50 Shades of Planning

Will the Government's much vaunted radical reforms to the planning system allow Development Consent Orders (DCOs) to apply to large-scale, residential-led development proposals? It is an idea that has been around since DCOs, as wells as NPSs and NSIPs, were introduced by the Planning Act 2008, but perhaps now it’s time has come. As well as considering the efficacy of the DCO regime as it relates to infrastructure projects, an expanded DCO regime is considered in a report by Barton Willmore, Copper, Womble Bond Dickinson and Hannah Hickman. Sam Stafford discusses the report (link below) in this episode with co-authors Tom Carpen (Barton Willmore), Kevin Gibbs (Womble Bond Dickinson) and Hannah Hickman (Hannah Hickman Consulting). LinkedIn profiles: Tom - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-carpen-7102578b/ Kevin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-gibbs-24a39734/ Hannah - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahhickman1/ Some accompanying reading. ‘Can development consent orders help meet the challenges of our time?' by Barton Willmore, Copper, Womble Bond Dickinson and Hannah Hickman: http://www.bartonwillmore.co.uk/Knowledge/Intelligence/2020/Can-Development-Consent-Orders-help-meet-the-chall 'Housing - Nationally Significant Infrastructure?' commissioned by Bond Dickinson and Quod: https://www.quod.com/news/housing-crisis-demands-central-government-intervention/ 'Unlocking Britain' by the Social Market Foundation: https://www.smf.co.uk/publications/unlocking-britain/#:~:text=In%20a%20guest%20publication%20for%20the%20Social%20Market,recover%20and%20prosper%20in%20the%20wake%20of%20COVID-19. 'Following Orders: five actions necessary for DCOs and the NSIP regime to be used for large-scale housing' by Lichfields: https://lichfields.uk/blog/2020/july/7/following-orders-the-five-actions-necessary-for-dcos-and-the-nsip-regime-to-be-used-for-large-scale-housing/ 'The New Towns Question (Again)' by Simon Ricketts: https://simonicity.com/2020/07/11/the-new-towns-question-again/ Some accompanying viewing. The best of Jerry Springer's Final Thoughts: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3iobgi

The need for people to travel and the way in which they can travel has changed dramatically in a short period of time and, early on during the Coronavirus crisis especially, there was a sense that this change had the potential to be more permanent than temporary and contribute to the ‘Building Back Better’ agenda. As lockdown starts to ease though and traffic starts to flow again, or rather to not flow again, what is the sense of that change now? Is the window for a fundamental modal shift from car to two wheels and two legs closing? Has the planning system, or at least the regulatory regime, helped or hindered that? What might the lasting impact of the pandemic be on travel patterns and how will the planning system have to respond to that? Sam Stafford puts these questions to Brian Deegan (Design Engineer at Urban Movement), Vanessa Eggleston (Partner at i-Transport) and Paul Smith (MD of Strategic Land Group and a person who rides a bike). Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford, @bricycle and @paul_slg. Vanessa is on LinkedIn. Some accompanying reading. The latest on the cycle lane at the end of Paul’s street. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/support-a56-cycle-lanes-grows-18596708 Manchester’s Cyclops Junction. https://news.tfgm.com/news/manchester-opens-uks-first-cyclops-junction The Urban Design Group’s survey on street design practice. http://www.udg.org.uk/content/street-design-uk-pilot-survey-2018 ‘The end of the rush hour?’ Vanessa’s blog. https://strategiclandgroup.co.uk/2020/06/09/the-end-of-the-rush-hour-guest-post-by-i-transport/ Robin Lovelace’s Rapid Cycleway Prioritisation Tool. https://theconversation.com/cities-must-act-to-secure-the-future-of-urban-cycling-our-research-shows-how-138156 The International Transport Forum’s Decarbonising Transport initiative. https://www.itf-oecd.org/decarbonising-transport Some accompanying listening. Crosstown Traffic by Jimi Hendrix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-xyGFI_Nq8

The grinding gears of the planning system need to be kept moving. On that most people can agree. Applying a little bit of lubricant within the bits of the system that largely pass the public by, extending consents and flexibility on things like CIL payments, for example, are relatively simple and relatively uncontroversial. What about though those bits of the system that are exposed to the outside world? The bits that rub up against public expectations. How, for as long as social distancing lasts, and indeed beyond, can the public continue to be engaged with the planning system in a way that allows applications and local plans to not only progress, but to progress in ways that are sensible, fair, and perhaps most importantly, lawful. Sam Stafford discusses these issues with Greg Dickson, Director at Barton Willmore; Sarah James, Policy & Membership Development Manager at Civic Voice; and Kevin Whitmore, Head of North & Midlands at BECG. Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford; @GregDickson1; @jamesslf and @kevin_whitmore. Some accompanying reading. Temporary changes to the publicity requirements for certain planning applications: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/consultation-and-pre-decision-matters#covid19 Sarah's blog 'Going from the physical to the digital': https://civicvoiceblog.wordpress.com/2020/06/02/going-from-the-physical-to-the-digital/ Kevin's blog 'Reflections from a virtual world': https://becg.com/blog/reflections-from-a-virtual-world/ Publicity requirements for the London Plan (in the Business & Planning Bill): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-current-spatial-development-strategies-available-digitally-draft-guidance Publicity requirements for other local development documents (a Written Ministerial Statement by Lord Greenhalgh): https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2020-06-25/HLWS311/ Some accompanying listening. Rules Of Engagement by King Creosote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcKPu6Yo8q4

Where does the recent run of local plan failures at St Albans, Sevenoaks, Wealden and Chiltern & South Bucks leave the Duty to Cooperate (DtC)? As well as being bad law it seemed obvious to most practitioners at the time that the DtC was bad planning and a regression from the Regional Spatial Strategies that it sought to replace. What hope is there that forthcoming devolution and planning White Papers will tackle the underlying technical and political issues that undermine the DtC? If they do not, what hope is there for the Government’s aim, as set out in a March 2020 policy paper, for local plan coverage across England by 2023? In this episode Sam Stafford discusses the DtC with Catriona Riddell (Catriona Riddell & Associates), Zack Simons (Barrister at Landmark Chambers), and Peter French (Senior Policy Officer at the County Councils Network (CCN)). Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford; @CatrionaRiddel1, @zacksimons and @peterpfrench. Some associated reading: Zack's Planoraks Blog: https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/teamwork-failing-the-duty-to-cooperate 'County Councils & Strategic Planning: A review of current & emerging practice', by Catriona Riddell Associates and the CCN: https://thinkhouse.org.uk/site/assets/files/1605/ccn.pdf 'Unleashing counties’ role in levelling up England' by Grant Thornton and the CCN: https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/insights/unleashing-counties-role-in-levelling-up-england/ Some recommended viewing: Good Neighbours: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzaPcIXEoUo

Sam Stafford, wary halfway through his career of becoming a world-weary, cynical member of the town planning establishment, seeks to recapture some of his zest by chatting in this episode to three newly and soon-to-be qualified planners about the first few years of their careers. Charles Jones works for Pegasus in Bath, Cathy O’Toole works for Pegasus in Birmingham and Tillie Baker works for Arup in Manchester. Sam's conversation with them takes in their experiences at university and the transition from there into the world of work. Cathy and Tillie were commended by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) for their Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) submissions in 2019 and this episode may be of particular interest to anybody currently pursuing the Associate and Licentiate routes to RTPI membership (https://www.rtpi.org.uk/membership/assessment-of-professional-competence/).

Sam Stafford gets some of the 50 Shades gang back together for the type of Friday afternoon, Adam Buxton-style ramblechat that would have taken place in the pub a few months ago. Will the post-pandemic world really not be the same? Old habits do die hard after all. Perhaps a ‘90% world’ in which life will be close to ‘normal’ but subtly different? Sam's conversation with Paul Smith, Vicky Payne and Tom Whitehead takes in density, green space, civic space, active travel and city governance. Paul Smith is the Managing Director of Strategic Land Group and is on Twitter at @Paul_SLG. Vicky Payne is a planner and urbanist at Urbed and is on Twitter at @Victoria_Payne. Tom Whitehead is Group Town Planning Manager at Brookhouse Group and is on Twitter, but does not want you to know that. Some reading to accompany this episode: The pandemic will reduce inequality—or make it worse. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-04-29/how-will-the-coronavirus-pandemic-affect-inequality?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=url_link&utm_content=economics&cmpid%253D=socialflow-twitter-economics&sref=dcitGkK3 Past pandemics changed the design of cities. Six ways COVID-19 could do the same. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-04-22/coronavirus-pandemics-architecture-urban-design The city and the virus. https://medium.com/@maxnathan/the-city-and-the-virus-db8f4a68e404 A backlash against cities would be dangerous. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/urban-density-not-problem/611752/ Coronavirus is not fuel or urbanist fantasies. https://www.curbed.com/2020/5/20/21263319/coronavirus-future-city-urban-covid-19 ‘We’ve seen nothing like this since the 1930s’ - how will Greater Manchester’s economy bounce back from coronavirus? https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/weve-seen-nothing-like-1930s-18170878 If you would like to help support the East Lancs Railway: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/displayCharityCampaignPage.action?charityCampaignUrl=ELRsupportfund

In a 2016 interim report on the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford corridor, or the Arc, the National Infrastructure Commission identified the area as having “the potential to be “the UK’s Silicon Valley – a world-renowned centre for science, technology and innovation”. The Arc seems to have been 'the next big thing' since then, but is that potential any closer to being tapped? Is there any evidence that it really is a “national priority” and “one of the world’s greatest economic opportunities” as Robert Jenrick described it as Treasury Minister, or, as Chuck D suggested, is it best not to believe the hype. Sam Stafford discusses the Arc proposition with Tim Burden, Director at Turley; Bridget Rosewell, economist and National Infrastructure Commissioner; and Alistair Lomax, Director at the Arc Universities Group. Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford, @timburden03, @brosewell and @alistair_lomax. Some accompanying reading. The National Infrastructure Commission's report https://www.nic.org.uk/publications/partnering-prosperity-new-deal-cambridge-milton-keynes-oxford-arc/ Tim's think piece https://www.turley.co.uk/comment/oxford-cambridge-arc-lets-just-get-it Some recommended viewing. The Arctic Monkeys at Reading in 2006 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMxJhZc2sBI

Is there any substance to Robert Jenrick’s criticism of Sadiq Khan’s London Plan or is it just the victim of some Punch and Judy-style, blue on red oneupmanship? Sam Stafford discusses this question, and, if devolution and planning white papers are to encourage more mayoral Spatial Development Strategies, the lessons from London for elsewhere, with Alice Lester (Operational Director - Regeneration, Growth & Employment, Brent Council), Rob Krzyszowski (Head of Planning Policy, Transport & Infrastructure, Haringey Council) and Andrew Taylor (Head of Planning, Countryside Properties). Twitter Handles: @samuel_stafford, @AliceatBrent, @robzowski and @AndrewJTaylor3. Some accompanying reading. The Secretary of State and the Mayor's recent correspondence: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning/london-plan/new-london-plan/secretary-states-response Some recommended listening. Alice's appearance on a proper podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000fgp5 Some recommended viewing. A classic episode of Bottom: https://youtu.be/wUlgdjZuSZ4

'I began to see what a sacred cow the Green Belt has become' said Minister for Housing & Local Government Richard Crossman in 1964. The Green Belt is a political behemoth that has long loomed over the planning system. In this episode Sam Stafford asks Paul Miner, Strategic Planning & Devolution at CPRE, and Kathryn Ventham, Planning Partner at Barton Willmore, whether housing need is becoming a sufficiently irresistible force to shift hitherto immovable Green Belt boundaries? Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford. @PaulMiner3 and @kateventham. Some accompanying reading and viewing: John Grindrod’s ‘Outskirts’ https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jun/14/outskirts-by-john-grindrod-review Ipsos Mori polling for the CPRE on public attitudes towards the Green Belt https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/attitudes-towards-green-belt-land Ipsos Mori polling for Housing The Powerhouse on attitudes towards housing development in Greater Manchester http://www.housingthepowerhouse.com/downloads/Housing%20the%20Powerhouse%20-%20Ipsos%20MORI%20Opinion%20Poll%20Press%20Release.pdf 'The Green Noose: An analysis of Green Belts and proposals for reform' by the Adam Smith Institute https://www.adamsmith.org/news/press-release-free-up-3-7-percent-of-londons-green-belt-to-build-one-million-new-homes-says-new-report ‘Planned up and be counted ‘ local plan making under NPPF 2012’ by Lichfields https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/planned-up-and-be-counted ‘This Blessed Plot – This Other Eden’ - A film for the Council for the Preservation of Rural England https://www.britishpathe.com/video/rural-england-aka-this-blessed-plot-this-other ‘The myth of the countryside idyll’ by Steve Middlehurst https://stevemiddlehurstidentityandplace.wordpress.com/2016/10/10/a5-research-the-myth-of-the-countryside-idyll/ Keith Joseph’s 1964 South East Study http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/19/newsid_2570000/2570681.stm A Policy Briefing Paper by the Landscape Institute https://www.landscapeinstitute.org/policy/green-belt-policy/ The London Society’s Position Paper https://www.londonsociety.org.uk/post/londons-green-belt ‘The Proud City’ – A film outlining plans for the post war reconstruction of London, featuring Patrick Abercrombie and JH Forshaw. https://archive.org/details/ProudCity

Robert Jenrick set out on 12 March 2020 proposals “to bring Britain’s planning system into the 21st century as part of plans to get the country building”. Within a week it was announced that schools were closing and local authority staff, including planning officers, have been dealing with a public health emergency. Sam Stafford is joined in this episode by Jonathan Easton, Barrister at Kings Chambers; Anna Rose, Head of the Planning Advisory Service at the Local Government Association; and Stefan Webb, Place Director at FutureGov to discuss the impact of Coronavirus on the planning system. Twitter handles: @samuel_stafford, @jonnye47, @EPlanna and @Stef_W. Some links: Planning Inspectorate Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-planning-inspectorate-guidance ADSO and LLG letter to MHCLG on decision-making and democracy: https://www.adso.co.uk/letter-to-sos-covid-19-implications-for-local-authority-governance/ Greater Flexibility For Planning Permissions: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/5997/1729942.pdf The Landmark Chambers paper: https://cached.offlinehbpl.hbpl.co.uk/NewsAttachments/RLP/LandmarkSOSletter.pdf Simon Ricketts’ Blog: https://simonicity.com/2020/03/21/what-to-do/ The Planning Advisory Service’s resource: https://local.gov.uk/pas/pas-topics/coronavirus The RTPI survey to inform discussions with Governments across the UK and Ireland: https://r1.dotmailer-surveys.com/b43esd27-db4kml95