50 Shades of Planning

This episode sees the welcome return of the Hitting the High Notes series, the basic proposition of which is that 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 though you will no 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 there are links to You Tube videos and a Spotify playlist below. Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting the High Notes is Tim Waring, who retired in 2025 after a near 40 year career in planning consultancy. Sam's conversation with Tim was recorded at Distorted Studios in Leeds in March 2025, little over a month after Tim left Quod, for whom he opened an office back in 2014, the third planning team that he established in the city. They talked about out of centre retail development in Worthing and Stockport; town centre redevelopment in Beverley and Leeds; and residential development in Ripon and York. Tim also shares his golden rules of planning consultancy. Some accompanying listening. Fools Gold – The Stone Roses The Planner’s Dream Goes Wrong – The Jam Confusion – New Order Heroes – David Bowie The Narcissist – Blur North Country Boy - The Charlatans Tim’s High Notes Spotify Playlist Sam’s Indie Disco Spotify Playlist 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.

By common consensus there will a considerable increase in the submission of planning applications this year, certainly applications for residential development and certainly driven by applications on the Grey Belt. Data published by the LPDF in February suggested a 160% increase in the number of planning applications to be submitted by it’s members between January and June 2025 compared to the number submitted between July and December 2024. The key point narrowly is that if an increase in planning applications this year are to make a meaningful contribution to the Government's new home target within the parliamentary term, then they will need to be transacted an awful lot faster than applications have been transacted hitherto. According to recent research by Lichfields for the LPDF and Richborough, the average time taken to determine a major outline application has risen from 8 months in 2014 to two years in 2024. The key point more broadly is that this increase in planning applications affords an opportunity, beyond the big building blocks of the reform agenda that have gathered most attention over the past year or so, to get under the bonnet of the planning system’s rickety old engine. The basis of this episode then are the efficiencies that can be found within development management and to inform it, you might have seen, Sam Stafford posted the following call-for-evidence on LinkedIn and on the 50 Shades blog. “We are not talking here about NDMPs and Stat Cons and modernising planning committees and the big ideas that are already on the agenda. We are talking about the nitty gritty. The detail. The things that, as planning managers or consultants submitting applications, or planning officers managing applications, drive you most crazy. We are not necessarily talking set piece policy or legal change, although we might be talking about policy or legislative tweaks here and there. We are talking about the low-effort practical levers you would you pull, or procedural buttons you would press, that would shave days, weeks or even months off of the typical planning application.” Lots of people either commented on that LinkedIn post or shared thoughts with Sam directly, all of which he compiled for the discussion that you are about to hear between old friends of the podcast Andrew Taylor, Emma Williamson, Alister Parvin and Martin Hutchings, and new friends of the podcast Jacob Bonehill and Ros Eastman. In a conversation recorded online they covered as much of this massive topic as they could. They talked about, amongst very many other things, how many submissions are found to be invalid and why; what planners should and should not be spending their time doing; and who to consult on an application and how. Some accompanying reading. The Killian Pretty Review The Penfold Review The Lichfields research on planning application timescales The PAS research on pre-apps and PPAs PAS Best practice in officer report writing The Housing Forum’s report on validation checklists The Snagging List Some accompanying listening Let's Work Together - Wilbert Harrison 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.

It has been another exciting few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing rock and roll world of town and country planning... “Thousands of new homes promised to communities will be delivered faster, thanks to major changes to make sure developers deliver on their commitments and do not leave sites half-finished for years”, announced a MHCLG press release on Sunday 25 May. “This government has taken radical steps to overhaul the planning system to get Britain building again after years of inaction. In the name of delivering security for working people, we are backing the builders not the blockers. Now it’s time for developers to roll up their sleeves and play their part”, said Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner. A planning reform working paper on speeding up build out ​​and a technical consultation on implementing measures to improve build out transparency​ were published by MHCLG on the same day. Then a few days later, on Wednesday 28 May, another MHCLG press release announced that the Government backs SME builders to get Britain building. “Smaller housebuilders must be the bedrock of our Plan for Change to build 1.5 million homes and fix the housing crisis we’ve inherited – and get working people on the housing ladder. For decades the status quo has failed them and it’s time to level the playing field. Today we’re taking urgent action to make the system simpler, fairer and more cost effective, so smaller housebuilders can play a crucial role in our journey to get Britain building”, said Ms Rayner. A planning reform working paper on reforming site thresholds; a technical consultation on the reform of planning committees; and an open consultation on improving the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development were published by MHCLG and DEFRA on the same day. What is to be made of all of that,? Helpfully, Sam Stafford was in London recently and was able to solicit some expert opinion and insight from old friends of the podcast Andrew Taylor, Simon Ricketts and Shelly Rouse, and new friends of the podcast Gordon Adams and Rachel Clements. In a conversation recorded over the space of an hour or so at Soho Radio Studios they tried to get through as much of this latest round of consultations as they could. They talked about the plight of the SME builder and the merits of the proposed medium site category; they talked about who does and does not bring land forward and why; and they touched on BNG and the proposed national scheme of delegation. Some accompanying reading. ‘Get on and Build' Deputy Prime Minister urges housebuilders Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out ​​ Technical consultation on implementing measures to improve Build Out transparency​ Government backs SME builders to get Britain building Planning Reform Working Paper: Reforming Site Thresholds Reform of planning committees: technical consultation Improving the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development Simon on build out Simon on the broader SME package Claire Petricca-Riding on the BNG proposals The Future of SME Builders in England SM sites for SME builders How long is a piece of string? Modernising Planning Committees National Survey 2025 New clause briefing: Chief Planning Officers Some accompanying listening Crazy, Crazy Nights- Kiss 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 (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

For how long Grey Belt remains part of the policy landscape time will tell, but in the here and now it represents very welcome political recognition that the homes the country needs cannot be built without developing land that is currently identified as Green Belt. The irresistible force, it might be said, has started to shift the immoveable object... If that dynamic continues it may prompt questions about what the Green Belt should actually be for and, perhaps, a Royal Commission on it’s future, but that is very much for tomorrow. In the here and now planners need to know how the inclusion of the Grey Belt concept within the December 2024 version of the NPPF will affect their working lives because anybody involved in trying to bring sustainable sites forward will most surely have their working lives affected. To support practitioners understand the implications of Grey Belt Landmark Chambers held a seminar in London in early May 2025, which, unsurprisingly, was heavily over-subscribed and so the audio was captured in order that the insights shared by some of the Landmark team could be shared by way of the 50 Shades podcast. This episodes includes: Christopher Boyle KC introducing Grey Belt as it is defined in the NPPF, the implications for plan-making and decision making, and an introduction to the Golden Rules (from 11:00);Melissa Murphy KC diving a little more deeply into the practical implications (from 28:16);Stephen Whale reviewing the Grey Belt appeal decisions that have been permitted (from 44:49);Nick Grant reviewing the Grey Belt appeal decisions that have been dismissed (from 01:00:25); andHashi Mohamed offering his top tips for clients (from 01:16:03). Either side of those contributions are opening and closing remarks from Rupert Warren KC. Some accompanying reading. Grey Belt: policy guidance and appeals presentation https://www.landmarkchambers.co.uk/events/grey-belt-policy-guidance-and-appeals The Green Belt. What it is and why; what it isn't; and what it should be https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-green-belt-what-it-is-why-it-is.html On Grey Belt https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/11/on-grey-belt.html Some accompanying listening. Sea Change by Turin Brakes https://youtu.be/OfzdLUwWZg8?si=KROayX0tvHmzNidO 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 (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

This episode is a conversation between Sam Stafford and former Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Rt Hon. the Lord Gove. Famous in political circles. Infamous, some might say, in planning circles. The Parliament of 2019-2024 was tumultuous for everybody, but for planning specifically it was an especially tumultuous time. There was the 2020 'Planning for the Future' White Paper, which Mr Gove inherited in 2021, the same year as the Chesham & Amersham byelection. 2022 brought Mr Gove’s Devolution White Paper, his resignation and reappointment, the LURB, then the LURA, the rebellion against which over "top down" housing targets that precipitated the NPPF changes that were subsequently adopted in 2023. Mr Gove talks Sam through all of that tumult. They also talked about strategic planning; about B.I.D.E.N; about the stance on housing that the now opposition Conservative Party should take into the next election: and they talked about the merits of 'big bang' planning reform versus pragmatic incrementalism.  Some accompanying reading. Foundations https://ukfoundations.co/ National Planning Policy Fudge https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/01/national-planning-policy-fudge.html The Long-Term Plan for Housing II https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-long-term-plan-for-housing-ii.html Some accompanying Listening. Only Memories Remain - My Morning Jacket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX-RDOp4XtE 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 (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

When in Manchester recently Sam Stafford took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast David Diggle, Paul Smith, Rebecca Coley and Claire Petricca-Riding and over the course of an hour or so they talked about a few of the hot topics that are exercising the planning profession at the minute. Those hot topics include the widely anticipated spike in planning applications this year; locally-set fees, pre-apps and PPAs; the Flood Risk Sequential Test, NDMPs, and, very briefly towards the end of their conversation, the Planning & Infrastructure Bill and the Corry Review. Some accompanying reading. Data shows an over 160% rise in planning applications  https://www.lpdf.co.uk/news/data-shows-an-over-160-rise-in-planning-applications How puddles could stop the government building the homes we need https://longwall.substack.com/i/160566665/what-planning-policy-says-about-flood-risk Labour of Love II - Flood Risk Sequential Test https://youtu.be/g8ObnIeN-fc?si=_5WDBTPFeAxv3-22 How National Development Management Policies Can Boost Economic Growth  https://www.publicfirst.co.uk/how-national-development-management-policies-can-boost-economic-growth.html SME sites for SME builders https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/11/sme-sites-for-sme-builders.html The Corry Review https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-reforms-to-environmental-regulation-to-boost-growth-and-protect-nature Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/mar/27/abundance-by-ezra-klein-and-derek-thompson-review-make-america-build-again Some accompanying listening. The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York https://open.spotify.com/show/090wd4VVywMtYCC5PSngvH?si=OWKfRjOiRnWR4az9LKXJFA&nd=1&dlsi=44c4e94d871c4bac Rain - The Beatles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK5G8fPmWeA 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 (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Over a year on from it becoming mandatory, what is to be made of BNG? On the one hand, according to an open letter signed by a 40-strong coalition of housebuilders and environmental groups to mark the first anniversary, “BNG is a true success story. Over the past year, it has unlocked unprecedented investment in local habitats, while also driving green growth.” On the other hand, only a tenth of respondents to Planning’s consultants survey believed that the system is working well, perhaps because, according to the HBF, nearly 40% of local planning authorities do not have access to in-house ecological expertise. What is really going on..? To find out, Sam Stafford invited five experts in in this field to talk about what, in their view, is working well, or at least as expected; what is not working well, or at least not as expected; and what, if anything, needs to change. Those experts are Martin Hutchings, Helen Nyul, Neil Beamsley, Julian Arthur and Nina Pindham. They talked about small sites, exemptions, metrics and matrices, management companies, phased development, going above the mandatory 10%, Local Nature Recovery Strategies and the proposed Nature Restoration Fund. Some accompanying reading. On BNG Biodiversity Net Gain One Year On: Is This World-Leading Scheme Taking Root? What consultants really think about the market, public harassment, agency staff at councils – and more (£) Biodiversity Net Gain: One year on ‘A Practical Guide to Biodiversity Net Gain’ by Nina Pindham The Planning Advisory Service bulletin What 500 Planning Applications Reveal About Biodiversity Net Gain in Action Ecologists and environmental scientists call for a small sites levy one year on from mandatory BNG for small sites Assistance Required: 'The Snagging List' Some accompanying listening. Evergreen - Rose City Band 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 (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

Sam Stafford was down in The Big Smoke recently and took the opportunity to catch up with friends of the podcast Matthew Spry, Simon Ricketts, Hana Loftus, Vicky Payne and Mike Kiely. In a good ol’ fashioned Adam Buxton-style ramblechat they talked about anything and everything. They talked about stat cons; they talked about skills, resources and leadership within LPAs; they talked about the need for efficiency gains in development management to deal with the expected uptick in planning applications; they talked application fees; they talked about power lines; they talked about a national scheme of delegation; they talked about NPSs, SDSs, local plans and NDMPs; and then they talked about a national scheme of delegation again. There is something in here for everybody. Some accompanying reading. Reeves to put £2bn into affordable housing to ‘sweeten the pill’ of cuts Bureaucratic burden lifted to speed up building in growth agenda Planning Fees – All Power to Local Authorities? People living near new pylons in Great Britain could get £250 a year off energy bills On modernising planning committees Assistance Required: 'The Snagging List' Some accompanying listening. Nas ft. Lauryn Hill - If I Ruled the World (Imagine That) 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 (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

The fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning has been especially fast-paced, ever-changing and rock and roll of late. How then to try to catch up? Sam Stafford thought that the best way of doing so was to reprise the ‘Labour of Love’ episode that he published back in August of last year. Here then you will hear elements of nine conversations recorded online between friends of the podcast old and new about nine themes of the Government’s crystalising reform agenda. Catriona Riddell, Andrew Taylor, Jane Meek and Alex Coley talk about strategic planning, devolution and local government reorganisation (06.54); Greg Dickson, John Sayer, Rebecca Clutten and Anthony Lee talk about CPO, land value capture and benchmark land value (17.42); Claire Petricca-Riding, Gilian MacInnes, Sarah McLaughlin and Robbie Owen talk about infrastructure planning (28.12); Andrew, Shelly Rouse, Mike Kiely and Adele Morris talk about planning committees (36.26); Claire, Hana Loftus, Nina Pindham and Neil Beamsley talk about development and nature recovery (46.11); Andrew, Annie Gingell, Hana and Sarah Young talk about Grey Belt (54.22); Andrew and Paul Smith talk about statutory consultees (01.02.42); Ben Castell, Katie Wray, Vicky Payne and Hana talk about design and placemaking (01.13.21); and Hashi Mohamed, Kathryn Ventham and Simon Mirams talk about the flood risk sequential test (01.24.45). The full conversations will appear on the 50 Shades YouTube channel in due course and Sam will share the respective links on the 50 Shades Bluesky, LinkedIn and TikTok channels when they are published. Some accompanying reading. JEKC David's Tribute St. John's Hospice Bowel Cancer UK Context 'Biggest building boom' in a generation through planning reforms The Planning and Infrastructure Bill The Planning & Infrastructure Bill: An Overview Devolution Devolving local growth: how do the emerging geographies shape up? CPO / LVC / BLV Compulsory purchase process: guidance (October 2024 update) Law Commission seeks views on compulsory purchase laws Compulsory Purchase Process and Compensation Reforms How far can land value capture be pushed? Infrastructure Growth drives major infrastructure and housing planning reform proposals Planning Committees Planning Reform Working Paper: Planning Committees On modernising planning committees Modernising Planning Committees National Survey 2025 Nature Restoration Planning Reform Working Paper: Development and Nature Recovery Land Use Consultation Grey Belt How grey is the Green Belt? The “Grey Belt” has arrived Colouring In The Grey Belt: The PPG Grey belt policy having only a marginal impact at best Grey Belt Impact Assessment Stat Cons Bureaucratic burden lifted to speed up building in growth agenda Reform of the Statutory Consultee System Cons & Pros On Stat Cons Flood Risk Sequential Test More Afloat – New NPPF and the Sequential Test Enhancing flood and coastal erosion risk digital services with the latest data and mapping Some accompanying listening. Back in Black - AC/DC 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 (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.

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 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 (@samuelstafford.bsky.social) and Instagram (@samuel__stafford). His blog contains a link to his newsletter.