"Are you planning a 50 Shades on the local authority staffing crisis?"
Sam Stafford usually likes it when people get in touch with him to suggest topics for 50 Shades episodes, but found this message from a team leader at a local authority striking and sobering.
Is there a local authority staffing crisis? If so why and what can be done about it? Informed by equally striking and sobering responses to Episode 57's 'Call for Evidence' (see below a link to the 'Life on the Front Line' Blog), Sam puts these questions to Catriona Riddell, Peter Geraghty and Paul Brocklehurst, who try to do as much justice to this most weighty of topics as is possible within an hour or so.
Catriona (@CatrionaRiddel1) is a Director at Catriona Riddell & Associates.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/catriona-riddell-b418a322
Peter (@planitpres) is Executive Director at Hertsmere Borough Council and Chair of the Development Management Network at the Planning Officers Society, but contributes to this episode in a personal capacity.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-geraghty-mciob-fcabe-frtpi-frsa-facss-5832899b
Paul Brocklehurst is Chair of the Land Promoters & Developers Federation (@THELPDF) and a former Chief Executive of Catesby Estates.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-brocklehurst-68827b6a
Some accompanying reading.
The Planning town hall resources survey
Three reasons for low morale at planning authorities, by Catriona Riddell
Life on the Front Line, Sam's Blog
http://samuelstafford.blogspot.com/2021/12/life-on-front-line.html
The Raynsford Review
https://www.tcpa.org.uk/raynsford-review
English Planning: The Fruits of 10 Years of Austerity and Reform, by Peter
https://planning.org/blog/9189021/english-planning-fruits-of-10-years-of-austerity-and-reform/
Where the government’s review of local authority planning resources has got to, by Joey Gardiner
We need to talk about Local Government: the levelling-up agenda, and the planning system, depends on it, by Nicola Gooch
Some accompanying listening.
Keep on keeping on by Curtis Mayfield
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-l91O9VxN0
50 Shades T-Shirts!
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
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....
