50 Shades of Planning

• All Builders Big and Small

  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.

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  1:05:36
• Grey Belt: policy guidance and appeals

  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.

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  1:34:43
• A conversation with Michael Gove

  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.

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  48:19
• Pre-Apps, Puddles & NDMPs

  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.

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  52:28
• The BNG

  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.

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  1:02:01

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