Sam Stafford was in Manchester recently and took the opportunity to catch up with old friends of the podcast Ian Wray, Claire Petricca-Riding and David Diggle, and new friends of the podcast Charlotte Leach and Louise Fountain.
Over the course of an hour or so they enjoyed a good ol’ fashioned 50 Shades ramblechat. They talked about the increasingly rancorous nature of planning and whether a sense of fractiousness and febrility is driving the rise of Reform as a political force. They also talked about New Towns and Ian’s 'Northern Arc' proposition, and, towards the end, they swapped holiday reading recommendations.
Some accompanying reading.
We won’t let residents block big new towns, says planning minister (£)
A ‘once in a generation’ opportunity for the UK’s next wave of new towns
The reality of the Northern Arc
The 50 Shades Book Club
When The Circus Leaves Town - Dave Proudlove
Prisoners of Geography - Tim Marshall
A waiter in Paris – Edward Chisholm
The Danish Way of Parenting - Jessica Joelle Alexander and Iben Dissing Sandahl
Why We Get The Wrong Politicians - Isabel Hardmen
Great British Plans – Ian Wray
Some accompanying viewing.
Nairn's Journeys - Football Towns (Huddersfield and Halifax)
Some accompanying listening.
Episode 36. Can the British plan?
A Fresh Dawn For North Cheshire - Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan
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 and Instagram. His blog contains a link to his newsletter.
