A few months ago old friend of the podcast Rebecca Coley, Head of Planning & Development at Trafford Council, messaged Sam Stafford suggesting a 50 Shades episode on “the hidden work of LPAs that slows everything down, e.g. political pressure to investigate particular enforcement cases, the endless complaints that are actually neighbour disputes, FOI, all that kind of stuff".
Sam thought that a good idea so they put together a group of senior planners to explore these issues further. That group included two other old friends of the podcast, Mike Kiely and Gilan Macinnes, and two new friends of the podcast, Simon Thomas and Dean Hermitage.
Mike is Chair of the Planning Officers Society; Gilian is a consultant working for the Planning Advisory Service and takes on interim management roles within LPAs; Simon is Head of Planning at Canterbury; and Dean is Director of Planning at Uttlesford.
They recorded a conversation online towards the end of September 2023 that does take in all of the hidden work that slows everything down, including complaints, FOI, and Environmental Information Regulations. They talk about the other less positive aspects of taking on a senior role, such as tackling online abuse and misinformation, as well as saving money and the likelihood of increased planning application fees being used to improve planning services.
They also though talk about the more positive aspects of taking on senior roles such as the ability to shape major schemes, shape the future of places, and, when at the top table, shape wider local authority priorities.
Some accompanying reading.
Why we need Chief Planners at the top table in local authorities
Freedom of information and Environmental Information Regulations
Technical consultation: Stronger performance of local planning authorities supported through an increase in planning fees: government response
Some accompanying listening.
Masterplan by My Morning Jacket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-MRRr7MyXk
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
50 Shades of Planning
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 [email protected].
If you have listened to Episode 45 of 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
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 partnership with Cratus Group.
Why Fifty Shades? Well, planning is not a black and white endeavour. There are at least fifty shades in between...
