Episode 56 will be alone soon, but, in the meantime, Sam Stafford would appreciate your help with preparations for a future episode that he has in mind. This, if you will, is a 50 Shades Call for Evidence.

Create Streets recently tweeted a photograph of Grey Street in Newcastle and asked whether it is Britain’s best street.

It was considered to be one of the best in 2002 when Radio 4’s Today programme and CABE set out to identify Britain’s best and worst streetscapes. Grey Street, High Pavement in Nottingham; Buchanan Street in Glasgow; New Street in Birmingham and the Water Street/Castle Street area of Liverpool were considered the best. Streatham High Road in London; Cornmarket in Oxford; Drake’s Circus in Plymouth; Maid Marian Way in Nottingham and Leatherhead High Street in Surrey were considered the worst.

Twenty years on, one wonders (or rather friend of the podcast Ben Castell wondered on Twitter and Sam has pinched his idea…), do they remain Britain’s best and worst streets? Where now might be considered better, or even worse, and why?

Sam would like to invite you, the 50 Shades listenership, to submit your nominations for Britain’s best and worst streets and the most popular submissions will feature in an episode that will consider what makes for a great street and the factors that affect change over time.

Please send all contributions to [email protected] before the end of the consultation period on 31 December 2021.

Some accompanying listening (whilst essentially a teaser trailer this is still technically an episode and so deserves some accompanying listening).

Streets of Your Town by The Go-Betweens

https://youtu.be/g-TJd2RnWgQ

50 Shades T-Shirts!

If you have listened to Episode 45 of the 50 Shades of Planning Podcast 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