The UN Women UK’s charity launched a campaign to enhance our public spaces in 2020, after they identified, that over 70% of women have experienced sexual harassment in public (physical and online) spaces. Everyone working within the development industry has a duty to enhance the security of our urban environments. The space we give over to movement and play must make everyone feel welcome, no matter what age or gender, religion or capability.Here we bring together a group of individuals at th...

With Rishi Sunak now in place as Prime Minister and Michael Gove returned to DLUCH, there remains work to be done in terms of planning focus and priorities, if the Government is to ensure the development industry plays the role it can in economic recovery, our route to net zero and the growing challenge of social inequality UK wide. Here we bring together a familiar panel of podcast voices, who have joined us previously to debate this very topic and therefore do so in this new context.&n...

Everyone is agreed that the same old thinking won’t solve the growing challenges across energy, water, climate change, and transport – we’re facing problems on a serious scale and we need fresh solutions. In this episode, we hear from three recent entrants to the planning and placemaking profession, getting their perspectives on the 21st Century community and where they see the opportunities for innovation, ideas, and progressive approaches to these very real problems. How can we ...

Back in 2017, we hosted a survey and debate alongside the Birmingham Post, on the future ambitions for Birmingham to 2030. Five years on, and five years into Andy Street’s tenure as West Midlands Regional Mayor, how is the ‘capital’ of the region reflecting these ambitions and implementing change? How has the direction for the wider region changed post-pandemic? What areas of focus do we believe should now be a priority? How is the Commonwealth Games impacting the urban fabric? What should th...

It is fair to say the new Planning Bill is a combination of Gove and successive previous Planning Ministers’ (and there have been many) attempts at implementing the Levelling-Up agenda and perhaps rescuing the ‘Planning for the Future’ white paper. From scrapping EIA, housing need, and the duty to cooperate, to implementing changes to the development plan hierarchy, a new levy to replace CIL and S106, design coding, and infrastructure delivery strategies, it sounds like a raft of changes but ...

The Levelling-Up Agenda challenges many of our development sectors to consider the contribution they can make to economic growth and the search for a step change in growth and opportunity for local communities. A recent BPF report has set out the contribution the industrial and logistics sector particularly has to play but also how restricted space could impact any levelling-up ambitions. More broadly employment land and development, its allocation and even protection is an important facet of...

Town Planning as a profession emerged from a need to enhance health and opportunity for our growing urban populations. Enhance sanitation and living conditions and enact positive change that tackles urban inequality and provides homes for everyone. But today, our Graduate planners are wondering if Town Planners are still able to tackle this challenge effectively, in whatever role they take up? In this podcast, two of our ambitious Graduates are bringing together representatives from across th...

COP26 has sought to bring together governments from across the world to discuss and debate the global response to climate change and the tangible commitments and actions that are required. But how do the topics and decisions being made at this hugely important conference impact the built environment sector and beyond this what are we seeing as the immediate priorities for our industry in response to this humanitarian crisis? In this pod, we have sought to bring together views of both the futu...

Over the last few months, a couple of appeal decisions have once again reignited the debate around greenbelt development and what better way to kick off the new series of our podcast, with a hot topic and well qualified expert views from a leading legal, political developer, and planner, all diving into what at the time felt like a significant decision in St Albans earlier this year. Despite all now feeling this resolution to permit, greenbelt release remains the exception as opposed to the r...

Humans are pack animals and urban centres are a hub for interaction, so with a ‘post-COVID’ world looking uncertain, and tiered lockdowns further threatening the vibrancy of our urban centres, our response in terms of high street regeneration is becoming more and more critical. If the fundamental requirements of our urban centres are to host and sustain these delicate ecosystems of interaction, is their inherent social value uppermost in our thoughts? If it is, where do we now see the op...