The 50 Shades of Planning Blog

I had to drive for an hour and twenty minutes to get to my first job. On a typical day the way home was a lot more bearable because at 2pm I would go out ‘looking for land’ and tootle my back from South Yorkshire to South Nottinghamshire by way of places like Alfreton and Gainsborough whilst listening to Mark & Lard . The way in though was more of a chore and I filled the time by listening to the Today programme. ‘You are a grown up now. You should know what is going on in the world'. The first time that I can really recall planning being featured on the Today programme was the first NPPF so I had been working for over a decade by that point and had a fair idea of how the world worked. Then, as now, the Secretary of State got a few minutes at 8:10 and then, as also now, representatives of the CPRE and the development industry were invited to argue about whether there really was a ‘ war on the countryside ’. I recall thinking to myself that if the quality of the coverage of some...

I mentioned at the end of episode 162 a few weeks ago that friend of the podcast Simon Ricketts has invited some of the finest minds in the profession... and me... to help him mark ten years of his Simonicity blog. Simon has asked Angus Walker, Catriona Riddell, Hashi Mohamed, Jennie Baker, Nick Cuff, Nicola Gooch, Philip Barnes, Zack Simons and I to speculate as to what the fast-paced, ever-changing, rock and roll of town and country planning might look like in ten years time, which sounds like a lot of fun. This is taking place on Monday 1 June at XLP in London (to where all proceeds will be directed) and whilst the 120 tickets are going on general sale on 7 April 2026, subscribers to the bloggers involved have access to an exclusive pre-sale via this link . It is first come first served so get in quick!