the Trocadero Centre. He then got into politics and in 2006 was elected on to the Royal Borough of Kingston Council, which led to being asked about campaigning and lobbying. After being involved with the Abbey Mills ‘Mega’ Mosque at the end of the 2000s Nick then founded Cratus. As Nick takes Sam through his six projects they talk about the keys to successful engagement and the role of the councillor in that. They talk about how consultants are only as good as the client lets them be; about what it really means to build communities; and they talk about localism and a certain Mr Eric Pickles. Some accompanying reading. All The Lonely People – Mike Gayle https://www.mikegayle.co.uk/my-books/all-lonely-people Want to build? Better hire a good lobbyist https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/want-to-build-better-hire-a-good-lobbyist-rc6gsg7qs (£) My Favourite Building: Sam Stafford – The Piece Hall https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/news/117312-prop-my-favourite-building-sam-stafford-the-piece-hall Some accompanying viewing. You See Me Laughin': The Last of the Hill Country Bluesmen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiW3oPv1vZc Some accompanying listening. McCartney: A Life in Lyrics https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/mccartney-a-life-in-lyrics Nick’s Spotify playlist https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0bwjKHMaDAsodUAddsBpyr?si=0gPfuF0QTzSdwastIl-w9w&pi=e-D-xwFvBMToSz&nd=1&dlsi=dfe4a97887be4cb4 There is Power in a Union - Billy Bragg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwbzxemJZIc We can Work it Out -The Beatles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-0if-ca6CE Elgar Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61: 11. Andante - Nigel Kennedy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLD0jOyTnwU A Father Now from 3 Guys Naked from the Waist Down - Original Off Broadway Cast https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nlSUmGk0G9IMZQDCW2uVCm3eZlrr8yD6U Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuS5NuXRb5Y Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso by Ennio Morricone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMZvAbk1kXQ 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
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    1 hr and 6 mins
Art Economics Political Science Social Sciences Science
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