Here’s the next episode in my 50 Shades podcast series about planning systems elsewhere, to coincide with World Town Planning Day. This time I spoke to Melissa Neighbour about the Australian approach - the perfect excuse to use this photo of a snoozy koala. open.spotify.com/episode/7BEz...

When the committee refuses your application against officer advice.

Note absence of roads in the area of a Little Gaulish Village…

There are few things more exciting than the arrival of a book you’d forgotten you’d pre-ordered. The Land Trap by @birdyword.bsky.social

Just discovered that Buzz Aldrin’s uncle was called Bob Moon.

A really interesting new study showing that the smaller the area at which we plan for development, the more restrictive policies become. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

The government have just published this "package of support for housebuilding in the Capital."

New appeal stats just dropped and they're 😮 Over the last quarter: • 76% of public inquiries allowed • 59% of hearings allowed • 53% of appeals for more than 10 homes allowed Those rates are all pretty much as high as they've ever been. Data here: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68f78d...

A young opposition politician once compared housing policy to a game of Buckaroo! - pile on too much and the donkey throws it all off. Have we reached that point? I've tried to answer that in this post (and you'll find out who the politician was...) 👇 👇 👇 longwall.substack.com/p/buckaroo-t...

Stockport have responded to the intervention letter from @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social, but this foreword makes it clear they're really not happy about it. Some Stockport facts: - Last plan adopted in 2011. - 1.77 year housing land supply. - 238% increase in affordable housing need since 2019.

Sometimes I worry about tech companies knowing everything about me. And then I get served adverts like this asking if I ever played elite rugby.

I suppose it was inevitable that planning would feature in the new season of Partridge.

One from the archive. A Michael Gove piece from 2009 for Building Magazine, warning of the dangers of loading too many regulatory requirements onto new homes. www.building.co.uk/comment/buck...

Slightly odd report, this. It identifies viability as the biggest obstacle to delivery. Then proposes some things that will reduce cost but a whole load more that will increase them. 🔗 keycities.uk/wp-content/u...

This is a great summary of the steps taken in New Zealand to increase housing supply, and the lessons we can learn for England. At its core is a simple premise - if the planning system allows permission for more homes in a predictable way, then more will be built. www.express.co.uk/news/politic...

My favourite ridiculous example of this is the Manchester United credit card in Malaysia and Singapore (yes really) which used to give extra rewards only when they won now also gives rewards when they draw as people were churning due to lack of victories milelion.com/2025/07/17/h...

We have far fewer homes relative to our population size than other European countries.

A summary of Andy Burnham’s housing record from @rcolvile.bsky.social in today’s Sunday Times.

Here are the locations of the next wave of New Towns. It’s an interesting mix of enlarged settlements, most of which seem to be centred on railway stations, and inner urban regeneration. www.gov.uk/government/p...

If you were going to speak someone about the way the Dutch planning system works, what questions would you ask?

Labour will miss its 1.5m homes target by 2030. But missing the number doesn’t have to mean missing the chance to change direction. I’ve explained what’s been done, what still needs to happen, and how delivery can rise again. 🔗 open.substack.com/pub/longwall...

I've written about puddles again, this time for Housebuilder magazine. We've found ourselves in a position where the planning system is actually doing a *worse* job of protecting homes from surface water flooding than it used to, despite it being a really easy policy fix.

British NIMBYism is truly a sight to behold. “We are rejecting this solar farm, because one time I saw an electric vehicle on fire, which reminded me that decades ago a coal mining disaster killed lots of children”.

Whatever the result of the actual game might be, I think we can all agree that South Africa’s kit is far, far better than whatever it is that England are wearing.

This is fascinating.

Got a chance to actually say Yes In My Back Yard today.

When we say the planning system is discretionary, here’s an example of what that means. It’s the last section of an actual consultation response from a council on a live application. Essentially “this is what we think right now, but we reserve the right to change our mind.”

Interesting to discover that the Commons Library note on "influencing the planning process" has a section on what makes a good objection, but nothing at all about supporting an application. commonslibrary.parliament.uk/influencing-...

“A 10 per cent increase in house prices leads to a 2.8 per cent increase in births among owners and a 4.9 per cent decrease in births among renters. Once calculated at the mean home ownership rate the net effect is a 1.3 per cent fall in birth rates.” papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

What a post this is.

A council-owned house builder has lost millions due to "spiralling borrowing costs and a hostile planning system," as well as selling homes for less than they cost to build. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The “things to do” page of the Windsor Castle website is 🔥

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...

How does planning in the USA *really* operate, and what lessons can we learn as we look to reform the English system? That’s what I set out to explore with the help of American planning expert @ebwhamilton.bsky.social as @samuelstafford.bsky.social bravely let me make my debut as a podcast host.

Because of “filtering” - or the housing ladder to most of us - even building expensive homes helps those on lower incomes. I’ve explained why here: open.substack.com/pub/longwall...

Did you know Disney built towns too? Celebration is a new town developed by the Walt Disney Company on land close to their theme parks outside Orlando. Starting in the 1990s their CEO, Michael Eisner, wanted to deliver a town that was worthy of the Disney brand. 🧵

Ask not what your country has deleted for you, ask what you can delete for your country.

Build reservoirs? No - delete your emails. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Empty homes won’t solve the housing crisis. A greater explainer by Jonn Elledge. jonn.substack.com/p/no-empty-h...

In my 20+ years experience developing as a small housing association housebuilder, @pmsmith.bsky.social analysis here is spot on. www.housingtoday.co.uk/comment/gove... Layer upon layer of requirements hike up the cost and risk => fewer homes being built. @matthewpennycookmp.bsky.social please note

This is presumably why they call it the Magic Kingdom.

It’s really very good.

This was the first thing we saw as we left Orlando airport and it feels like a whole State is trolling me.

Now I know how my daughter felt when the coach of the first XI complemented her batting in the Under 9s game. 😊 simonicity.com/2025/07/19/a...

An astonishing - but unsurprising - post about what must be Britain’s deadliest snails.

Well that’s one way of looking at it, I suppose. A perfectly normal reaction to a 1,500 home development on a site allocated in a local plan that includes a new tram stop. www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater...

🤦

Test cricket. Bloody hell.

2000 years ago: the Romans would let an aqueduct destroy the Gardon Valley. We need clean water, but at what cost?

Learning lessons from my last podcast recording.