118 episodes

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 association with Cavendish (www.cavendishconsulting.com).


The image of the Piece Hall is used with the kind permission Ellis Robinson (I: @ellisjrobinson) and has been turned into the 50 Shades logo by Vicky Payne (I: @_.vicky_payne._).


Why Fifty Shades? Well, planning is not a black and white endeavour. There are at least fifty shades in between...

50 Shades of Planning Samuel Stafford

    • Government

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 association with Cavendish (www.cavendishconsulting.com).


The image of the Piece Hall is used with the kind permission Ellis Robinson (I: @ellisjrobinson) and has been turned into the 50 Shades logo by Vicky Payne (I: @_.vicky_payne._).


Why Fifty Shades? Well, planning is not a black and white endeavour. There are at least fifty shades in between...

    Banishing Boxland

    Banishing Boxland

    The Prime Minister recently announced plans to "turbocharge" development within England's largest towns and cities to mark a Government consultation on strengthening planning policy for brownfield development.


    Sam Stafford thought then that now would be a good time to share a conversation that he recorded online in August 2023 with old friends of the podcast David Milner and Rebecca Coley, and new friend of the podcast Mark Aylward, about the redevelopment of big box retail parks.


    The prompt for the conversation was a 2018 report that Sam had come across by Create Streets and Policy Exchange called ‘Better Brownfield’, which claimed that there are over 1200 sites across London currently occupied by single-storey big box retail and industrial sheds and that, by ‘banishing boxland’, these sites could accommodate between 250,000 and 300,000 new homes.


    Who owns and manages assets like these? What is the market like for big boxes in the new world of online retail? And what are the opportunities presented by, and the barriers to, sites like this coming forward for a mixed-use redevelopment? These are the questions that Sam invited David, Mark and Rebecca to explore with him.


    Some accompanying reading.


    How to house London’s surging population? Banish “boxland” – by Susan Emmett


    https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/41218/how-to-house-londons-surging-population-banish-boxland


    Better Brownfield


    https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/better-brownfield/


    Five retail and leisure trends to look out for in the post-pandemic era


    https://www.savills.co.uk/blog/article/340262/commercial-property/five-retail-and-leisure-trends-to-look-out-for-in-the-post-pandemic-era.aspx


    Pipeline of data centres needs to more than double by 2025 to meet demand for storage in Europe


    https://www.savills.co.uk/insight-and-opinion/savills-news/336014-0/savills--pipeline-of-data-centres-needs-to-more-than-double-by-2025-to-meet-demand-for-storage-in-europe


    The London Land Challenge; The Industrial Land Market


    https://www.savills.co.uk/research_articles/229130/329623-0


    Some accompanying listening.


    Brighouse on Saturday Night – Roger Davies


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PQmACfPhY4


    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

    • 48 min
    Capturing the Zeitgeist

    Capturing the Zeitgeist

    This episode is a ramblechat that Sam Stafford recorded in London with friends of the podcast Hashi Mohamed, Simon Ricketts, Nicola Gooch and Andrew Taylor during which they reflected on another exciting few weeks in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country planning.


    The conversation takes in the back-dating of Section 106 indexation and what that says about local authority finances; the need to consider PPAs, statutory consultees and performance targets in the round; BNG and Sam's debut appearance on Countryfile; the Brownfield Reform Day consultations on a presumption in favour of brownfield development, permitted development rights and the Mayor of London’s call-in powers; and the Competition & Markets Authority's report on the housebuilding industry. All in approximately 45 minutes or so.


    Some accompanying reading.


    Housebuilding market study final report


    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housebuilding-market-study-final-report


    Brownfield Reform Day


    http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/02/brownfield-reform-day.html


    Biodiversity Unit Finder Map


    https://www.futurehomes.org.uk/biodiversityunitfindermap


    Short Term Thinking 


    https://simonicity.com/2023/04/14/short-term-thinking/


    Can Local Plan Policies Require Developers To Go Beyond National Standards?


    https://simonicity.com/2024/02/24/can-local-plan-policies-require-developers-to-go-beyond-national-standards/


    Some accompanying listening.


    Zeitgeist by Black Sabbath


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3FyNH9v7mU


    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

    • 51 min
    Critical Infrastructure

    Critical Infrastructure

    Building GP surgeries, schools and roads is not just difficult it is so difficult, according to no less of an expert on such matters than the Prime Minister, as to be a reason to not even contemplate growing existing towns and cities.


    In introducing recent proposals to put “rocket boosters” under construction in existing built-up areas, Rishi Sunak was quoted in The Times as saying that “We need to build homes in the places where people need and want them. There’s little point trying to force large new estates on our countryside and Green Belt when that is where public resistance to development is strongest and where the GP surgeries, schools and roads don’t exist to support new communities.”


    It is not uncommon though to see opinion polls from time to time highlighting that for people who are not supportive of more homes being built, building more or improving existing medical facilities would likely change their minds.


    It is equally not uncommon though to see stories in the press from time to time with headlines like ‘we love our homes but we’re crying out for schools and GPs’.


    Where is the line to be drawn between what applicants should reasonably be expected to provide as part of making a development acceptable in planning terms, and the access to health and education that citizens should reasonably expect their Government to provide for them?


    How effective is the planning system in bringing together all of the actors and agencies that are responsible for the delivery of social infrastructure?


    What are the barriers to LPAs spending what the Home Builders Federation reports to be £2.8bn in unspent S106 contributions?


    These are questions that Sam Stafford explores with some old friends of the podcast and some new friends of the podcast.


    The old friends are Andrew Taylor, Gilian MacInnes and Ben Woolnough. Andrew is Group Planning Director at Vistry Group; Gilian has her own consultancy and acts a trainer and interim manager in the public sector; and Ben is Planning Manager at East Suffolk Council.


    The new friends are James Cutting and Isabella Buono. James is Head of Planning at Suffolk County Council and Isabella is a Barrister at Landmark Chambers.


    Some accompanying reading.


    Public attitudes to house building: findings from the British Social Attitudes survey 2018


    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-attitudes-to-house-building-findings-from-the-british-social-attitudes-survey-2018


    Our 'new town' with 2,500 homes and 1,000 more to come has no GP, the school is full and the closest supermarket is 25 minutes away - but we do have a nuclear fusion centre


    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12392593/Our-new-town-nuclear-fusion-centre-no-GP-school-closest-supermarket-cafe-20-minute-walk-away.html


    Section 106 agreements and unspent developer contributions in England and Wales report


    https://www.hbf.co.uk/news/section-106-report/?pk_campaign=newsletter_6368


    A taxing problem: County Councils “desperate” for CIL money to fund infrastructure


    https://www.thedeveloper.live/opinion/opinion/a-taxing-problem-county-councils-desperate-for-cil-money-to-fund-infrastructure


    Can You Use Section 106 To Buy Drugs (And To Fund Other Public Services)?


    https://simonicity.com/2023/02/18/can-you-use-section-106-to-buy-drugs-and-to-fund-other-public-services/


    Mind the Funding Gap: The curious case of s.106 contributions funding NHS services


    https://imbusiness.passle.net/post/102i43y/mind-the-funding-gap-the-curious-case-of-s-106-contributions-funding-nhs-service


    Some accompanying listening.


    School by Nirvana


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp86SkWKRQE

    • 53 min
    Hitting the High Notes - Simon Ricketts

    Hitting the High Notes - Simon Ricketts

    This episode is another in the Hitting The High Notes series.


    If you have not listened to one before the basic proposition 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 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 You Tube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.


    Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting The High Notes is self-proclaimed ubiquitous planning lawyer and 50 Shades stalwart Simon Ricketts, who was the number one-ranked planning solicitor in last years’ Planning Magazine law survey.  


    Their conversation was recorded at Soho Radio Studios in London back in May last year and takes in Simon's full and fascinating career. They talk about what makes a good client, a good consultant and a good project team; about how scratching a creative itch can lend one towards thought leadership; and about how to maintain an indie ethos whilst climbing the corporate ladder.


    Some accompanying listening.


    Simon’s Spotify Playlist


    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1W2IbJrD7lsLEfQ8XLxUwQ?si=bd98cfd052fb4098


    A New England - Kirsty MacColl


    https://youtu.be/Vnzpg5GgQCo?si=n-78J1RCuwRo9wmP


    Missing - Everything But The Girl


    https://youtu.be/U56Ns66Qrb8?si=Ulk_jTwlBGKb0E-H


    Beat Surrender - The Jam


    https://youtu.be/MHP0UxBuuGQ?si=1UBTSuFCFE1E9WSS


    Fight Test – The Flaming Lips


    https://youtu.be/fye1XtXQn9s?si=1SDPjiRSRmmoVvhx


    Boredom – Buzzcocks


    https://youtu.be/QoYiQ8Qsozk?si=8jp64JKmEroPa8KG


    I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King


    https://youtu.be/6913KnbMpHM?si=pqBQiX_HP2p0L8cC


    Episode 32: Legal Eagles


    https://pod.co/50-shades-of-planning/legal-eagles


    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

    • 54 min
    NPPF 2023 Update - What Next?

    NPPF 2023 Update - What Next?

    At the kind invitation of Landmark Chambers and Town Legal, Sam Stafford was in London this week to contribute to a seminar on the NPPF update, which, eagle-eyed 50 Shades Listeners no doubt spotted, emerged as part of a cavalcade of Planning Reform Day announcements before Christmas.


    The seminar was over-subscribed and so was recorded in order that it could be shared more widely as a podcast.


    This episode features:


    Rupert Warren KC talking about the implications of the NPPF for housing delivery, taking in the standard method, the cities uplift and the changes around five and four year land supply;Anjoli Foster talking about the impact of the NPPF on plan-making, taking in Green Belt, transitional arrangements and the impact of this new version on plans that have paused, as well as soundness;Meeta Kaur talking about the NPPF changes that relate to design and beauty, small sites and community-led housing, retirement housing and agricultural land;Simon Ricketts talking about the linkages between the NPPF and the Levelling Up & Regeneration Act, with his observations on what provisions of the latter we make pay the closest attention to; andSam talking waffle.

    Some accompanying reading.


    Reforms to national planning policy


    https://committees.parliament.uk/work/7281/reforms-to-national-planning-policy/


    Reforms to national planning policy report: government response


    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-national-planning-policy-report-government-response


    Changes to 5YHLS under the revised NPPF: Not Great, Not Terrible


    https://lichfields.uk/blog/2023/december/20/changes-to-5yhls-under-the-revised-nppf-not-great-not-terrible


    Four out of Five


    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/four-out-five-josef-cannon-ugqje/


    Local Plan Preparation: Barriers and Opportunities


    https://www.rtpi.org.uk/policy-and-research/research/local-plan-research-project/


    Planning working paper


    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-working-paper


    Labour’s planning proposals


    https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2023/10/labours-planning-proposals.html


    Labour pledges to tighten right-to-buy as part of UK housing overhaul


    https://www.ft.com/content/2726620e-b6e5-4547-b358-ff4fe175171e


    The Long-Term Plan for Housing II


    https://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2024/01/the-long-term-plan-for-housing-ii.html


    Some accompanying viewing.


    Hashi’s appearance on Question Time


    https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001vfv6


    Curb Your Enthusiasm, Happy New Years


    https://youtu.be/U4rkzyGFFo0?si=2gCA8461BCnsqT7H


    Some accompanying listening.


    Future Love by Ride


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cN0vWnVaHU


    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

    • 57 min
    🏆The #Planaraks Awards 2023🏆

    🏆The #Planaraks Awards 2023🏆

    Hopefully everybody involved in the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll world of town and country has had a restful Christmas and have managed to combine at least a little rest with digesting the cavalcade of announcements on Planning Reform Day.


    This episode is the third of the festive 50 Shades triumvirate looking back at 2023. The first two did so by way of the 50 Shades Festive Christmas Quizzes. This third episode sees the return of Zack Simons’ Planaraks Awards, which Zack has again kindly agreed to reveal exclusively on the 50 Shades of Planning podcast.


    In a conversation that Sam Stafford and Zack recorded at Soho Radio Studios on Planning Reform Day itself, just as the Secretary of State had given a speech entitled ‘Falling back in love with the future’ and just before the NPPF emerged, they canter through some of the high points and low points of the year just gone (mostly low points) and Zack confers awards for, amongst other things, the Most Futile Reform of the Year, the Most Hopeless Reform of the Year and the Worst Policy of the Year. Positivity does not abound, but Sam and Zack do try to generate some.


    Along the way they touch on many of the things that regular readers of Zack’s #Planaraks Blog would expect them to, from amending consents, nutrient neutrality, application fees, the LURA, Green Belt and strategic planning.


    Some accompanying reading.


    Oscar Easton is fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support


    https://www.justgiving.com/page/oscar-easton-1702480570488


    🏆 The #Planoraks 2023 - worst planning reform of the year 🏆


    https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/-the-planoraks-2023-worst-planning-reform-of-the-year-


    Thank You Mikael Armstrong: New Case On Scope Of Section 73


    https://simonicity.com/2023/01/28/thank-you-mikael-armstrong-new-case-on-scope-of-section-73/


    New Draft London Guidance On Affordable Housing/Viability


    https://simonicity.com/2023/05/06/new-draft-london-guidance-on-affordable-housing-viability/


    Making a bad situation worse? The impact of the proposed NPPF changes on housing supply


    https://lichfields.uk/blog/2023/february/27/making-a-bad-situation-worse-the-impact-of-the-proposed-nppf-changes-on-housing-supply


    Making a bad situation worse? How a fall in housing supply due to NPPF changes will cause social harm and undermine levelling up


    https://lichfields.uk/blog/2023/february/27/making-a-bad-situation-worse-how-a-fall-in-housing-supply-due-to-nppf-changes-will-cause-social-harm-and-undermine-levelling-up/


    Some accompanying listening.


    Race for the Prize by The Flaming Lips


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs56ygZplQA


    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

    • 1 hr 2 min

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