Death, taxes and reform are the three certainties that accompany planners along life’s endless cycleway. Insofar as the latter is concerned, this is one of the more turbulent periods.
White Papers come and White Papers go, but last year’s was particularly notable for it’s almost wholesale reimagining of the planning system.
“Radical reform unlike anything we have seen since the Second World War”, wrote the Prime Minister in his foreword to ‘Planning for the future’. “Not more fiddling around the edges, not simply painting over the damp patches, but levelling the foundations and building, from the ground up, a whole new planning system for England.”
And since? Well there has not been a dicky bird from the Government, which is perhaps still wading through the 44,000 submissions to the consultation, and the debate, such that one can have a debate about a Planning Bill that has not been written yet, seems to have been captured by those who do not like whatever might be in it.
What then to make of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Select Committee’s report on the future of the planning system, which concluded with concerns about "the lack of detail, which has made it very difficult to assess the possible practical implications. The Government should consult on the details of proposed reforms to prevent unintended consequences and harms resulting from them”.
Does the Select Committee’s report provide proponents of the White Paper with the homework required to make the proposals more palatable? Or does the report provide opponents of the White Paper with enough ammunition to hole it below the water line? And what is a Select Committee anyway?
Sam Stafford puts these questions to Clive Betts MP, the Chair of the HCLG Committee who you will hear 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'. This quote now features on a 50 Shades of Planning Podcast t-shirt, which is available to buy in black or white and in S, M and L sizes. If you would like one please email [email protected].
Some reading to accompany this episode.
Planning for the future
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/planning-for-the-future
The future of the planning system in England, a report by the HCLG Committee
https://committees.parliament.uk/work/634/the-future-of-the-planning-system-in-england/publications/
Notes on planning reform: “the algorithm warmed us all up”, by Zack Simons
https://www.planoraks.com/posts-1/notes-on-planning-reform-the-algorithm-warmed-us-all-up
Taking Stock - The geography of housing need, permissions and completions, by Lichfields
Some accompanying listening.
White Paper by Finley Quaye
50 Shades of Planning
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....
