Hitting The High Notes is town planning’s equivalent of Desert Island Discs. In these episodes Sam Stafford chats to preeminent figures in the planning and property sectors about the six planning permissions or projects that helped to shape them as professionals. And, so that we can get to know people a little better personally, for every permission or project Sam asks his guests for a piece of music that reminds them of that period of their career.

Unlike Desert Island Discs you will not hear any of that music during the episode because using commercially-licensed music without the copyright holders permission or a very expensive PRS licensing agreement could land Sam in hot water, so, when you have finished listening to this episode, you will have to make do with YouTube videos and a Spotify playlist, links to which you will find below.

Sam's guest for this episode of Hitting The High Notes is Paul Barnard MBE (@Paul_Planning). Paul is Service Director for Strategic Planning & Infrastructure, his fifteenth job title at Plymouth City Council. Their conversation takes in hostels for the homeless; the Single Regeneration Budget; the importance of both a vision and a political consensus; and distributing CIL via the Crowdfunder platform.

Paul's song selections.

Rubicon by Killing Joke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtqBeBuBoKw

Shadowplay by Joy Division

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPt3-lB5Lsc

Home by Depeche Mode

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZHs-SRJbzU

This is the Day by The The

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZYgKCbFbWY

Gnossiennes by Erik Satie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7kvGqiJC4g

A Night Like This by The Cure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE1nu67-U2I

This must be the place by Talking Heads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9gK2fOq4MY

Paul’s Spotify playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0IQk1lzFHsKdjDYmAjMX9R?si=AdqGUnMqRTWn8thenEyEWA&dl_branch=1

Some accompanying reading.

A Vision For Plymouth

https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/planningandbuildingcontrol/visionplymouth

Plymouth’s Plan for Homes

https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/housing/planhomes

Plymouth’s City Change Fund

https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/planningandbuildingcontrol/neighbourhoodplanning/citychangefund

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