Day? 2026?! Come on man isn't this all just a series of continuously evolving states? Don't box me in like that share.google/DbXbZ5ph5ccH...

New piece: neighbourhoods and policy systems degrade in the same way - what might it look like to design for entropy? open.substack.com/pub/vickypay...

Wonderful when a line of curiosity springs up and there is a podcast already in the ether on that very topic. Do you too want to know the conceptual, political, cultural and financial history of the channel tunnel?! Well- here you go: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...

My audio companions on the train to Wales:

Brief reflections on Q1 A lot of this quarter has been about joining the dots between different policy areas (water, nature, design, planning, stewardship) and engaging with the interplay of quality and delivery. Some highlights:

A lot from this can be applied to improving the planning and development system as a whole, bringing forward specific policy initiatives and to long term development sites podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/i...

Thoughts on New Towns, National Housing Bank, design quality and delivery www.linkedin.com/posts/vicky-...

Emerging into a perfect early spring evening after shortlisting for the Housing Design Awards. Design = more essential than ever as a route to the best possible outcomes in a constrained delivery context. Excited to see some great northern schemes giving hope for addressing UK design inequality.

Isaac Julien at Victoria Miro Beauty, complexity, layered imagery all held in the darkness and enclosure of the room and soundscape. Tone of hopeful wisdom, like receiving a prophecy. Enough narrative to give form, enough ambiguity to feel potent www.victoria-miro.com/exhibitions/...

First substack on Citrini, unstable systems and a return to superstition vickypaynewrites.substack.com/p/the-age-of...

www.citriniresearch.com/p/2028gic super interesting in many ways but primarily on the idea of “non cyclical cycles”, broken feedback loops and an absence of systemic self correction.

Lunchtime listen 🎧 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

I’ve been painting more this year. It seems to need the same interplay of something + nothing that I recognise from strategic work. Something = attention, planning, discussion, analysis, research. Nothing = deliberate inattention, void, stepping away, moving the body, letting the mind wander.

“an exploratory evening…that will examine the complex notion of 'self. Discover links between faith, beauty and expression; experiment creatively with self-portraiture; and experience the connective power of music” www.instagram.com/p/DTQXE6KjvE... @britishacademy.bsky.social

Currently free on Audible 😍 This and “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius are very accessible and appealing to my millennial ear, being presented essentially as listicles and concise inspirational quotes

Our conciousness depends on embodiment, feelings, friction with nature and relational contact with other people podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

🆕What happens when planning rules are clearer and more predictable? Our latest briefing examines Croydon’s Suburban Design Guide and its impact on small-site housing delivery. 👇 buff.ly/vLNo0r9

I've learned everything I can about this chart and what it means for planning for more houses in cities. The report is out tomorrow! You can watch me talk about the chart and more at the launch event tomorrow, 2pm. Sign up here: www.centreforcities.org/event/what-b...

A politically provocative title, but actually concise summary of stats around constrained supply, depleted demand and affordability issues: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/r...

The publication of the new Design and Placemaking PPG lands in a system that is simultaneously being asked to go faster and do better. Thinking in terms of system improvement rather than trade-offs, how does it sit within the wider policy picture? www.linkedin.com/pulse/design...

Entries for the 2026 Housing Design Awards are now open! I am pleased to join the ranks of the many excellent judges this year on behalf of Future Homes Hub Submit your entry by 6th March: hdawards.org

Reflections from last night's Planning Future New Year's Reception www.linkedin.com/pulse/system...

New blog post, The A In Section 106A simonicity.com/2026/01/25/t...

Home ownership is slipping further out of reach for millions of people in England. We’ve just published Broken Ladder: The Affordability Gap, which shows how rising costs and tighter lending are preventing first-time buyers from turning demand into home ownership. 🧵👇

👌🏻 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/r...

The new Design and Placemaking PPG is out - great to see, and prompting a wave of nostalgia for the pandemic labour of love that was working on the National Model Design Code 🥲 www.gov.uk/government/c...

As I come up to six months as Head of Place and Nature at Future Homes Hub, I’ve been reflecting again on a recurring theme in my work: what it actually takes to deliver “better places” in practice, not just in principle.

When the Manchester Guardian calls, the people of the North heed the call. And if those people are me, we inject Manchester Liberalism, even from across the Pennines, right back in to the paper of Northern record. Get your fill. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

In 2025 I hosted a series of one-off mentoring calls for International Women's Day. I'd like to do a similar, more experimental, series in Spring 2026 blending my art practice + strategic thinking. Any left-field ideas for how we could use a 1hr call slot in that vein - let's hear them!

At the Future Homes Hub, we’ll be supporting the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to explore how we can both reduce the complexity of the adoption process and ensure more consistent standards. Looking forward to getting stuck into this: www.linkedin.com/posts/vicky-...

The @lichfieldsuk.bsky.social analysis of the Government’s proposed policy for unlocking growth around rail stations hits @thetimes.com in this piece by Emma Duncan: www.thetimes.com/article/dd1c... (£) Original blog including more details of the analysis is here: lichfields.uk/blog/2025/de...

Brief overview of Matthew Pennycook's statement today on the NPPF and support for small/medium developers: www.linkedin.com/posts/vicky-...

Yes 😍 connectivity-tool-lite.dft.gov.uk/app#6/51.196...

Fascinating to be involved in this HUGE strategic masterplanning project for the expansion of Cambourne during my time at Jas Bhalla Works: www.linkedin.com/posts/arthur...

Delighted to be included in this starter pack by @brenttoderian.bsky.social alongside a stellar cast! go.bsky.app/UG85GL8

Reflections from the launch of the New Towns Taskforce report this morning where I asked a question about quality and viability- accidentally anonymously. www.linkedin.com/posts/vicky-...

On Saturday, my badass sister is running Marathon Eryri to raise money for Melanoma Focus, an organisation that’s important to our family ❤️ I know some people in our industry have also been affected by cancer in recent years and may want to donate. www.justgiving.com/page/emilysm...

I was delighted to be commissioned to illustrate the cover of The Planner, and even more pleased when they wanted to give away the original artwork ✨ You can enter the draw via the link below, and see more of my work here: www.instagram.com/the_field_ar... www.theplanner.co.uk/2025/09/09/w...

Vicky Payne, Head of Place and Nature, @FutureHomesHub, provided an update on the recent work of the Hub, including on: 🔶 Future Homes Standard 🔶 Whole life carbon/embodied carbon 🔶 water readiness 🔶 homes for nature 🔶 biodiversity net gain #HBFPlanning25

I will be speaking at the @homebuildersfed.bsky.social conference next week on behalf of the Future Homes Hub, looking at our priorities and achievements over the last year, reflections on government progress and what might be to come. www.house-builder.co.uk/events/hbf-p...

"Actually a very weird thing to do" I promise this is not the entirety of my take on the task of building a new community for this LDN Collective Media film, produced towards the end of my time at Jas Bhalla Works. youtu.be/ox7kYwE-vQk?...

A big change! I have taken on the role of Head of Place and Nature at Future Homes Hub, a non-profit organisation that brings together homebuilders, government and supply chains to support the delivery of sustainable, high -quality new homes and communities. www.linkedin.com/posts/vicky-...

I really enjoyed talking with @pmsmith.bsky.social for the 50 Shades of Planning podcast: pod.co/50-shades-of.... I tend to think of the alternative to zoning as an expansion of development rights, but it's helpful to talk to British land use experts...

I had a lot of fun at UKREiiF last month, taking part in the light-hearted Tetra Tech event "Delay, Delay, Delay - Whose Fault Is It Anyway?" which invited panellists to give a three minute speech pointing the finger at those responsible for the UK's sluggish housing delivery!

And quite right too.Who doesn’t like going from Abergwaun/Fishguard to Caergybi/Holyhead via Ludlow in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿?🥴 Remember next time you’re on a crowded,uncomfortable sluggish train or replacement bus service in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 somewhere: you’re helping to make Cambridge-Oxford rail travel a lot better🤔🚂 #Annibyniaeth

I have been loving this book about Ruskin and had begun to see us as kindred spirits, totally aligned in our thinking and cruelly separated by time. But then I read this….🤦🏻‍♀️

Absolutely incredible stuff from Chris Spargo on why supermarkets have clock towers- a planning and design nerds dream that references the 1970’s Essex Design Guide vm.tiktok.com/ZNdkjU8KR/

The full conversation between Ben Castell, Katie Wray, Vicky Payne and Hana Loftus about design and placemaking, part of which featured in episode 136 of 50 Shades of Planning, is available now on YouTube. youtu.be/NSx4DHV66VU?...

Creating places through placemaking and design is a critical part of the @vistrygroup.bsky.social approach. Vistry Design Guide launched recently with @jasbhalla.bsky.social @vickypayne.bsky.social Visiting sites in build and completed is part of key continual learning - Whiteley Meadows.